The Iowa Senate approved a broad education reform bill yesterday on a party-line vote of 26 to 24. Details on Senate File 2284 and the floor debate in the upper chamber are after the jump.

I’ve also included the latest news on efforts to stop Iowa school districts from starting the academic year before September 1. If state lawmakers don’t act on that proposal, Governor Terry Branstad may try to force the issue.

A conference committee of Iowa House and Senate members has yet to determine whether the Iowa legislature will allocate $5 million over two years to rebuild the dam at Lake Delhi in Delaware County. However, it’s already clear that more worthwhile lake restoration projects in Iowa will go without funding next year thanks to money set aside to rebuild the Delhi dam.

A Sioux City jury awarded Republican State Senator Rick Bertrand $231,000 over a television commercial that attacked him shortly before the 2010 general election. It is rare for a defamation case based on political advertising to succeed, for reasons explained below.

UPDATE: Governor Terry Branstad suggested on April 9 that this verdict has got him thinking about suing the Democratic Governors Association over their 2010 campaign materials. Details are at the end of this post.

LATER UPDATE: Incredibly, Bertrand is appealing this verdict in order to seek punitive damages as well as the compensatory damages the jury awarded. More comments below.

Cedar Rapids city officials received good news on two fronts this week: the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved $13.8 million to cover flood damage to the city’s hydroelectric plant in 2008, and the Iowa legislature approved a bill to help local governments fund flood mitigation efforts.

A U.S. District Court judge in Sioux City dismissed a lawsuit challenging a federal rule banning interstate sales of raw milk. However, the verdict contained a silver lining for Iowans who want to buy and drink this unpasteurized product.  

After several hours of delay due to a suspicious powder mailed to State Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, the Iowa House passed a bill last night to ban local governments from using “automated traffic law enforcement systems.” The 58 to 40 vote didn’t follow the usual party lines in the chamber. The bill wouldn’t have passed without some support from House Democrats.

Recreation on Iowa rivers generates enough economic activity to support about 6,350 jobs, according to a new study by Iowa State University’s Center for Agricultural and Rural Development.

Unfortunately, a new report by Environment Iowa indicates that this state’s rivers are among the country’s most polluted waterways.

Follow me after the jump for excerpts from both reports, published last week.

Democratic opponents of a bill designed to promote nuclear power in Iowa have drafted a dozen amendments to House file 561, in case the bill comes up for debate in the Iowa Senate. The bill squeaked through the Iowa Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month. After the jump I’ve posted summaries of the proposed amendments, which would strengthen consumer protections and possibly deter MidAmerican Energy from pursuing a new nuclear reactor project.

Polk County has long been dominated by safe Democratic Iowa House seats in the city of Des Moines and safe Republican seats in the suburbs. One of the few truly competitive recent Iowa House races in this county took place in 2008, when Republican Chris Hagenow defeated Windsor Heights Mayor Jerry Sullivan by fewer than 100 votes in what was then House district 59.

Hagenow was easily re-elected in 2010. For a long time I heard nothing about anyone stepping up to challenge him in the new House district 43, where I live. Earlier this month, Susan Judkins declared her candidacy here. Background on both candidates is after the jump, along with a map and details on the district’s political makeup.

When Iowa House Appropriations Committee Chair Scott Raecker announced plans to retire from the legislature after this year’s session, he created an opening for Democrats in what would have otherwise been a hopeless district. Follow me after the jump for background on the new House district 40 and the two men who will compete to succeed Raecker.

The redistricting process and several Republican retirements have created many pickup opportunities for Iowa House Democrats. The devastating 2010 election left them nowhere to go but up in the lower chamber, where Republicans currently enjoy a 60 to 40 majority. Relatively few sitting House Democrats represent vulnerable districts.

Speaking to activists at the Polk County Democratic convention on March 10, I heard lots of optimism about the House races. After the jump I’ve posted some early thoughts on the seats up for grabs.

In a step forward for small-scale wind power in Iowa, the Iowa Utilities Board designated Johnson County and Floyd County as our state’s first Small Wind Innovation Zones last week.

I’m posting the weekend thread early, because the filing period for primary election candidates in Iowa closed this afternoon. The Secretary of State’s Office posted the full list of candidates here (pdf). John Deeth has been covering the filing on a daily basis all month at his blog. Some highlights from races I’m watching are after the jump.

This is an open thread; all topics welcome.

UPDATE: Gotta agree with Senator Chuck Grassley: the History Channel is useless.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled unanimously today that Governor Terry Branstad impermissibly used his line-item veto to strike language about Iowa Workforce Development field offices without vetoing the money allocated to fund those offices.

UPDATE: Added Branstad’s reaction below as well as statements from Iowa House and Senate Democrats.

