Rod Boshart
The Gazette
Des Moines, IA, United States
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Past articles by Rod:
GOP leaders seeking Iowa income tax ‘moon shot’
Big state surplus has them pushing reform, but others urge caution → Read More
Iowa Air National Guard members face vaccine deadline
An Iowa National Guard soldier directs a car at a COVID-19 testing site in May 2020 at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids. Members of the Iowa Air National Guard are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Thursday. Army Guard members have until June 30 to comply with the order unless they have a medical or religious exemption. (The Gazette) DES MOINES — Some members of the Iowa… → Read More
Years of backlog in testing rape kits for evidence are over, Iowa Attorney General says
Project to test evidence has led to four criminal cases in Iowa so far, authorities say → Read More
Iowa Driver’s License to Go Digital During the Next Year
The director of the Iowa Department of Transportation's motor vehicle division said state officials have launched a pilot project aimed at making digital driver's licenses available for download sometime in 2022. → Read More
Iowa driver’s license going digital next year
But at least for a quite a while, you’ll still need to keep the hard copy just like now. → Read More
Iowa misses goal of improving traffic safety
Excessive speeding a factor in high fatality count → Read More
Audit: Iowa spent $12.3 billion in federal funds in 2020
The governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the state auditor’s findings. → Read More
Iowa joins 10 states in suing Biden over COVID-19 vaccine workplace mandate
The challenging parties assert the authority to compel vaccinations lies with states, not the federal government. → Read More
Bill would protect jobless aid for Iowa workers fired over COVID-19 vaccine mandates
Under House Study Bill 281, Iowans who are fired for not complying with an employer's COVID-19 vaccination requirement would be eligible for unemployment benefits. → Read More
Iowa National Guard orders 9,000 members to get vaccinated
About 65 percent of Guard members have received at least one shot → Read More
Iowa farmland value up 18.8%
The price of tillable farm land in Iowa increased by 18.8 percent over the past six months, with a statewide average of $12,182 per acre compared to $10,221 last March → Read More
Iowa’s state surplus tops $1.2B, could lead to tax cuts
But legislative Democrats have pressed for more state investments in K-12 education, regent universities, water quality, pandemic recovery and other perceived needs rather than stockpiling money for more tax cuts. → Read More
Iowa medical director and epidemiologist Dr. Caitlin Pedati leaving Iowa Department of Public Health
In a quick and abrupt development with little explanation, officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that Dr. Caitlin Pedati, the state’s medical director and epidemiologist during the COVID-19 pandemic, plans to leave the agency effective late October. → Read More
Iowa students top HiSET rankings
Last year, 95.9 percent of Iowans seeking a high school equivalency diploma passed the HiSET exam compared to 80.5 percent nationally. → Read More
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds joins in call for White House summit on U.S.-Mexico border
“The monthslong surge in illegal crossings has instigated an international humanitarian crisis, spurred a spike in international criminal activity, and opened the floodgates to human traffickers and drug smugglers endangering public health and safety in our states,” the governors wrote. → Read More
Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller to seek another term
Democrat Tom Miller, already the longest-serving state attorney general in U.S. history, is hoping to add another four years to his record run in 2022. → Read More
Iowa jobless numbers unchanged in August
Iowa’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.1 percent in August — a level that was well below the national rate and the number of Iowans who were thrown out of work a year ago during the economic throes of COVID-19 pandemic. → Read More
As flashpoints increase, ISEA president champions public education
As president of Iowa’s largest teacher’s union, Mike Beranek, 61, has been at the tip of the sword in advocating for safe school settings, fair working conditions and compensation for his 34,000 members and adequate state funding to meet the needs of nearly 500,000 students educated in a system that traditionally has been highly regarded nationwide. → Read More
Lawmakers laud Iowa’s nonpartisan redistricting process
The day the redistricting plan is releases is “kind of like a kid with Christmas. You don't know what you're going to get,” House Speaker Pat Grassley said. → Read More
Iowa could get first millions from opioid lawsuit settlements next year
Opioid-related deaths increased by 35 percent in Iowa in 2020, following a national trend that has advocates raising the alarm about the surge. State officials reported 213 opioid-related deaths last year, up from the 157 deaths reported in 2019 and a previous high of 206 in 2017. → Read More