Iowa

What is Iowa City’s Charter Review Commission and what can it do?

Published

1 year ago

February 27, 2024

What is Iowa City’s Charter Review Commission and what can it do?

Iowa City’s governmental structure is up for a performance review.

Iowa City’s Charter Review Commission examines the city’s charter every 10 years, the guiding principles that establish the specific details of Iowa City’s government.

The minimum nine-person commission includes six women and three men, many of whom hold or have held roles in city government or area organizations.

The members begin their terms on April 1 and have no more than one year to review and suggest alterations to the city charter.

What is the Home Rule Charter

The Home Rule Charter is essentially the city’s constitution, which establishes the powers of city officials and guiding principles of its city operation, from elections, boards and commissions, council and more. The document begins with a direct statement: “This city has all powers possible under the constitution and laws of this state.”

Iowa City residents voted to approve the current form of local government in 1973 and it went into effect with a 1976 ordinance. Read the full document at https://www.icgov.org/government/city-charter.

Who is on this edition of the review commission?

The commission members appointed by the city are:

John Balmer, a former Iowa City councilor and Chair of the first Charter Review Commission in 1984
Susan Craig, the former director of the Iowa City Public Library and League of Women Voters member
John Deeth, an employee of the Johnson County Auditor with several decades of experience working elections
Gerene Denning, the former chair of the Johnson County Democratic Party
Mackenzie DeRoo, the senior director of advocacy for Greater Iowa City, Inc.
Molly Kucera, associate director of the University of Iowa Health Care’s ambulatory surgery center
Bijou Maliabo, a funeral assistant and board member for the Center for Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa
Jennifer Patel, the voter registration coordinator for the League of Women Voters
Andre Wright, an activist and the founder of the Wright House of Fashion

The council opted against adhering to a gender balance standard, as is common practice on many of the city’s boards and commissions. Councilor Megan Alter spurred that effort. The last two charter commissions, established in 2014 and 2004, had a five-to-four gender balance between men and women though Alter indicated that had not typically been the case through the years.

State law also mandates a gender balance on several boards and commissions required by the state, but that does not apply to the charter commission, a relatively unique board in the state of Iowa.

The role of the Charter Review Commission

The charter has been amended in relatively small ways over the years, with one significant change in 2024.

Some commission members indicated they would be open to altering the city’s ruling body and the mayoral election, according to interview notes taken by Councilor Andrew Dunn.

Currently, the mayor is selected by a council vote after winning an election to one of the council seats. Some commissioners said they’d heard or personally objected to the current process because a public vote does not decide the mayor.

Others referenced how districts elect council members and suggested changing the charter to ensure that only voters in specific council districts could vote for the candidates for that seat. Currently, the entire city elects the three district-specific seats.

The commission’s first meeting is expected to be held in the spring.

Any structural changes must be presented for public input and approved by the city council by spring 2025.

Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01.

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Iowa

State Historical Museum of Iowa unveils new signs to improve accessibility

Published

16 hours ago

May 18, 2025

Press Room

State Historical Museum of Iowa unveils new signs to improve accessibility

DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – A new feature at the State Historical Museum of Iowa in Des Moines debuted this weekend.

NaviLens launched on Saturday after two years of planning.

More than 500 codes are spread across the museum’s first floor. It’s designed to make exhibits more accessible for Iowans.

One version of the app is for those who have low vision or are blind.

It’s easy to use. The app is constantly scanning for codes

The idea of NaviLens started in Lindsay Keast’s kitchen when she saw a colorful code on a cereal box.

”I thought, why not bring that into a museum so that people can navigate the space?” said Keast, with the State Historical Museum of Iowa.

”I can sum that up just in one word, which would be independence. By having the NaviLens tags throughout the exhibits means that I can come to the historical society and go through an exhibit on my own,” said Bettina Dolinsek, State Historical Museum of Iowa Accessibility Consultant.

The app also includes descriptions of objects around the museum, things like stairs and elevators.

Museum staff hope to expand NaviLens to the entire space. It’s also a yearly subscription for the service and they’re already fundraising for those efforts.

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Iowa

Iowa baseball falls in Big Ten title quest with third-straight loss to Oregon

Published

1 day ago

May 17, 2025

Press Room

Iowa baseball falls in Big Ten title quest with third-straight loss to Oregon

IOWA CITY — The Iowa baseball team closed out its regular season against Oregon with the Big Ten Conference championship at stake, its first taste of a season championship since 1990.

