Randy Richardson

Jan 23, 2025 | bleedingheartland.com | Rick Morain |Randy Richardson |Randy Evans |Laura Belin

Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column. A recent Iowa Court of Appeals decision could substantially change how Iowa’s local government bodies—including county supervisors, city councils, and school boards—conduct meetings. The decision centers on the legitimacy of closed sessions by those public bodies. The law at issue is Iowa Code Section 21.5(1)(i), part of the state’s open meetings law.

Jan 23, 2025 | bleedingheartland.com | Randy Richardson |Randy Evans |Laura Belin |John Kearney

Randy Richardson is a former educator and retired associate executive director of the Iowa State Education Association. At long last the Iowa Department of Education released school enrollment numbers for the current school year on January 17. Public school enrollment took another dip this year as a total of 480,665 students attended Iowa schools. That’s a decrease of 3033.3 students from the previous year. Private schools, however, continued their growth with a total of 39,356 students.

Feb 4, 2024 | bleedingheartland.com | Gerald Ott |Linda Schreiber |Laura Belin |Randy Richardson

Gerald Ott of Ankeny was a high school English teacher and for 30 years a school improvement consultant for the Iowa State Education Association. Want to be called a “groomer”? Try reading a library book like Teach Her a Lesson, a new thriller by attorney Kate Flora. Flora “peels back the horror of a teacher being falsely accused by a student of initiating a long-standing sexual relationship.” So says reviewer Frank O Smith. It would seem a book only for teachers and parents, but it’s not.

Feb 4, 2024 | bleedingheartland.com | Linda Schreiber |Laura Belin |Randy Richardson |Rick Morain

Linda Schreiber is a member of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County. Water pollution, flooding and drought, soil erosion, and extreme weather events are grabbing increasing attention across Iowa. What’s going on – and what can we do about it?

Feb 2, 2024 | bleedingheartland.com | Randy Richardson |Rick Morain |David P. Tilly |Nick Covington

Randy Richardson is a former educator and retired associate executive director of the Iowa State Education Association. On January 26, a month later than planned, the Iowa Department of Education released a summary of the annual certified enrollment numbers for Iowa’s public and private K-12 schools. The agency’s news release also provided our first look at the impact “education savings accounts” (also known as school vouchers) have had on public school enrollment across Iowa.