Iowa

Starting teacher salary in Iowa would rise to $50,000 per year under bill passed by the House

Published

2 years ago

March 7, 2024

Starting teacher salary in Iowa would rise to ,000 per year under bill passed by the House

Starting teachers would be paid a minimum of $47,500 next year and $50,000 the following year under a bill that passed the Iowa House Thursday with bipartisan support.

The bill, House File 2630, also sets aside $14 million to allow schools to pay paraeducators and other school staff a minimum wage of $15 per hour. And it provides $22 million for schools to use to increase experienced teachers’ salaries.

Gov. Kim Reynolds jump-started the conversation about teacher pay when she proposed a $50,000 starting salary for teachers in her Condition of the State address. Under current law, teachers in Iowa make a minimum salary of $33,500.

The bill’s floor manager, Rep. Bill Gustoff, R-Des Moines, said the legislation amounts to “the largest single boost to teacher pay in the history of the state.”

“The bill achieves a significant goal set forth by Gov. Reynolds to move Iowa’s minimum starting teacher salary to $50,000 and I thank her for setting a bold target that will vault Iowa to the top of the list to attract teachers in terms of pay,” Gustoff said.

More: Kim Reynolds proposes in annual speech to boost Iowa teacher pay, overhaul AEAs, cut taxes

Lawmakers voted 92-1 to pass House File 2630, sending it to the Iowa Senate for consideration. Rep. Mark Cisneros, R-Muscatine, was the only no vote.

The bill is part of a larger negotiation between House and Senate Republicans as they seek to reach an agreement over a school funding increase for the upcoming school year as well as a deal to restructure how Iowa’s Area Education Agencies offer special education and other services to students with disabilities and school districts.

The House already passed its version of legislation changing how the AEAs offer services. The Senate was set to take up its own bill on Tuesday, but Republican leadership pulled the measure from the debate calendar at the last minute.

The Senate’s AEA legislation would increase the minimum starting teacher pay go $46,250.

More: Iowa House passes GOP plan to change AEA education services and school contracts

House Democrats praised House Republicans for considering the teacher pay legislation separately, rather than including it in the same bill as the AEA restructuring that Reynolds and Senate Republicans have proposed. Democrats and many education groups have fiercely opposed the AEA changes.

“We are able to send a bipartisan message to the Senate and to the governor to tell them that the House of Representatives is united in support of paying our teachers, paying our educators, paying our paraprofessionals in a way that is nonpoliticized, that is independent and that is good for Iowa kids,” said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights.

Des Moines Register reporter Galen Bacharier contributed reporting.

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 Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

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Iowa

Addy Brown tallies triple-double as Iowa State women beat Norfolk State

Published

5 hours ago

November 16, 2025

Press Room

Addy Brown tallies triple-double as Iowa State women beat Norfolk State

AMES – As Addy Brown reached her outstretched arms over Iowa State teammate Arianna Jackson in the fourth quarter and grabbed her 10th rebound of the game, the Hilton Coliseum fans rose to their feet to cheer and celebrate a historic performance.

Brown’s fourth-quarter rebound was the final thing she needed to tally the Cyclones’ first triple-double in more than a decade. She finished with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists as No. 18 Iowa State rolled to a 98-52 win over Norfolk State on Nov. 16.

The triple-double was Iowa State’s first since Nikki Moody accomplished the feat on Nov. 29, 2014 against Wyoming. Brown, one of Iowa State’s most versatile players, has come within striking distance in the past but couldn’t accomplish the feat until Sunday.

Brown entered the fourth quarter with nine points, 10 assists and eight rebounds. Her teammates quickly made sure she had a shot at history, finding her for a quick basket early in the final frame. Brown then corralled a quick rebound for her ninth of the game.

No. 10 game came with a defensive rebound with 9 minutes and 5 seconds remaining, as she and Jackson went up to grab a miss. Brown, to the excitement of fans, secured it.

Shortly after, Brown checked out of the game to a giant ovation from the fans. Her teammates, waiting for her on the bench, cheered her on as well.

Audi Crooks, who poured in a single-game school record 43 points in Iowa State’s previous game, finished Sunday’s contest with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Crooks was perfect from the field, connecting on all eight of her shot attempts before checking out early in the fourth quarter.

The Cyclones improved to 5-0 for the first time since the 2022-23 season. That team went on to win a Big 12 Conference Tournament title and play in the NCAA Tournament.

But the star of the show was Brown, who connected on 5-of-9 shots from the field in 26 minutes of action. The day was a big one from start to finish for her. It began with Brown being honored prior to the start of the game for reaching the 1,000-point plateau during Iowa State’s previous contest.

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.

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Iowa

USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

Published

23 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

USC survived a dogfight vs. Iowa — now the biggest test of Lincoln Riley’s tenure awaits

LOS ANGELES — As Lincoln Riley walked toward the Coliseum tunnel following USC’s gritty, 26-21 comeback win against 21st-ranked Iowa, he shared an animated embrace with Trojans offensive coordinator Luke Huard.

