Zachary Oren Smith

1 week ago | iowastartingline.com | Zachary Oren Smith

Planned Parenthood announced this month it is closing four clinics in Iowa, news that comes as Republicans nationally are preparing to defund the major provider of reproductive health services like sexually transmitted infection screenings and birth control. In April, the Trump administration froze $2.8 million in federal Title X funds that helped clinics like those operating in Iowa to provide birth control and cancer screenings.

1 week ago | iowastartingline.com | Zachary Oren Smith

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill last week aiming to put limits on cryptocurrency ATMs that law enforcement says are increasingly susceptible to scams. These ATMs are physical kiosks that facilitate the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum, and offer an experience not unlike a traditional bank ATM. Users can initiate transactions with a debit card or even insert cash. However, they are also being used by scammers to part customers from their money.

2 weeks ago | iowastartingline.com | Zachary Oren Smith

Republicans in the US House of Representatives spent the week before Memorial Day pushing through a sweeping tax and spending package. It’s a major victory for President Donald Trump, containing a slew of tax cuts, a larger State and Local Tax (SALT) tax deduction, serious cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and new spending for immigration. As it heads to the US Senate, the bill is already raising the alarm among both parties.

2 weeks ago | iowastartingline.com | Sky Chadde |Zachary Oren Smith

Illustration by Lauren Cross/Investigate Midwest [Editor’s Note: This investigation is republished with permission from Investigate Midwest. Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom.

2 weeks ago | iowastartingline.com | Zachary Oren Smith

House Republicans passed a massive budget bill early Thursday morning that would slash federal funding for Medicaid and food assistance programs while extending tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of Iowans who rely on these safety net programs. The legislation — dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — passed the House 215-214  after a week of intense negotiations.