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Iowa lawmakers consider creating independent charter schools, Gov. Reynolds and her husband have gotten their COVID-19 vaccines, and the University of Iowa is still accepting public comment on proposals to reimagine campus policing and safety, but only until Friday.

Food processing workers at Tyson plants in Waterloo and Perry will get their COVID-19 vaccines later today. Lawmakers in Des Moines are advancing Gov. Reynold’s school choice priorities. And police in Ankeny says it was a live pipe bomb that closed a rental facility where voting was underway for a school district special election yesterday. The location was evacuated for two hours. Officials say they don’t know yet how long the device had been there.

Iowa will receive more than 25,000 doses of the single-dose Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. It was granted emergency authorization by the FDA on Sunday. At the statehouse, Republicans on an Iowa House panel advanced a bill Monday that would allow Iowans to acquire or carry handguns without a permit. Plus, IPR’s Kassidy Arena reports on mobile home residents are asking Iowa lawmakers to approve a bill that would offer them more protections from some forms of eviction and rent increases.

Experts say increased financial pressure from the COVID-19 pandemic has put farmers at a higher risk for mental health challenges. Meatpacking plants across the country have struggled to contain coronavirus outbreaks. We hear a report from Harvest Public Media about how some meat plant workers could end up waiting months for their turn to get vaccinated. Plus, IPR’s State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric talks about some of the big issues that are under consideration in the Iowa legislature this week, including the wide-ranging election bill that awaits Governor Kim Reynolds’s signature.

Essential workers and Iowans with disabilities will start getting the COVID-19 vaccines in early March. That’s according to Governor Kim Reynolds who says she expects 70 percent of Iowans currently eligible for a vaccine to have received at least one dose by mid-March. At the statehouse, lawmakers on an Iowa House panel have advanced an education bill that includes some proposals favored by the governor but leaves out others. Plus, IPR’s Katie Peikes reports on questions about how carbon markets fit into the larger picture of reducing greenhouse gases and we finish listening back to IPR’s series on systemic racism which first aired in December 2020.

A bill that would give Iowans less time to vote is on its way to Governor Kim Reynolds’s desk for final approval. House Republicans passed the wide-ranging election bill Wednesday night. U.S. Representative Cindy Axne of West Des Moines says Governor Reynolds needs to step up and get a centralized coronavirus vaccine system in place in the state. Plus, there are dozens of Latino children who have needed foster care in Iowa, but only about 12 Latino foster families in the state. IPR’s Kassidy Arena reports on efforts underway to increase that number.

Iowa Senate Republicans have passed a bill that cuts the time allowed for voting by mail, early in-person voting, and Election Day voting. A Senate panel has also advanced a bill that would make it easier to remove school board members if they act against state law and school superintendents would be subject to stricter discipline by their licensing board. The proposal would retroactively apply to Des Moines Public Schools. Plus, IPR’s Clay Masters takes a look at GOP-backed bills in the Iowa legislature that would ban tenure at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa.

A majority of people opposed a bill at an Iowa legislative public hearing on Monday that would shorten the early voting period and make other changes to state election laws. Republicans who have control of the legislature plan to send the bill to Governor Kim Reynolds. IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs explains how weeks into phase 1B of the state’s coronavirus vaccine rollout, some are worried the state’s most vulnerable residents are being left behind. Plus, we continue listening back to IPR’s series on systemic racism in Iowa.

A fast tracked and wide-ranging election bill that would change early voting rules in Iowa will get a public hearing Monday evening at the Iowa statehouse. Warmer temperatures will move into the state this week after a month full of bitter cold temperatures. Plus, we get an update on what’s going on in the Iowa legislature with IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric and continue our listen back to IPR’s series on systemic racism in Iowa with a focus on the challenges that face Black farmers.

House and Senate Republicans in the Iowa legislature are fast-tracking a bill that would shorten Iowa’s early voting period. The Iowa House has passed a $27 million funding package for schools to cover COVID-19 related costs. The money would be available to all districts, but schools that spent the most time in-person would receive the largest share of funding. Plus, we start listening back to the IPR series on systemic racism that aired in December 2020. IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs discusses the deep disparities in the experience white and Black Iowans have in the health care system.

State officials have announced they are changing the way they calculate the state’s COVID-19 percent positivity rate, which will cause the rate to drop. Governor Kim Reynolds announced the state will not move forward with plans to contract with Microsoft to build a centralized COVID-19 vaccine registration system. She also has a bill approved by the legislature on her desk that would increase funding for PreK-12 schools next year by 2.4 percent. Plus, Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have advanced bills to shorten Iowa’s early and mail voting period from 29 days to 18 days. IPR’s State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric explains the proposals also bans county election officials from sending out ballot request applications.

