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Religious freedom laws limit government, but they’ve been twisted to enable discrimination

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Religious freedom laws limit government, but they’ve been twisted to enable discrimination



The protection of religious freedom should never provide a privilege for my rights to place a barrier in front of you and your rights, or cause you harm.

Religious freedom is one of our country’s most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is also already protected through the First Amendment as well as our state’s constitution. Also important is the rule of law.

Religious exemptions (commonly referred to as RFRA) has been passed by Iowa Senate Republicans. There are major concerns with the legislation, even among some Republicans. 

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RFRA would allow people to pick and choose which laws they follow and which they choose to skirt around under the guise of religious freedom. RFRA would also codify discrimination into Iowa law.

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), as originally passed by Congress in 1993 with bipartisan support, was designed to protect the people from the government imposing its will on an individual’s religious freedom without a compelling reason. An example often given is the government infringing on the right to perform some type of religious worship, unless there is an important government interest, like public safety.

More: Iowa Senate passes ‘religious freedom’ bill that Democrats call ‘blank check to discriminate’

RFRA has been twisted over the last two decades so that the infringement of rights is one person to another. Some believe religious freedom is at the top of an imaginary Pyramid of Rights, enshrining its place over all other rights. RFRA was never intended to place one person’s religious freedom above the rights of another person, or to impose one person’s religious beliefs on another — as has happened in states across the country.

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The protection of religious freedom should never provide a privilege for my rights to place a barrier in front of you and your rights, or cause you harm. My rights end at the tip of my nose, as has often been said.

RFRA laws in other states are thinly veiled efforts to allow business owners, employers, landlords, and others to discriminate against people who are LGBTQ. They have also been used to hinder access to contraceptive care and to justify child abuse and domestic violence. All in the name of religious freedom.

Our state is at a crossroads. Do we believe that all people are equal, or not? Do we believe that all Iowans are worthy, or do we think some people deserve a second-class citizenship?

Our nation’s history is littered with examples of people’s rights being erased because of religious beliefs and religious freedom. Slavery was justified by religious beliefs, as were Jim Crow laws. Discrimination against Jews and Muslims have been justified time and again by those in the religious majority. Immigrants from an array of countries have faced discrimination couched in religious arguments.

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Religious freedom is a bedrock of our nation, but so is equality. There is a responsibility and accountability of our government and lawmakers to ensure equality and fairness for all, guarding against the misuse of any “right” to harm others.

Religious freedom is a sacred right we all cherish, but it is not without limits. RFRA was passed by Republicans in the Iowa Senate. House Republicans in the House should listen to the still small voice informing their hearts and minds and bury the legislation in a drawer.

It’s quite simple. No person should be allowed to use their faith to impose their beliefs on another person and take away another person’s rights.

All Iowans should have equal access to live, work, shop, and dine and should not face legalized discrimination. The religious freedom of some should not be allowed to create a second-class citizenship for others. 

Lawmakers should reject an agenda shrouded with discrimination and justified by a distorted notion of religious freedom. Lawmakers should work diligently to protect all civil rights and ensure all people are treated equally.

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Connie Ryan is executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa.



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Iowa

Deer and Dog Friends Enjoy Stroll Together Through Iowa Town Before 'Remorseful' Parting

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Deer and Dog Friends Enjoy Stroll Together Through Iowa Town Before 'Remorseful' Parting


Bambi has found a friend outside the forest.

On May 1, the Tipton Iowa Police Department shared a humorous sighting from town on Facebook. According to the post, police officers observed a large, fluffy dog walking side-by-side with a deer down the sidewalks of Tipton. The pair stayed close like two friends on a leisurely stroll.

“Sometimes a dog just wants to take his deer for a walk!” the police department shared on Facebook alongside several photos of the animal duo.

The animals walk on a sidewalk past a blue building in two shots. In one of the photos, a police officer watches the two furry friends from a few feet away. In the final image shared in the post, the dog and deer are on a lawn, with the canine lying on the grass and the deer standing nearby.

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The police department shared an update about the walking buddies on Facebook, noting that officers eventually had to separate the pair because their jaunt through Tipton had become dangerous.

