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Kim Reynolds signs law changing how Iowa counties with public universities elect supervisors

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Kim Reynolds signs law changing how Iowa counties with public universities elect supervisors


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The counties where Iowa’s three public universities are based will have to change how they elect county supervisors, beginning next year, under a law signed Friday by Gov. Kim Reynolds.

The legislation, Senate File 75, says Johnson, Story and Black Hawk counties — home to the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa — will need to begin electing supervisors by district rather than the at-large system they currently use.

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That’s a different standard than the rest of Iowa’s 99 counties, which can choose from three methods of electing county supervisors:

  • By district, where voters vote only for the supervisor who lives in their district.
  • At large, with all voters in the county voting for every supervisor.
  • At large, but with each supervisor required to reside in separate districts.

Reynolds announced the bill signing without comment in a news release Friday afternoon.

Republican lawmakers said the bill would provide rural representation to those counties’ boards of supervisors, while Democrats said it was targeted at counties that elect Democrats and unfairly treats three of Iowa’s counties differently than the remaining 96.

The three counties are required to establish a temporary county redistricting commission by May 15, and the commissions must complete a plan by Oct. 1 to be used in the 2026 election.

Beginning immediately, the three counties are also required to hold special elections to choose supervisors in the event of a vacancy, rather than allowing the board of supervisors to appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the seat’s term.

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Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.





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Waukee Northwest, Cedar Rapids Xavier claim Iowa high school boys tennis team state titles

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Waukee Northwest, Cedar Rapids Xavier claim Iowa high school boys tennis team state titles


The Iowa high school boys tennis season wrapped up with the crowning of two team state champions.

Waukee Northwest claimed its second-straight Class 2A title while Cedar Rapids Xavier kept its stellar spring rolling with a Class 1A team championship.

The Wolves were right at home in Class 2A, with the tournament taking place quite literally on the program’s home courts at Waukee Northwest. They made quick work of Dowling Catholic in the first round, claiming a 5-0 win. In the semifinals, Northwest took down Iowa City West by the same score. That set up a state title matchup against Cedar Rapids Prairie, which took down Linn-Mar and Pleasant Valley en route to the title match.

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In the state finals, Northwest finished off the tournament, winning 5-1 to win another state crown.

Over in Iowa City, where the Class 1A tournament was taking place, Xavier continued its dominance. The Saints took down Boone, 5-0, in the quarterfinals and then cruised past Decorah, 5-0, to reach the title match. There, Xavier faced its toughest challenge, a battle with Dubuque Whalert.

The Saints put the finishing touches on a special boys season by claiming a 5-3 win. Xavier also won the boys singles and doubles titles on May 28. The win on June 4 marks the fifth team state championship in the last six tries for the Saints. Xavier also won titles in 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023. The IHSAA did not hold a tournament in 2020.



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Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand hears water shortage concerns in western Iowa roundtable

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Gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand hears water shortage concerns in western Iowa roundtable


EXIRA, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Some western Iowa towns are under boil water advisories. Residents haven’t been able to drink straight from the tap for about two weeks now. Democratic candidate for Governor Rob Sand stopped in to talk to residents of one town.

Tuesday morning, residents in Exira got notice that it’s okay to drink water from the tap again, ending weeks of having to boil water. The Regional Water Rural Water Association says the root of the issue is loss of pressure from high demand.

City Clerk Meg Anderson says they’re exploring alternative water supplies, but they’re beholden to a contract with the utility.

“We hope that we can constructively work together and negotiate something moving forward, but if we can’t, we will pursue those legal options if we need to,” she said.

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She says people in town have been resilient, but the outages have had an impact.

“We had restaurants who had to amend their hours or change their menus because they couldn’t use their ice or soda fountains or accrue additional costs. Or businesses who may have had loss of revenue because, you know, they can’t shampoo every customer who comes in the door to get a haircut,” she said.

Rob Sand, Democratic candidate for Governor, stopped in to talk to residents Tuesday.

“State government needs to do more to pay attention to issues like this that maybe don’t affect people that state government this necessarily are important but they should be listening to them because they affect Iowans,” he said.

Sand says there’s likely no silver bullet to solve the town’s water issues and he didn’t offer any solutions of his own, but says lawmakers should’ve worked together this session to address it.

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“Hey, we have people over here in this region that don’t have water right now. Here are the statutes that are standing in their way and here are the exceptions we’re going to build into them for situations like this, right. Did that happen? No,” he said.

Mayor Mike Huegerich says demand for water goes up in the summer months, and he’s concerned boil water advisories could come back.

“We’re not out of the woods by no means for this, I mean. They keep saying we need the rain, well it’s raining today, but we need a lot of rain to make up the difference,” he said.

A new connection with a water source in Council Bluffs should relieve their issues but town leaders are skeptical it’s a permanent fix.

Residents in Exira, Earling, and Brayton no longer have to boil their water but people who live in Panama, and Portsmouth still do.

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Conner Hendricks covers state government and politics for Gray Media-owned stations in Iowa. Email him at conner.hendricks@gray.tv; and follow him on Facebook at Conner Hendricks TV on X/Twitter @ConnerReports, and on TikTok @ConnerReports.





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More than 2000 without power in Iowa Quad Cities

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More than 2000 without power in Iowa Quad Cities


QUAD CITIES, Iowa/Ill. (KWQC) – More than 2,000 people are without power in the Iowa Quad Cities.

According to MidAmerican Energy, 2,092 people have lost power in the Iowa Quad Cities and 275 people have lost power in the Illinois Quad Cities as of around midnight.

This is a developing story. KWQC will provide updates on-air and online.

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