Riley was more fired up than usual, and understandably so. The Trojans’ physicality and toughness have been questioned ever since he took the job four years ago.

And after USC fell behind by 14 points in the first half — tied for its largest deficit of the season — it demonstrated the sort of toughness and resilience it’s often lacked during Riley’s tenure. The Trojans got off the mat after the Hawkeyes knocked them down in the first half and scored the game’s final 19 points.

fire us up coach 😤‼️ pic.twitter.com/qtLnYt8oyk
— USC Football ✌️ (@uscfb) November 16, 2025
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“Culture win right there, man, if there ever was one,” Riley said.

Now that USC (8-2, 6-1 Big Ten) survived that dogfight, all that awaits is one of the biggest games of Riley’s tenure when USC travels to eighth-ranked Oregon next week. Win and a trip to the College Football Playoff seems likely — in the 80 percent range, according to Austin Mock’s model. Lose, and the season could still be viewed as a positive step forward, if USC finishes 9-3, but that would be four years under Riley without a Playoff appearance.

On Saturday, USC narrowly defeated the same Iowa team that Oregon barely beat the week before. But the Trojans will likely enter next week’s matchup in Eugene — a place where they haven’t won since 2011 — as a considerable underdog.

On Saturday afternoon, the concerns were all on display in the first half. They resided where they usually do under Riley: on defense.

Even though rain was falling throughout the afternoon in the Coliseum, Iowa still felt confident enough to attack USC’s secondary down the field, and it had success early on. That’s with an offense that ranked 133rd nationally in passing yards per game.

Iowa had a good amount of success on the ground, too, finishing with 183 rushing yards and on a 5.5-yard average.

A team like Oregon, balanced on offense, figures to stress USC’s defense in much more significant fashion next weekend.

But give credit to the defense and coordinator D’Anton Lynn for the second-half play. The Trojans shut out Iowa over the final two quarters and have given up just six second-half points over the past three weeks.

It also did that without safeties Kamari Ramsey and Bishop Fitzgerald, who were banged up during the game.

“We just keep coming and we have all year,” Riley said. “That was a big, big time win. Team win. To come back and get that done was a really cool feeling.”

While the defense did its part, the Trojans won this game largely because they have two of the best wide receivers in the country in Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, a pair that applies a ton of pressure on opposing defenses. It’s also the reason this team has a puncher’s chance in every game it plays.

Iowa’s defense is great and entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring (13.7 ppg) and seventh in yards per play allowed (4.3). That’s impressive, but Lemon and Lane rendered those stats meaningless.

Lemon had receptions of 12, 24, 26 and 35 yards in the second half and caught a third-quarter touchdown. Lane had receptions of 10, 12 and 14 yards in the third quarter and drew a 15-yard pass interference penalty in the fourth.

Iowa’s defense didn’t even play that poorly. The Hawkeyes defensive backs were in good position a majority of the time. Lane and Lemon were just better, and that’s what spearheaded the comeback.

Makai Lemon isn’t the biggest dude. Catch radius is pretty small. But if it’s in the radius, it’s his. That matters, too
Kid’s a stud pic.twitter.com/DsxO3IDwgw
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— Trevor Sikkema (@TampaBayTre) November 15, 2025

Lemon finished with 10 receptions (on 11 targets) for 153 yards and a touchdown. Lane had seven for 65 yards. Quarterback Jayden Maiava completed 23 of 32 pass attempts for 254 yards and one touchdown. Most importantly, he protected the football, which will be key against Oregon. USC has committed costly turnovers in its two losses (at Illinois and at Notre Dame) this season.

Running back King Miller added 83 yards on the ground. And there was some good news on the injury front. Waymond Jordan, the team’s No. 1 back, didn’t play but was listed as questionable — a sign of progress after he missed the previous three games with an ankle injury sustained against Michigan.

The status of left tackle Elijah Paige, who left the game in the first half with an undisclosed injury, will be worth monitoring this week. USC’s offensive line was fine in his absence, but Oregon’s defensive front will pose a very difficult challenge.

Next week will be the biggest game USC has played since the 2022 Pac-12 title game in Riley’s first season. That was a Trojan team that overachieved after a 4-8 season the year before. Even though USC lost to Utah in Las Vegas that night, it felt as though the program would have more chances to reach the Playoff in the coming years.

Two massively underwhelming seasons followed and showed just how difficult it might be for USC to get over that hump.

The stakes next week couldn’t be higher. It’s a chance for Riley to make a statement after losing some of his shine the past few years.

Linebacker Eric Gentry is one of the few holdovers from that 2022 team that fell just short of a Playoff trip.

“It’s a one-week season,” Gentry said after beating Iowa. “So it’s win or go home right now, and there (isn’t) a go home. We’ve got to win. I think the whole team is understanding of what the culture is. Just fight to the last second, not in denial or feel like something bad is going to happen. Coach (Riley) said: ‘Don’t hope for (anything). Make it happen.’”

The odds will be against USC next week in Autzen Stadium. But these are the games Riley was brought to Los Angeles to win. Now it’s up to him and the Trojans to finally make it happen.

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