Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“There are a lot of very good laws on the books. The problem is that nobody knows how to enforce them, including district attorneys, and enforcement varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, even within the same state.” — Renée Williams, CEO of the National Center for Victims of Crime, on various state sexual assault laws addressing whether an intoxicated person is legally capable of consenting to sex.
A former inmate at the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women in Mitchellville is suing the state's Department of Corrections over her alleged sexual exploitation by a prison counselor. (Photo courtesy Iowa Department of Corrections)
A former Iowa prison inmate is suing the state’s Department of Corrections over her alleged sexual exploitation by a prison counselor.
A woman identified in court records only as “Jane Doe” is suing the State of Iowa, the Iowa Department of Corrections, the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women, and DOC counselor Joseph L. Whitlow in Polk County District Court.
USDA announced more than $12.9 million in grant and loans going to rural cooperatives to support rural hospitals, community centers, manufacturing and agriculture. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Healthcare, manufacturing and community projects in rural Iowa are set to receive millions in loan and grant funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development office.
USDA announced investments of more than $12.9 million in Iowa cooperatives to help support their pass-through and revolving loan funds.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating a manure discharge in Cherokee County that reached a tributary of Mill Creek
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators.
President Donald Trump this week will journey out West in an effort to galvanize support for Republican candidates three weeks before the midterm elections and convince voters to support his party amid low presidential approval ratings.
Democratic leaders in the U.S. House condemned a “deeply disturbing” raid early Monday at the District of Columbia home of Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Minnesota Democrat who has long been a target of verbal attacks by President Donald Trump and Republicans.
A former Cornell University student’s allegations of gang rape in 2024 have renewed attention on a difficult area of sexual assault law. Stateline reports.
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