DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa Capitol Bureau) – Iowa House Democrats on Friday claimed the state’s new school vouchers have caused public schools to close. But Gray Media has found errors in their data. Passed in 2023, Iowa taxpayers have already spent $360 million on the Educational Savings Accounts program. It gives scholarships of up to $7,800 to pay for private school instead of public. But the exact impact is not clear. House Democrats claim 16 public schools have closed since the start of the program. We fact-checked their list and found schools that are still open; some that closed due to new schools being built; and even a private school on their list. Notably, the list does not include the closure of Hills Elementary, which cited the voucher program as a reason for closing. House Democrats say they got their data from the Iowa Department of Education website, but a department spokeswoman said Democrats never reached out to them. She added the list Democrats used is a list of building directories with addresses and contact information to be used by families, and it is not an official record of all school buildings that have either opened or closed.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Linn County Auditor Joel Miller got the go-ahead from Iowa’s Supreme Court to sue over Iowa’s election security. The justices unanimously ruled Miler has standing to file a lawsuit against the Iowa Voter Registration Commission. The ruling states that, while Iowa’s Secretary of State is tasked with overseeing elections, the County Auditor is tasked with conducting elections, which gives Miller standing. Miller originally filed a complaint with Secretary of State Paul Pate in 2019 claiming the state’s voter registration system known as I-Votes did not meet security standards under the 2002 Help America Vote Act and was exposed to potential hackers. Pate’s Office declined to respond to Miller but publicly called the complaint “willfully ignorant” and insisted the system was safe. Miller then filed a complaint with the Iowa Voter Registration Commission, which then dismissed the complaint without a hearing. Miller filed a lawsuit, which was initially dismissed arguing Miller lacked standing to file the lawsuit. Iowa’s Supreme Court overturned that finding, sending it back to lower court for proceedings. Miller ran against Pate in 2022 for Secretary of State, with Pate winning about 60% of the vote. Miller is now retiring as the Linn County Auditor after 17 years in the position. The election on November 5 will choose his replacement.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – No one was injured after a garage caught fire in Iowa City Friday evening. Iowa City firefighters responded to a call for a garage on fire on Longfellow Court around 4:15 p.m. Smoke could be seen coming out the front door of the home. Firefighters put out the fire, which was isolated to the garage. The house received extensive smoke damage. Two people were displaced by the fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
OSKALOOSA, Iowa (KCRG) – Two people are dead after a crash in Mahaska County Friday night. Authorities say a Subaru Outback was traveling East on Highway 161 near Oskaloosa around 8:45 Friday night when a John Deere tractor pulling a tiller on the right shoulder started to merge left into the lane. The Subaru struck the tiller’s back end, crushing the vehicle’s front. The driver and passenger in the Subaru died. The collision remains under investigation.
