Evans: State government may be harming Iowa population challenges

I stumbled across a statistical tidbit the other day that probably will surprise many people. U.S. Census Bureau figures show that between 1900 and 2000, the state that grew the least in population, on a percentage basis, was Iowa. Read that again. No state had smaller population growth between 1900 and 2000, as a percentage, than Iowa. Not North Dakota.

Early Twentieth Century Iowa Woman Goes from Cattle Buyer to Vaudeville Performer

How many Iowa women could claim they had made a living as a cattle buyer and vaudeville performer in the 1900s? At least one—Ollie Northlane. Northlane was described as petite with a head of golden hair, only a bit over five feet tall and around 100 pounds in weight. Her physique was a topic of conversation because she had a job that typically was performed by men. And while it required a sharp negotiator, the position usually was filled by men who weren’t averse to slogging around in a barnyard.

This chart demonstrates when women have abortions measured in the number of weeks from their last menstrual period. Eighty-eight percent of abortions occur in the first 12 weeks. Source: Guttmacher Institute.

Abortion Bill Would Define Life as Beginning at Conception

Women who decide to seek an abortion rarely make that decision after the first 20 weeks of pregnancy, according to an international research institute on reproductive health. But a legislative proposal in Iowa uses scientifically debatable assertions about fetal pain to target those few women. The proposal also carries a sweeping provision that could have major legal consequences for any woman who chooses to get an abortion, physicians and legal experts say.

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Ames Woman’s Ordeal Leads to Child Sex Abuse Bill

The last time Nikki Russell hugged her grandpa, she felt disgusted.  She wanted to get as far away from him as possible. His embrace triggered too many disturbing memories from her childhood.
Nikki Russell, 28, of Ames, Iowa, is a victim of child sexual abuse. For years Russell suffered from severe depression, but could not point to what caused her anxiety and suicidal thoughts. After she embraced her grandpa at her aunt’s funeral though, she began putting pieces of her childhood together.