2016 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders made a huge splash around Iowa over the weekend drawing large, enthusiastic crowds.  Martin O’Malley was also in Iowa on the campaign trail. Check out this short video by East Des Moines Democrats of O’Malley answering a question about campaign finance reform. 

As caucus season looms, we still have to keep an eye on what’s happening in the Iowa legislature as Republicans rigidly defend and promote the ALEC agenda, ignore or obstruct anything good for Iowa, and attempt to dismantle public education.

From the Iowa Senate Democrats blog:

Bipartisan priorities deserve a vote in the house

As we near the end of the 2015 session, there are many bipartisan issues that have been overlooked in the Iowa House. This includes initiatives to make our communities safer, improve health care and boost quality of life that won the support of Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Senate.

Among them are efforts to:

• Keep all students safe with adequate training for schools to investigate harassment and bullying, including alleged incidents that occur outside of school, and to impose school discipline.
• Combat human trafficking through public awareness efforts, special training for law enforcement officers and making the crime a forcible felony.
• Prohibit the use of GPS to track a person without legitimate purpose or authorization.
• Give adoptive parents time to bond with their new child by requiring businesses with maternity leave programs to give adoptive parents the same time off as birth parents.
• Improve detection of breast cancer by notifying women in their mammogram results if they have dense breast tissue, may be at greater risk of developing breast cancer and should consult with a physician about additional screening options.
• Forbid felons from receiving life insurance proceeds if they commit a violent crime against an insured person within the six months prior to the death of that person.
• Provide immunity from prosecution for possessing, sharing or using controlled substances or drug paraphernalia to assist those suffering from an opioid overdose.

The House has a second chance to reconsider these bipartisan ideas because they were included in Senate File 510, which was approved by the Senate on May 14.