A third Democratic candidate has filed nominating papers in the new Iowa Senate district 38. Nick Volk, a bank vice president from Walford (Benton County), will face LaForest Sherman and Shelley Parbs in the June primary. The winner will take on first-term Republican State Senator Tim Kapucian in a swing district. A map is after the jump, along with more background on Volk.

Following up on this post: Des Moines Register Editor Rick Green has announced that the newspaper will publish all of this week’s Doonesbury comic strips in the Sunday Register Opinion section. The paper will also run commentary for and against the Texas ultrasound law, the target of Garry Trudeau’s ridicule.

Iowa is one of five states to receive a failing grade in the U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund’s new report, Following the Money 2012: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data. The full report is here (pdf). I’ve posted highlights and excerpts after the jump.

Republicans saved the day for Iowa Senate Commerce Committee Chair Matt McCoy, providing most of the votes he needed to drag the nuclear energy bill over the line on Tuesday.

NOTE: A third Democrat, Nick Volk, filed nominating papers in this district on March 15.

Shelley Parbs announced today that she will run for Iowa Senate district 38. She is the second declared Democratic candidate in this district; the winner of the June primary will face first-term Republican Tim Kapucian, a Senate minority leader and ranking member of the Transportation Committee. Background on Parbs is after the jump, along with election-related developments in the two Iowa House seats that make up Senate district 38.

Expanding nuclear power is again a hot topic at the Iowa statehouse. It’s not clear whether Iowa Senate Commerce Committee Chair Matt McCoy can find the votes he needs to advance House File 561. McCoy announced last week that new language in the bill would protect consumers and satisfy a majority of his committee members. However, opponents say the changes address only one of many problems in a bill that would primarily benefit MidAmerican Energy at the expense of its ratepayers. McCoy was forced to delay consideration of House File 561 on March 8, but he is expected to bring up the bill before his committee sometime this week–if he has the votes.

Follow me after the jump for analysis on the prospects for passing House File 561 and the merits of the bill.

Governor Terry Branstad’s approval ratings were mediocre during the first year of his fifth term, but the latest Des Moines Register poll by Selzer and Co found that 56 percent of Iowa respondents approve of the job Branstad is doing, while 58 percent have a favorable impression of the governor.

All 40 Iowa House Democrats left the state capitol this morning to protest Republican House leaders’ plans to debate a bill and a proposed constitutional amendment that are among gun advocates’ highest legislative priorities.

UPDATE: Democrats returned late in the day, and I’ve added details below on the House floor debate and passage of both bills the evening of February 29.

The Democratic-controlled Iowa Senate passed two bills today favored by corporate agricultural interest groups. House File 589, the notorious “ag gag” bill, seeks to prevent whistleblowers from reporting alleged abuse at agricultural facilities. Senate File 2172 would reduce the number of sows that confined-animal feeding operations need to report for manure management purposes. Details on the bills and how senators voted are after the jump.

UPDATE: Bypassing normal legislative procedures, the Republican-controlled Iowa House also passed the “ag gag” bill on February 28. Scroll down for details on how the state representatives voted.  

Republicans have recruited a strong candidate for the open Iowa House district 14, which covers most of Sioux City’s west side, part of the north side and some of the downtown neighborhood.

A majority of Iowans oppose a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, according to the Des Moines Register’s latest statewide poll.

Northeast Iowa contains a large number of potentially competitive Iowa House and Senate seats. The field is now set in the new House district 56, where a first-term Republican will face a Democratic challenger with a similar background.

The Iowa Supreme Court held an unusual evening session on February 21 to hear oral arguments in Governor Terry Branstad’s appeal of a district court ruling that declared two of his line-item vetoes illegal.

The Des Moines Register’s latest statewide poll conducted by Selzer & Co included more than a dozen questions about issues Iowa legislators are considering this session. Proposals to raise the gasoline tax and allow a large utility company to bill its customers up front for a nuclear power plant were among the most unpopular ideas polled.

The list of potentially competitive Iowa House districts without a Democratic candidate shrank yesterday when the chair of the Muscatine Community College Business Department, John Dabeet, announced that he’ll stand in the new Iowa House district 91.

A recent DMR article highlighted the growing scam of for-profit corporations using tax dollars to provide substandard education via online learning.

Two companies are advertising on television in Iowa to have parents sign up their children for “free” online education (at public expense.) The companies, K12 Inc, and the Iowa Connections Academy, are exploiting a loophole in Iowa's open enrollment law. Two small school districts have signed agreements with the companies. Parents from anywhere in the state can open-enroll their children to one of those districts. The districts then will turn in their enrollment to the state and receive state money as if the students were enrolled full time in the district. Ninety-seven percent of the state money is then passed along to the companies. The students will receive 100% of their “education” online. 