Dog and deer walking together in Tipton, Iowa.

Tipton Iowa Police Department 


“But all good walks must come to an end. The pair was too close to traffic.” the police wrote in the Facebook update.

A photo of each animal sitting in a police vehicle looking out the window accompanied the update post.

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“The dog is clearly remorseful, but the deer was muttering something about breaking free and doing it all again tomorrow!” the Tipton Iowa Police Department concluded their post.

The police department did not share any information on where the animals came from and if the pair had a pre-existing relationship before starting their walk.

Dog and deer on lawn together in Tipton, Iowa on May.

Tipton Iowa Police Department 


The deer and dog duo are the latest animal friends to win headlines. In March, two canines got attention online for their odd couple appearance.

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Stanley, a small 7-year-old dog, and Arthur, a large 4-year-old canine, arrived together at Bradshaw Animal Shelter in Sacramento County, California, on March 10. According to the shelter, rescuers found the dogs wandering together as strays.

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“They are so funny together because they couldn’t look less alike, and yet, they’re so familiar with one another that it’s like they communicate telepathically — they always seem to know what the other one is thinking,” Luna Anona, the public information officer for Sacramento County Animal Care Services and Bradshaw Animal Shelter, told PEOPLE in March.

Sensing the close bond between the dogs, shelter employees set Stanley and Arthur up as roommates and made their adoption a package deal. A dog lover adopted pup buddies together shortly after their story appeared in the news, so now Stanley and Arthur will be “roommates for life.”



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New report details low staffing, high turnover in Iowa nursing homes

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New report details low staffing, high turnover in Iowa nursing homes


More than 43% of Iowa nursing homes do not meet upcoming federal mandates on staffing levels, a new national report shows.

The report also indicates 21 Iowa care facilities each cycled through three to five nursing home administrators during 2023.

Using newly published data collected by the federal government, a nonprofit advocacy group called the Long-Term Care Community Coalition has issued a detailed report outlining the staffing levels at every Medicare-certified nursing home in the nation during the fourth quarter of 2023.

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The report compares actual staffing levels with the Biden administration’s new rule mandating specific staffing levels in Medicare-certified nursing homes. That rule requires the presence of a registered nurse 24 hours per day, seven days a week in all facilities, as well as 3.48 hours per day, per resident of total nursing-staff time.

The rule will be phased in over the next five years and includes exemptions and waivers for facilities in rural areas that are making a good-faith effort to meet the new mandates.

The coalition’s report shows that 6 in every 10 U.S. nursing homes would have met the new nurse-staffing standard in the fourth quarter of 2023. Iowa homes fell below the national average, with 56.5% of them meeting the new standard.

The fact that a majority of facilities already meet the new minimum standard while still facing quality-of-care deficiencies has been an issue with many advocates, who say the standards don’t go far enough. They point to a federal study that shows each resident needs at least 4.1 hours of nursing care each day ― a standard met by only 26% of all nursing homes nationally and 24% of all homes in Iowa, according to the coalition’s report.

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The report indicates the Iowa homes with the lowest nurse staffing levels in the fourth quarter of 2023 were Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Midlands Living Center of Council Bluffs, Linn Haven Rehab & Health Care of New Hampton, Pleasant Acres Care Center of Hull, Northbrook Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center of Cedar Rapids, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston and Aspire of Perry. All reported less than 2.5 hours of total nursing care per resident, per day, according to the report.

A separate set of data published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services indicates that 14% of Iowa’s 422 nursing facilities were cited for insufficient staffing in fiscal year 2023. That’s more than double the national average, which was 5.9%.

Only five other states ― Hawaii, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico and Oregon ― had a worse record of compliance with the sufficient-staffing requirement. Iowa neighbors Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Missouri had no more than 2% to 6.8% of their facilities cited for insufficient staffing in 2023.

Report pinpoints high turnover in some Iowa homes

The report also highlights a problem in many nursing homes nationwide: high staff turnover, which disrupts continuity of care and leads to errors by workers who aren’t familiar with residents’ needs.

