Compiled by Emily Barske Wood One name came up a number of times in responses to this year’s Business Record survey on gender equity in Iowa: Caitlin Clark. Several respondents noted the University of Iowa basketball star’s achievements among the biggest advancements for women in the last year. It’s not Read more…
Improving access to child care has been a bipartisan priority at the Iowa Statehouse for years. Although no single strategy will bridge the gap between the number of spaces available and what the state’s families need, lawmakers and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds are continuing to chip away. The major effort that has emerged so Read more…
BY MICHAEL CRUMB, BUSINESS RECORD SENIOR STAFF WRITER While progress has been made in increasing the availability of quality, affordable child care in recent years, more needs to be done, state lawmakers said in a recent panel discussion during a forum on challenges facing child care providers in Iowa.The discussion occurred Read more…
It has been a privilege to cover women’s issues for Fearless and for the Business Record in 2023. As I typed “women’s issues” just now, I cringed. Women’s issues aren’t just women’s issues. They affect everyone. They have significant implications for everyone – and for the economy. As I looked back at Read more…
When an Iowa family cannot find suitable child care, it’s bad news for the family. But the ripple effects of that unmet need stretch much further. Panelists discussing Iowa’s child care crisis emphasized the issue’s broad relevance at an Aug. 24 forum, held at the Science Center of Iowa and Read more…
Women are back. Nationally, women’s employment has hit an all-time high, said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority. Durham said on July 20 during Business Publication Corp.’s Envision Iowa panel that she is still waiting on Iowa’s numbers. This Envision Iowa online discussion focused Read more…
By Nicole Grundmeier My friend witnessed a near-drowning on June 6 at Holiday Aquatic Center in West Des Moines. She watched a mother drop off three children: a boy who looked to be maybe 13, and two little girls, approximately ages 6 and 2. The teenager did the best he Read more…
My predecessor, the phenomenally talented Emily Kestel, introduced me last week as the new Business Record journalist behind the Fearless e-newsletter. I wanted to tell you more about myself, beyond the degrees and achievements – beyond what I am proud of. This is the stuff I wouldn’t put on a resume. Read more…
Three members of first Idea Accelerator Iowa City cohort study child care workforce crisis By Emily Kestel If child care workers in Iowa were given a $4 per hour pay increase, what would that give them? Breathing room. Ease of mind. A weight off their shoulders. A feeling of validation Read more…
