By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor We’ve made it through the first funnel week of the Iowa Legislature, which is the deadline that requires bills to be approved by a committee. Essentially, all bills must be voted out of their respective Senate and House committees and sent to the full chamber. Read more…
Fewer than two-thirds of county and municipal boards are gender-balanced By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor For more than 10 years, Iowa law has required all state, county and municipal boards and commissions to be gender-balanced. It’s the only state to have the requirement for all levels of government. State Sen. Read more…
By Emily Kestel There is a record proportion of Iowa women running for state and federal office this year – barely. Of the 217 candidates running for federal and state legislative office this year, 78 – or 35.94% – are women. In 2020, when the previous record was set, that Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Editor’s note: A leaked draft opinion obtained and published by Politico last week showed that the Supreme Court has voted to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, the 49-year precedent that protected the constitutional right to abortion. Chief Justice John Roberts has indicated that while the leaked document Read more…
Story by Emily Kestel, graphics by Lauren Burt Last year, Fearless published a two-part examination of the representation of women involved in politics in the state. One story looked at the gender balance law for civic boards and commissions, and the other looked at those serving at the state and Read more…
By Emily Kestel, Fearless editor Now that the latter half of the 89th Iowa General Assembly has officially been called into session, let’s take a look at what’s on the docket in the realm of women’s and gender issues. To preface, it’s worth mentioning that every issue is a women’s Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Aime Wichtendahl became the first openly trans elected official in Iowa when she was elected to the Hiawatha City Council in 2015. This interview, which has been formatted to be entirely in her own words, has been edited and condensed for clarity. If you were Read more…
Sen. Joni Ernst is the first woman to represent Iowa in federal elective office. She was also the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. I was reminded of the Read more…
As told to Emily Blobaum Jacquie Easley McGhee became the first Black woman to serve on a school board in Central Iowa when she was elected to the Des Moines public school board in 1990. Four years later, she was elected to chair the board. She was also the first Read more…
U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne became one of the first women to represent Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives when she, alongside former Rep. Abby Finkenauer, was elected in 2018. This interview was conducted by email and the responses have been edited and condensed for clarity. It’s hard to celebrate Read more…