According to the data, several Iowa homes had annual nurse staffing turnover rates of more than 85%, indicating that, on average, almost every nursing position in the facilities had been vacated and refilled in 2023.

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The Iowa homes with the highest rate of nursing-staff turnover, ranging from 85% to 100%, were Risen Son Christian Village of Council Bluffs, Sunrise Retirement Community of Sioux City, Wesley Acres of Des Moines, Arbor Springs of West Des Moines, Dunlap Specialty Care, Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City and Montezuma Specialty Care.

The report also identifies the Iowa nursing homes that had the highest number of administrators who left employment with the facility during 2023.

The Elmwood Care Centre of Onawa and Heritage Specialty Care of Cedar Rapids are each reported to have had five administrators who left the facility in 2023. Azria Health Park Place of Des Moines, Sunny Knoll Care Centre of Rockwell City, Crest Haven Care Centre of Creston, Cedar Falls Health Care Center, Premier Estates of Muscatine, Westwood Specialty Care of Sioux City, Casa De Paz Health Care Center of Sioux City, Wesley Park Centre of Newton and Garden View Care Center of Shenandoah each are reported to have had four administrators leave during the year. Ten other Iowa nursing homes had three administrators leave during the year.

The coalition’s report shows that nationally, 4 of 5 nursing home residents live in facilities that are providing less than the federally recommended, but not mandated, 4.1 hours of total nursing-staff time per resident, per day. In addition, more than half a million nursing home residents live in facilities that don’t meet the new federal staffing requirement of 3.48 hours.

The report suggests one positive trend in nursing homes: a decreased reliance on temp-agency workers who often cost more but are less familiar with individual residents’ needs. After years of increased use of temp-agency workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of such workers nationwide accounted for 8% of all nursing staff hours, which is down from 8.7% the previous quarter.

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In Iowa, the average percentage of temp-agency workers was 7.3% in the last quarter of 2023, which was down slightly from 7.6% the previous quarter, and down significantly from 10.2% the previous year.

Find this storyat Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions:kobradovich@iowacapitaldispatch.com.



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Iowa Cubs Fall in Fifth Straight Game in 3-2 Loss to Storm Chasers

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Iowa Cubs Fall in Fifth Straight Game in 3-2 Loss to Storm Chasers


(Des Moines, IA) – The Iowa Cubs have now earned their fifth straight loss in a 3-2 bout against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Omaha takes the series victory 5-1 in the worst series from the Iowa Cubs that we have seen yet this season.

The Storm Chasers started off scoring in this game after Nick Pratto hit a home run that launched over the left-center field wall to put Omaha up 1-0 at the top of the first inning. In the top of the second inning, Storm Chaser Tyler Tolbert was able to go up to the plate with bases loaded and one out when he grounded into a double play but was still able to score the second run of the ballgame by scoring Devin Mann before the play could finish on the field to put Omaha up 2-0. Omaha would then go on to score their last run of the game in the fifth inning off a sac-fly by John Rave to left field to score Cam DeVanney from third to go up 3-0.

Iowa was eventually able to make a little run of their own on the back nine. Jake Slaughter hit a single with a runner in scoring position at third base as Tyler Gentry was able to score and bring it to a 3-1 Omaha lead at the bottom of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the ninth, David Peralta added on a solo home run to put the Cubs within one run of tying things up. That was followed up by a strikeout, field error, flyout, and a groundout to finish the ballgame.

Earning the win on the day was Carlos Hernandez who pitched in 1.0 inning while allowing no earned runs and had two strikeouts. Will Klein was able to earn the save for Omaha while pitching in 1.0 inning and allowed just one hit which was the home run. With the loss on the day was Cubbie Dan Straily who pitched in 5.0 innings while allowing all three runs and having five strikeouts.

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The Iowa Cubs will return to action when they travel to Syracuse on Tuesday with the game starting at 5:00 p.m.

(Information provided by milb.com) 

At Western Iowa Today, we strive for reporting accuracy. If you see a mistake or a typo, please let us know by email to news@westerniowatoday.com.

Story Content (c) 2024 Meredith Communications LC – All Rights Reserved.



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