The Hawkeyes had dropped two of their first three games to the fifth-ranked Ducks in a three-game series. In Game 1, the Hawkeyes dropped a 10-0 shutout to the Ducks in seven innings on May 15. In Game 2, they lost 9-6 after they held a 6-2 lead through five innings on May 16.

Iowa had one final chance to be on the right side of history in Game 3. It was a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten title race between Iowa, Oregon and UCLA entering the regular-season finale on May 17.

Ultimately, the Hawkeyes had its 35-year drought extended with a 13-4 home loss to the Ducks. Iowa fell to 21-9 in Big Ten play while Oregon improved to 22-8.

The Ducks clinched at least a share of the Big Ten crown with a win over the Hawkeyes. UCLA plays later in the afternoon against Northwestern and a Bruins win would give them a piece of the conference title.

“(Oregon) was locked in and had been playing their best baseball of the year the last 12-15 games,” said Iowa coach Rick Heller. “We knew the challenge and we knew exactly how we had to attack but we just gave them too much to have any chance of beating a team that good.”

Leadoff hitter Reese Moore got on base after he was hit by a pitch. He beat the catcher to steal second before a wild pitch put him at third base. A groundout by Caleb Wulf plated the Iowa sophomore to give the Hawkeyes an early 1-0 lead in the opening frame.

With Iowa right-hander Reece Beuter on the mound, Oregon’s Carter Garate blasted a homer that traveled 453 feet and cleared the right-field wall. Beuter, who entered with a 6-0 record, allowed a walk on the ensuing at-bat before a lineout ended his afternoon.

Through 2 ⅔ innings, Beuter faced 11 batters and gave up just one hit and one home run over 42 pitches.

Reminiscent of their loss on May 16, Iowa’s pitching became an Achilles heel and put them in a bind. Senior lefty Ben DeTaeye, who replaced Beuter, allowed Oregon’s Drew Smith to walk to first base before a sacrifice bunt and ensuing groundout put the Ducks in scoring position. DeTaeye walked Chase Meggers before he yielded an RBI double to Ryan Cooney that gave Oregon a 2-1 advantage. An ensuing bunt by Garate drove in a run and increased Iowa’s deficit, 3-1.

After Oregon’s Dominic Hellman walked to first, Jacob Walsh hit a double that sliced down the left field line with no outs in the fifth inning. Iowa righty Daniel Wright stepped in to pitch, but the Ducks managed to load the bases and put another run on the board. The senior Hawkeye faced a bases-loaded jam after he allowed a walk before a groundout drove in another score and made it a 4-1 game.

An ensuing walk reloaded the bases, but a double play by Iowa’s infield limited the damage.

“Pretty much the entire bullpen just gave it up today and I think we had eight or nine walks. You have no shot at beating that team if you’re going to walk nine guys,” Heller said. “We felt like we were going to have to score some runs, and we could today, but we didn’t early. We hit some balls and didn’t get rewarded and then we did some dumb stuff that cost us on the bases.”

The Hawkeyes (32-20-1) couldn’t string together runs, and the Ducks made them pay at the plate. Cooney cranked a solo homer in the sixth inning which prompted a change to junior righty Anthony Watts. But that didn’t matter. The Ducks plated two more runs with a Walsh homer that sailed past the right-field wall. The blast extended the gap, 8-1.

All the while, Oregon right-hander Jason Reitz limited Iowa’s offense. The junior righty, who boasted a 4-0 mark entering Game 3, earned four strikeouts and gave up just one run through 5 ⅔ innings of work.

Iowa’s Andy Nelson managed to narrow the deficit, 8-2, in the seventh frame with his sixth home run of the season, but the Ducks countered with a Hellman homer in the eighth inning.

The Hawkeyes managed to plate a pair of runs after loading the bases in the eighth frame, but Oregon secured a four-run stretch in the ninth inning. Iowa went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine runners on base.

“It hurts that we weren’t able to get it done, especially at home for our fans who really came out and supported us and disappointed they didn’t get to see us celebrate a championship,” Heller said. “But for this team to be where they’re at is pretty impressive and the great thing is it’s not the end. It feels like it now but it’s not the end of the season.

“We have a chance to regroup and hopefully find ourselves and get back to who we are and go down to Omaha (Nebraska) and try to play good baseball again.”

Iowa’s attention will now shift to the Big Ten Tournament in Omaha, which will begin on May 20.

Marc Ray is the high school sports reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. He can be reached at MARay@gannett.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.

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