Page 15 - Ras Smith News Today

Iowa House sends bill raising penalties for protest-related crimes to Gov. Kim Reynolds Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register Gov. Reynolds will introduce a bill to protect law enforcement and ban racial profiling What to watch next Replay Video UP NEXT A bill that would give police officers stronger immunity from lawsuits and increase the penalties for some protest-related offenses is headed to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds desk. The Iowa House of Representatives gave final passage to...

Iowa House sends bill raising penalties for protest-related crimes to Gov. Kim Reynolds Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register Gov. Reynolds will introduce a bill to protect law enforcement and ban racial profiling What to watch next Replay Video UP NEXT A bill that would give police officers stronger immunity from lawsuits and increase the penalties for some protest-related offenses is headed to Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds desk. The Iowa House of Representatives gave final passage to...

Black Lives Matter protesters in Iowa found a calling last summer — and faced consequences Tyler Kingkade © Provided by NBC News Matè Muhammad said he knew something big was rising: As protests unfurled across the country following George Floyds murder last May, hundreds of people were also flooding the streets of Des Moines, Iowa, his hometown. From Chicago, where he lived at the time, Muhammad watched livefeeds of protesters in Des Moines squaring off against police in ri...

Des Moines Register Not even Deb Scholten is immune to the political speculation swirling around potential 2022 candidates like her son J.D. “Dad thinks you are going to run for Senate. Are you?” she texted him recently, getting right to the point. J.D. Scholten, a Democrat who lost to Republican Randy Feenstra in the 2020 4th District congressional race, tweeted a screenshot of the text with a facepalm emoji.  Its not that hes not thinking about it. Its just that hes trying to keep his o...

Listeners from around Iowa also called or emailed their thoughts about what these guilty verdicts mean for the state and country moving forward. Turé Morrow, founder of We Are CR. Guests: Justyn Lewis, president and founder of Des Moines Selma, a non-profit focused on social justice and government accountability for Black Lives Turé Morrow, founder, We Are CR, father and community activist based in Cedar Rapids Keli Gosch, community organizer, small-business owner based in Cresco Athena Gil...

We cannot stop now; we have to keep going: Iowa leaders react to jurys verdict on Derek Chauvin Nick Coltrain, Des Moines Register Jury says Derek Chauvin guilty of all charges in George Floyds death Replay Video UP NEXT A jury found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murdering George Floyd last summer, an incident that spurred waves of protest across the nation and in Iowa and renewed pushes to address racial inequality. Chauvin, who is white, kneeled on...

Radio Iowa You are here: Home After Chauvin verdict, Iowa House Black Caucus says there’s more work to be done Members of the Iowa House Black Caucus are expressing both relief and resolve after former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter today for causing George Floyd’s death. Representative Ras Smith, a Democrat from Waterloo, said he had to go on a walk after he heard the jury’s verdict. “The relief that I felt was confusing,” Smith s...

DES MOINES -- Ras Smith watched as the guilty verdict was read. His initial reaction, he said, was a sense of relief that justice had been served for George Floyd, a Black man from Minneapolis who was killed while in police custody. Smith’s relief turned to a sense of confusion, he said, when on the TV screen he saw live video of people celebrating in the streets of Minneapolis. “We’re celebrating justice as if it’s this rare thing that we rarely get to taste,” said Smi...

Radio Iowa You are here: Home House sends governor ban on diversity plans in 5 Iowa districts House Republicans have sent the governor a bill that immediately forbids five Iowa school districts from using voluntary diversity plans to deny student transfers. It’s one in a group of “school choice” bills Republican Representative Dustin Hite of New Sharon has guided through the House this year. “Education should be about the kids and not about the school district themselves,” Hite said. ...

Ban on Iowa schools voluntary diversity plans will go to Gov. Kim Reynolds after approval from House Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register What are schools voluntary diversity plans, and how do they work? Replay Video UP NEXT Five Iowa school districts could no longer weigh factors like a students socioeconomic status or English language learner status to prioritize open enrollment requests, according to a bill headed to Gov. Kim Reynolds desk.  The Iowa House voted 56-37 Tues...