Five counties in Iowa where health officials thought they were not going to get COVID-19 vaccines will get them this week after all. That's according to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds who made the announcement on Tuesday. A bill in the Iowa legislature is advancing that would prohibit employers and schools from making decisions based on a person’s vaccination history. Plus, IPR’s Kassidy Arena reports on an Iowa woman who is trying to alleviate some of the physical and emotional stress brought on by the pandemic by leading a yoga class in Spanish.

Power cooperatives in western Iowa are warning residents there may be rolling blackouts in that part of the state Tuesday because of increased power demand during extreme frigid temperatures. State officials say they have made no changes to their decision to pause COVID-19 vaccine deliveries for five counties that didn’t meet the state’s new 80 percent administration threshold. IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs tells us that’s causing confusion. Plus, Governor Kim Reynolds is backing a bill that would create scholarships that families could spend on private school. IPR’s Grant Gerlock introduces us to perspectives on the school choice debate in Iowa.

Starting Monday, K-12 schools in Iowa must offer 100 percent in-person instruction for families that want it, although frigid temperatures have put off the first day for some districts. That includes Des Moines Public Schools which is taking a virtual day for the weather, but IPR’s Grant Gerlock tells us around 20,000 students will return fully in-person this week. Iowa’s U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are among the 43 Republicans who voted this weekend to acquit former President Donald Trump of inciting the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Plus, IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric discusses the week ahead in the Iowa legislature.

Republicans in the Iowa House and Senate have reached an agreement to increase state aid to schools funding by 2.4 percent. That’s about the same percentage as last year, but it’s a smaller dollar increase. Governor Reynolds toured a new mental health access center in Iowa City on Thursday that’s meant to provide care for people in crisis who are too often taken to emergency rooms or jails. It will start offering its services on Monday. Plus, IPR’s Health reporter Natalie Krebs gives us an update about the COVID-19 pandemic in Iowa.

Iowa officials say the state is in the process of building a centralized database for Iowans to register for a COVID-19 vaccination. At the statehouse, Republican senators have advanced a bill directing Iowa schools to require students to only use bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth. Advocates for transgender students say this bill would lead to more bullying and harassment and would make school bathrooms less safe. Plus, IPR’s Kate Payne tells us 70 percent of the public tree canopy in Cedar Rapids was lost from the derecho that hit Iowa in August and the city is now advancing a plan to regrow its urban forest.

The Iowa Senate has passed a 2.2 percent increase in state funding for K-12 schools. That’s lower than what Governor Kim Reynolds requested and what the Iowa House proposed. The Cedar Rapids City Council gave final approval to the creation of a citizen review board on Tuesday establishing a new oversight panel of the city’s police officers. Plus, IPR’s Kassidy Arena introduces us to a small group of people in Des Moines who are working to make sure elderly individuals are staying safe during the pandemic while not losing out on cultural traditions.

Iowa Democrats say they heard Republican Governor Kim Reynolds did not consult the state department of health before removing the state’s partial mask mandate this weekend and her office is not denying it. School funding is moving ahead in the Iowa legislature but with side effects thanks to a drop in enrollment because of the pandemic. Plus, IPR’s Charity Nebbe remembers newspaper columnist, author and broadcaster Evelyn Birkby of Sidney, Iowa. She died at the age of 101 on Sunday. Nebbe says Birkby was a trailblazer and an inspiration to many in Iowa and beyond.

Governor Kim Reynolds has lifted her very limited mask mandate and removed restrictions for businesses and social gatherings. These moves were made in an effort to lessen the spread of coronavirus in the state. The presidents of the Iowa's three regents universities are pushing back against Republicans in the legislature who want to end tenure systems at Iowa State University, the University of Iowa and the University of Northern Iowa. Plus, a check in with IPR State Government reporter Katarina Sostaric to discuss what happened last week in the Iowa legislature and what to expect with education spending decisions this week.

Governor Kim Reynolds says state officials are looking into why Iowa has one of the lowest vaccination rates per capita in the country. The state has started vaccinating those in phase 1b this week, but IPR Health reporter Natalie Krebs tells us that it’s creating big challenges for local health departments, especially in rural areas. Plus, we’ll hear from educators and families as they prepare for fully in-person school on February 15th even as safety fears persist amidst the pandemic.