Iowa
Reynolds: College protesters have free speech rights, but ‘We will be ready’ if protests create ‘destruction’
DES MOINES — The free speech rights of protesters on college campuses will be honored in Iowa, but “hate speech” and “destruction” will not be allowed, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday.
Reynolds said if protests in Iowa cross those lines, “We will be ready. We’re not going to let it go.”
During a news conference Wednesday at the Iowa Capitol, Reynolds addressed a question about protests that are taking place on college campuses across the nation and how she and state law enforcement officials might react to similar protests in Iowa.
As a war between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas continues, U.S. college students have been protesting in support of Palestine and in opposition to Israel’s military strategy. In some cases, protesters have occupied buildings and spaces on campuses, and restricted students’ ability to move through those spaces.
Reynolds said Wednesday that protesters have First Amendment rights, but also indicated the state will be prepared to respond if protesters break laws — including one passed after some civil rights protests in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd murder turned destructive. She decried the actions of protesters at other colleges, including Columbia University in New York.
“Of course we want to protect the First Amendment rights to protest. But they’re going to do it peacefully,” Reynolds said Wednesday. “We’re not going to allow hate speech. We’re not going to allow destruction. We’re not going to allow what we see happening in some of the universities across this country.
“So we’re going to just get in front of it. We’re going to be respectful, and as long as (protesters) abide by the laws and do it peacefully, then great,” Reynolds said. “But if it crosses that line, we will be ready. We’re not going to let it go.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=/VJhoz0OKyKo
Three-day University of Iowa protest planned
A few hundred pro-Palestine protesters demonstrated in University Heights this past weekend while U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was in Iowa to fundraise for Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks. And a pro-Palestine protest is scheduled to take place at the Pentacrest on the University of Iowa campus from 12-7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, according to a flyer for the event.
Hayley Bruce, the University of Iowa’s campus safety chief of staff, said in an emailed response to The Gazette that the university is aware of the protests taking place across the country and “has protocols in place.” Bruce said the primary goal of law enforcement during demonstrations is “to protect free speech while ensuring the safety of both demonstrators and the community.”
Bruce said campus safety personnel welcome an opportunity to work with protest organizers to “support a safe environment” and share information about campus demonstration guidelines.
“Community members are permitted to exercise their First Amendment rights in outdoor areas of campus if it complies with reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions, and as long as the conduct is lawful, and does not impede access to a facility or use of walkways, interfere with vehicle traffic, or disrupt the functioning of the institution,” Bruce wrote.
Bruce said encampments — which have cropped up as part of protests on some campuses — are not permitted under University of Iowa policies.
The flyer for the protest, distributed by Iowa City Students for Justice in Palestine, reads, “Stand in solidarity with student encampments and show the University of Iowa we won’t back down!”
A social media post promoting the protest notes that it is not an encampment. “Our intended goal is to reiterate our demands for divestment to the University,” the post reads.
More Iowa Republicans weigh in
Iowa Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said pro-Palestine protesters who have set up encampments and occupied buildings on college and university campuses around the country “are acting like children.”
Grassley, speaking to Iowa reporters Wednesday, also criticized university presidents for being “too slow” to enforce deadlines they set for demonstrators to leave their encampments or face consequences.
“Now, we all know that under our Constitution free speech is encouraged. And hateful speech, even though it may be constitutional, should be discouraged,” Grassley said. “But, you shouldn’t be able to attack people, threaten people, things of that nature.”
Asked how University of Iowa officials should respond to protests this weekend, Grassley said “any students that want to demonstrate peacefully ought to be allowed to, but it seems to me they shouldn’t be allowed to encamp.”
He also took issue with students demanding schools divest from investments that support weapons manufacturing and Israel amid the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas war, in which more than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza.
“And can you imagine that these students that are there, they think they’re in a position to tell a university how they can invest their funds?” Grassley told reporters. “After all, those funds are helping provide their education. … What right being a student do you have to tell the university how to invest? If you want to do that, you ought to be on the board of trustees.”
State Rep. Carter Nordman, a Republican from Panora, posted on social media that University of Iowa officials have assured him university policies and the law “will be fully enforced and done so without hesitation.”
“I am confident this will be the case,” Nordman posted on X, formerly called Twitter. “In Iowa, if you break the law or violate university policy, you should be expelled, banned, and/or prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. These unlawful pro-Hamas acts occurring around the country are unacceptable and should be met with immediate consequences.”
Today, I spoke with @uiowa officials regarding a potential “encampment” planned for this weekend. They have assured me that their policies and the law will be fully enforced and done so without hesitation. I am confident this will be the case.