What a week for marriage. Washington Governor Chris Gregoire signed an equality bill on Monday. The Maryland House of Delegates passed an equality bill today despite the defection of a Democrat once thought to be a supporter. The Maryland Senate has already voted for marriage in the past, so the path is clear to Governor Martin O’ Malley’s desk. He will sign the bill. Opponents of same-sex marriage will probably get initiatives to overturn the Maryland and Washington laws on the November ballot, but supporters of equality have a decent chance of winning those battles.

The New Jersey legislature also approved a marriage equality bill this week, but Governor Chris Christie vetoed it today. In effect, he flushed his legacy down the toilet in order to preserve a shot at becoming the Republican presidential nominee someday. It’s sad when an official puts his own career before the rights of thousands of constituents, but that’s politics.

In Washington, New Jersey, and Maryland, a handful of Republicans stepped up to vote for the marriage bills. The same was true when New York’s legislature passed its equality bill in June. Sadly, not a single Republican in the Iowa legislature has the guts to speak for marriage rights. I will not be surprised if a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage ends up on the 2016 general election ballot in Iowa.

Any relevant thoughts are welcome in this thread.

MARCH 16 UPDATE: Republican Elliott Henderson of Independence qualified for the ballot on the last day of the filing period. Bleeding Heartland will discuss his campaign in a future post.

State Senator Brian Schoenjahn confirmed today that he is running for re-election in the new Senate district 32. This politically balanced seat is a must-win for Democrats hoping to retain their majority in the upper chamber. With barely a month to go before the filing deadline for state legislative candidates, Republicans do not yet have a challenger in this district.

It’s been years since a pro-choice moderate Republican represented any Iowa House and Senate district in the Des Moines suburbs. In this June’s GOP primary in Senate district 22, we’ll find out whether a mainstream Republican stands a chance against a loud voice on the party’s social conservative wing.

Iowa Senate Democrats received unwelcome news from Marshalltown yesterday when former Republican State Senator Larry McKibben announced that he will run in the new Iowa Senate district 36 this year. McKibben’s decision makes this seat a tougher hold for first-term Democratic incumbent Steve Sodders.

Iowa Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair Joe Bolkcom took to the Senate floor today with a clear message for Iowa House Republicans and Governor Terry Branstad: “no tax cut will pass the Senate Ways and Means Committee” until an expansion of Iowa’s earned income tax credit has been signed into law.

Our Secretary of State still wants to see your ID. Make that a photo ID with an expiration date on it, please, so your Iowa State student ID card will not suffice.  

You need it unless you vote absentee, or get someone to swear you are really you, or swear it yourself if you are in a nursing home and can't vote like other absentee voters. Or unless you have a religious objection or swear you are indigent. In those last two cases we break out the dreaded provisional ballots again.

With that many loopholes his new bill offers way more inconvenience, hassle, confusion, and expense for the state than it offers security for already honest elections.

MARCH 16 UPDATE: Rasmussen did not file for re-election. The Republican candidate in this district is Jim Givant; Bleeding Heartland will cover his campaign in a future post.

Iowa’s new map of political boundaries created a large number of competitive House and Senate districts in the northeast part of the state. Yesterday Democrat Bruce Bearinger announced his candidacy in the new House district 64, now represented by Republican Dan Rasmussen. A district map and background on both candidates are after the jump.

Governor Terry Branstad struck a blow against what he considers overly burdensome business regulations today. He moved to help farmers regain an exemption from having electrical work inspected.

UPDATE: Added language from Iowa Code below. I don’t see how it supports Branstad’s argument.

Republican State Senator Merlin Bartz confirmed this week that he will run for re-election in the new Iowa Senate district 26. His race against Democratic incumbent Mary Jo Wilhelm is probably a must-win for Senate Democrats in order to preserve their majority. After the jump I’ve posted a district map. Bleeding Heartland previewed the Bartz/Wilhelm matchup here.

Bartz has given Iowa progressives plenty of reasons to want him gone, from encouraging county recorders to ignore a Supreme Court ruling to trying to block the most significant water quality regulations of the last decade. Bartz’s record is so bad that even learning he “has performed for over 35 years in north and northeast Iowa with various dance bands” didn’t give me any sympathy for the guy. Democrats who live within striking distance of Worth, Mitchell, Floyd, Howard, Chickasaw, Cerro Gordo, or Winneshiek counties have a golden volunteer opportunity here.

P.S. to the Des Moines Register’s editorial staff: that last link was to William Petroski’s blog post. I liked the dance band detail. When you read something interesting on a blog, it won’t kill you to link to it. I mention this because your January 15 comment on Bartz’s crusade against “obsolete” laws reads a lot like Bleeding Heartland’s post from January 10.  

A new report underscores how badly Iowa lawmakers screwed up when they missed the chance in 2010 to enact reasonable regulations on “legalized usury,” more commonly known as payday lending.