Jeff Fuhrman

1 month ago | bleedingheartland.com | Clark Kauffman |Laura Belin |Rick Morain |Jeff Fuhrman

Clark Kauffman is deputy editor at Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared. Fourteen bills related to nursing home oversight were introduced in the Iowa Senate this week, although none are expected to win approval. At the beginning of the 2025 session, Senate President Amy Sinclair told Iowa Public Radio she didn’t anticipate any action on nursing home regulation, saying the state was already doing a good job overseeing the industry.

1 month ago | bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Rick Morain |Jeff Fuhrman |Linda Schreiber

Third in a series on the new Iowa law that removed legal protection against discrimination for transgender and nonbinary Iowans, as well as any path for the state to officially recognize their gender identity. Given the choice, most legislators will not cast a potentially career-ending vote—especially when they know the outcome isn’t riding on their decision.

1 month ago | bleedingheartland.com | Rick Morain |Jeff Fuhrman |Laura Belin |Linda Schreiber

Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column. Like many words, “peace” carries a number of meanings. U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy use “peace” to describe two different scenarios. When Trump says peace, he means the absence of physical fighting. He says the goal in Ukraine is to stop the war, which he emphasizes has killed thousands upon thousands of Ukrainians and Russians. That’s a laudable goal.