The 2020 Iowa legislative session will be suspended for at least 30 days due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Leaders of the Iowa House and Senate made the announcement late this afternoon. According to a news release, the decision was made to protect older people and those with underlying health … [Read more...]
Partisan debate develops over budget for Iowa prisons
Democrats are urging Republicans in the legislature who control the budgeting process to boost spending for the state's prisons. Over the past two years, spending for the Iowa Department of Corrections has been reduced significantly. "There's a real price that Iowans are paying because of that … [Read more...]
Governor appoints ex-Iowa GOP chair to lead Lottery
Governor Kim Reynolds has appointed a former Iowa Republican Party chairman as the Iowa Lottery's new chief executive. Matt Strawn of Ankeny worked in Washington, D.C. as a congressional aide before serving as the Iowa GOP's chairman for the 2012 Iowa Caucuses. His first day as Lottery CEO is next … [Read more...]
Inmates file lawsuit challenging new prison policy on porn
About five dozen state prison inmates have filed a lawsuit challenging a new policy on pornography inside prison walls. Prisoners had been able to have nude photos and pornographic magazines in their cells. Prison staff sometimes let inmates go in empty rooms to view pornography. A new policy … [Read more...]
Day long public safety forum underway at Mitchellville prison
Iowa Department of Corrections director Jerry Bartruff says the state is facing "new and, in some cases, daunting challenges" when it comes to public safety. "The rise of the opioid crisis, rising violent crimes and arrests in rural areas, disparities in our criminal justice system and an … [Read more...]
Union president: 16 inmates with makeshift weapons in fights that led to prison lockdown
The president of the union that represents prison guards has issued a public statement that reveals more details about a recent lock-down at the state's maximum security prison. AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan said working conditions at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison … [Read more...]
Iowa gov’t policymakers rarely use “cost-benefit” analysis
A new report finds policymakers in Iowa used a "cost-benefit analysis" just five times in a recent four-year period to make budget decisions about state government operations. Gary VanLandingham -- director of what's called the "Results First" Initiative -- says Iowa is among 29 states with a … [Read more...]
Eight maximum security inmates involved in “fights & assaults”
Officials have restricted the movement of inmates at the Iowa State Penitentiary following Monday morning fights inside the walls of the maximum security prison. Prison officials say there were "fights and assaults involving eight" inmates. One of the people in a "Corrections Emergency Response … [Read more...]
Tabled House bill to ban shackling pregnant prisoners
A nurse who is a state legislator says she's satisfied state prison officials have a new policy in place that no longer requires the shackling of a female prisoner during the final trimester of a pregnancy and the delivery of her baby. Representative Linda Miller, a Republican from Bettendorf, says … [Read more...]
New effort tries to keep mentally ill out of prison system
State officials say 30 percent of the inmates in Iowa prisons are "severely mentally ill." Dr. Harbans Deol, the director of medical services for Iowa's nine prisons, says those inmates diagnosed with illnesses like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and depression "take a lot of resources" and … [Read more...]