In Iowa, if you break the law or… pic.twitter.com/K6JRPVWiKA
— Rep. Carter Nordman (@CarterNordman) May 1, 2024
Comments: (515) 355-1300, erin.murphy@thegazette.com
The Iowa chapter of the Land Improvement Contractors of America (LICA) officially opened a new facility on its 80-acre demonstration farm in Marshall County Thursday.
Iowa LICA President Scott Bohle said having classroom and meeting space will make it easier to educate the next generation of professional contractors, along with government employees, lawmakers and students, to help conserve soil and water in the state.
Bohle said the building “gives people a place to gather, collaborate and continue the important work that defines our association.”
Just outside the new space are wetlands, terraces, sediment control basins, bioreactors and other features, which members have built since LICA purchased the farm near Melbourne in 2000.
“We call it the one-stop shop, where you can see anything being put to practice by our landowners,” said Kelby Kiefer, executive director of Iowa LICA.
Together, these “edge-of-field” practices remove 50% of phosphates and almost 100% of the nitrates from the runoff of a 1,000-plus acre watershed, according to the association.
Adding more wetlands, saturated buffers and bioreactors across the state are a key part of Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy. It aims to cut nitrogen and phosphorus losses from farm fields by 41% and 29%, respectively.
The strategy is part of a broader effort to reduce nutrient pollution in the state’s waterways and the Gulf of Mexico by 45% compared to the 1980-96 baseline period. It does not include a target date.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said the state has accelerated edge-of-field practices in recent years, in part through the Batch and Build model. The approach bundles projects in a targeted watershed to reduce costs and save time for farmers and contractors.
Nearly 150 nitrate reducing wetlands and around 500 saturated buffers, bioreactors and multi-purpose oxbows had been built in the state as of 2024. Thousands more will be needed to meet the state’s nutrient reduction targets.
“[Clean water is] something we need to be focused on, and we can be proud of the work that’s happened, but we know that we need to do more,” Naig said. “Buildings like this help.”
Naig said scaling up conservation infrastructure across the state will require more skilled contractors. He described them as the “critical link” between concepts and “getting things on the ground.”
“It’s from that point where you say, ‘We have a design that’s ready to go, a willing landowner,’ but somebody needs to make it happen,” Naig said. “The land improvement contractor sits in that very important spot.”
IOWA CITY, Iowa — Mark Roering returned to Iowa City Regina 30 years after serving as an assistant coach, and in just two seasons, he has transformed the Regals into one of Class 2A’s most dangerous teams.
“I was a senior in college. I just had finished playing baseball myself and was doing high school in the summers. Had one of those magical seasons here losing in the state finals,” Roering said. “I was just ready for something new.”
Prior to being hired at Iowa City Regina in 2024, Roering coached nine seasons at Dowling Catholic, where he helped the Maroons reach the state tournament six times. Regina was below .500 in three of the four seasons before his arrival. His first season at the helm, Regina went 22-6.
“I think the biggest difference is practice. Everybody is so much more locked in. Really that just comes from him. He gets on us everyday, he has to make the drive and hour and a half every day so we want to give that back to him for all the time and effort he’s put into us,” junior Trey Streb said.
Streb also described Roering as a very emotional coach who cares deeply about the team and winning.
The Regals’ bats have become a significant threat. Regina ranks fifth in the state and second in Class 2A with a .379 batting average and has the fourth fewest strikeouts among state teams.
“It’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced and it’s been super competitive and it’s nice to be with people who want to win and will do whatever it takes to win,” senior Emmett Burke said.
The team already sits at 20 wins with eight regular season games remaining.
Roering said the transformation comes when players start believing they can win in any situation.
“Winning is contagious just like losing is contagious,” Roering said. “Kids they start believing and it gets really dangerous you know that they can win no matter what situation they’re in.”
The turnaround has positioned the Regals to make a postseason run. With only one senior on the roster, the team could remain a threat next season.
“No matter what, we’re going to fight and we’re not going to roll over. We’re going to do what we need to do to win,” Burke said.
“We’re big competitors. We don’t accept defeat and I think that’s one of my favorite parts about this team,” Streb added.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) -Water and wastewater utility rates in Iowa City will increase starting July 1, following a city council decision on May 19.
The water utility rate will increase by 3%, while the wastewater rate will increase by 5%.
The increases are part of a funding model to help recover the costs of providing water and wastewater services to Iowa City residents.
The new rates will take effect in tandem with Iowa City’s 2027 fiscal year and apply to customers served by the Iowa City Water Division and the Iowa City Wastewater Division.
The city said the rate adjustment supports its continued provision of safe and reliable water service.
To learn more about the city’s utilities, visit their website.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
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