Iowa
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine backs ‘Iowa Plan’ to snub last-ditch Dem gerrymandering amendment
COLUMBUS, Oh. — Governor Mike DeWine (R-Ohio) is taking a stand against a Democrat-led proposal on the ballot in his state this November that would amend the state’s constitution, supposedly aimed at “ending gerrymandering” in the Buckeye State.
The only problem, DeWine said in a Wednesday press conference, is that it won’t.
The amendment in question would move the ability to draw state voting districts from the current Ohio Redistricting Commission to a new body called the “Citizens Redistricting Commission.”
If passed, the amendment would create the CRC, comprised of a fifteen-person panel chosen through direct citizen votes. The panel would hold five Democrats, five Republicans and five “independents” at all times. The current ORC is seven members including DeWine himself.
“We must stop writing and rewriting our state constitution. We must defeat this ballot measure,” DeWine said Wednesday at a press conference devoted to condemning the measure, which received enough citizen signatures earlier this month to appear on Ohio’s ballot this November.
“They needed signatures so they went out and paid people to go get signatures,” DeWine said. “But there’s no vetting. No vetting for this at all.”
The gov argues it doesn’t matter who draws the maps, but how.
So he’s looking to a Midwestern neighbor as a model of how to draw districts, and throwing his weight behind what he’s calling “The Iowa Plan.”
In Iowa’s unique district drawing system, a nonpartisan agency manages the process without accessing additional info like past voting records or party affiliations when making new maps.
DeWine wants to put this same strategy in place in Ohio to avoid having the new commission prioritize proportionality of voter affiliation above all else in the redistricting process.
At the press conference, DeWine showed slides of a sample map drawn by a third party consultant charged with creating the most proportional map possible.
“[Proportionality] sounds good,” DeWine said, pointing to the sample slides. “But then you have places here where ten different cities and townships are being divided up to make a single district just for the sake of proportionality.”
Republicans hold a supermajority in Ohio’s state legislature, giving DeWine no veto power over the Ohio General Assembly.
This means, as even he admitted during his remarks, DeWine can only provide the general assembly with requests not demands. But, he added that he’s still determined to make his opinion abundantly clear.
“I want to do this the right way,” he said. “There should be hearings and vetting for this plan…I will do all I can to work with the legislature to get this on the ballot; and if they can’t pass it, I’ll do all I can to get it on by initiative. That’s the backup plan.”
Ohio’s Republican Speaker of The House Jason Stephens had kind words for the governor but did not acknowledge his challenge to pass the Iowa Plan onto the ballot by November.
“I look forward to working with the Governor, the Senate, and the entire GOP Caucus to defeat Issue 1 in November. Once Issue 1 is defeated, we will continue to work to ensure all Ohioans voices are heard and represented,” he said.
The Ohio legislature is currently on recess and is not expected back until after the November 5 election. This means DeWine will almost certainly have to call a special session before then if he truly wants to put the Iowa Plan on the ballot, as he says, “the right way.”
DeWine just gave the Republicans in power homework with no due date.
On the other side of the aisle, Democrat Minority Leader Allison Russo said the gov is “scared” of the Democrat-led ballot measure.
“Ohioans deserve leaders who reflect our values and live up to the promise that they’ll always respect the will of the voters. Today was the governor’s manufactured attempt to confuse and misdirect voters from the truth,” she said. “Republicans are desperate because they know their gerrymandered grip on power is coming to an end.”
A strategist for former Governor John Kasich, was asked if they thought the assembly would either get the Iowa Plan on the ballot or if DeWine could manage it without them via a citizen initiative.
They kept their responses brief.
“No. And no,” they told The Post.
From here, DeWine and Republicans will either be able to put their Iowa Plan on the ballot to compete with Issue 1, or they will attempt to “defeat” Issue 1 by swaying public opinion before it reaches the voting booth.
Five people were shot and injured at an Iowa City pedestrian mall near the University of Iowa campus overnight, police said Sunday. Students from the university were among the injured, according to school officials.
The Iowa City Police Department responded to a report of a large fight in the 100 Block of East College Street at 1:46 a.m. early Sunday, the department said in a news release. Arriving officers heard gunfire.
Multiple victims were hospitalized, police said. Police confirmed to CBS News that one person was in critical condition, while the other four victims are stable.
University of Iowa President Barb Wilson said in a statement that three students were among those shot. None of the victims has been publicly identified.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Police said they are seeking information about five “persons of interest associated with this shooting.” The university also shared the request for information.
The pedestrian mall was closed for several hours and reopened Sunday afternoon.
Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.
Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:
Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field
Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.
Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field
Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.
Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field
Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.
Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field
Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.
Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis
Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.
Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf
One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.
Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf
An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.
Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field
Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.
Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field
The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.
About Our Athlete of the Week Voting
High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.
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The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.
Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.
The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.
After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.
“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”
Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).
“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.
A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”
A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.
Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.
He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.
A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.
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