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

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


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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.

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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

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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.

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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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Semi-truck crash causes Iowa power outage impacting hundreds

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Semi-truck crash causes Iowa power outage impacting hundreds


A pair of power outages left more than 700 people without power in Tama County Friday afternoon.

Alliant Energy says the larger outage, just north of Garwin, was caused by a semi-truck striking one of their power poles. That outages impacted 690 customers as of 5 p.m. Friday.

The smaller outage impacted roughly 36 people in Tama. The outage was caused by equipment needing repairs.

Alliant says crews are on site and working to fix both outages.

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Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81

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Iowa Great Lakes businessman Butch Parks dies at 81


SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.

He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.

Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.

Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.

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Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.



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Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare

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Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare


AURELIA, Iowa (KTIV) – A Northwest Iowa woman is facing charges of harassment and pandering for prostitution after two incidents took place in December 2025.

Forty-seven-year-old Kristal Miller of Odebolt was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and faces three charges: one count of pandering for prostitution and two counts of first-degree harassment, according to court documents.

Kristal Miller(Cherokee County Jail)

The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place on Thursday, Dec. 18. 2025.

According to court documents, at 6:15 a.m., Miller reportedly went to the Casey’s General Store, located at 100 Pearl St. in Aurelia. Documents state Miller approached an employee and customers, requesting money from them.

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Authorities state Miller claimed she was wanted by the FBI and told people, if anyone called the police, “she would kill them.”

During this encounter, she also allegedly asked an employee to remove the string from her hooded sweatshirt. Documents state when the employee refused this request, she threatened to strangle them.

That same day at 7 a.m., Miller reportedly approached a female employee outside an Aurelia daycare and asked them for money.

Court documents stated Miller suggested the unnamed employee leave her boyfriend. Miller reportedly told the employee, if she did, then she and Miller would both be paid.

Authorities say when she was told no by the employee, Miller became upset and started yelling at them.

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Miller also allegedly threatened to “steal her car” and ”take her away to her guys to start a new life.”

She was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a cash-only bond of $5,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Cherokee for Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.

Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.



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