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Feb 26, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Nancy Dugan |Laura Belin |Bonnie Ewoldt |Connie Ryan
Nancy Dugan lives in Altoona, Iowa and has worked as an online editor for the past 12 years. North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum announced in July 2022 that the Cavalier County Job Development Authority (CCJDA) had “executed binding agreements for international data center developer Bitzero Blockchain Inc. to acquire and redevelop the historic Stanley R.
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Feb 25, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Bonnie Ewoldt |Connie Ryan |Rick Morain
Following two days of contentious debate in the Iowa Senate, the chamber’s calendar for Wednesday, February 21 appeared to be stacked with non-controversial bills.
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Feb 24, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Bonnie Ewoldt |Laura Belin |Connie Ryan |Rick Morain
Bonnie Ewoldt is a Milford resident and Crawford County landowner. The Iowa House is considering a bill designed to combat “organized retail theft” of property from stores. Lawmakers supporting the measure said they wanted to deter looting, which has happened in some U.S. cities. Law enforcement has not always intervened. Iowans may naively think such lawlessness cannot happen here. But it can—and it is.
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Feb 23, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Connie Ryan |Rick Morain |Heather Sievers
Photo of Davenport skyline is by WeaponizingArchitecture and available via Wikimedia CommonsThe Iowa House has overwhelmingly passed a bill designed to improve local government compliance with the state’s open meetings and open records laws. House File 2539, approved by 92 votes to 2 on February 22, would increase fines for members of a local government body who participated in an open meetings violation, from the current range of $100 to $500 to a range of $500 to $2,500.
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Feb 23, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Connie Ryan |Laura Belin |Rick Morain |Heather Sievers
Connie Ryan is Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and Action Fund. She first published a version of this essay in the Des Moines Register. Religious freedom is one of our country’s most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is also already protected through the First Amendment to the U.S Constitution as well as Article I, Section 3 of our state’s constitution. The rule of law is also important.
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Feb 22, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Connie Ryan |Laura Belin
Posts 3 Comments 0 Activists twist religious freedom laws to enable discrimination Friday, Feb 23 2024 Connie Ryan 2 Comments Connie Ryan is Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and Action Fund. She first published a version of this essay in the Des Moines Register. Religious freedom is one of our country’s most fundamental rights.
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Feb 21, 2024 | 
desmoinesregister.com | Connie Ryan
Connie Ryan is executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. Religious freedom is one of our country’s most fundamental rights. Religious freedom is also already protected through the First Amendment as well as our state’s constitution. Also important is the rule of law. Religious exemptions (commonly referred to as RFRA) has been passed by Iowa Senate Republicans. There are major concerns with the legislation, even among some Republicans.
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Jan 5, 2024 | 
desmoinesregister.com | Connie Ryan
Connie Ryan is executive director of Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. It all seems trite. Empty. Meaningless. Repetitive. Redundant. We all sincerely and somberly send our thoughts and prayers to the families, educators, and community of Perry. We say, “Enough is enough.” We know that schools should be safe places to learn and thrive. We wonder when we — our society — will ever learn. We’ve all said the words. All of them. Too many times. Too many years. We want to place blame.
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Dec 14, 2023 | 
desmoinesregister.com | Connie Ryan
Connie Ryan is executive director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa. Iowans are a people who value our freedoms. There are many freedoms protected by the Constitution, but two that are perhaps the most cherished are that of religious freedom and freedom of speech. Gov. Kim Reynolds has a responsibility and a role to protect every freedom guaranteed for all people — regardless of her personal opinion. As an elected official, she took an oath to protect those freedoms for every person.
