In Case You Missed It! – Daily High Five

Early voting began Wednesday, and many Iowans will be voting in new congressional and state legislative districts. Check out this article from The Des Moines Register to find out if you're in a new district. You can also head to the Iowa Secretary of State website to find your polling location. Of course, you can also cast your vote on Election Day, which is June 7th.

Before you do that, check out today's top story:

1. APRIL JOB NUMBERS DON'T TELL THE FULL STORY: The April Jobs Report from Iowa Workforce Development shows a drop in unemployment claims, but it fails to tell the full story. While 3,300 jobs were created in April, it's important to note that the state lost 2,800 jobs in March. Governor Reynolds has focused on cutting unemployment benefits and forcing Iowans into jobs that don't pay enough, all in an effort to give the wealthy and big businesses massive tax breaks.

We know slashing unemployment benefits won't solve the Reynolds Workforce Crisis, since there are nearly twice as many open jobs in our state than there are unemployed Iowans.

Join us and tell our governor it's time to value workers by sharing our tweet here. You can also tweet your own version below, and feel free to add your perspective as well!

Click to tweet: Newsflash @IAGovernor: Taking away unemployment benefits & siding with corporations isn't going to solve the #ReynoldsWorkforceCrisis #CorporateKim

After you share that message, let's take a look back at some of the top stories from this week:

2. WEALTHY OIL COMPANIES JACKING UP PRICES: Iowans work hard every day. But the things that cost and matter the most have long been put out of reach so wealthy corporations and billionaires can jack up the prices on everyday goods and rake in record profits.

A new report from Accountable US shows that large, wealthy oil companies are gouging Iowans at the pump while making record profits. Exxon and Chevron, two of the United States biggest oil companies, made $12 billion in profit during the first quarter of 2022, more than double the amount they made last year during the same time. We need leaders who will keep corporate greed in check and help working families get ahead.

3. KIM REYNOLDS STAYS AWAY FROM TRANSPARENCY: Reynolds has been named the least transparent Governor in recent Iowa history, and she continues to show that she believes she is above the law. Earlier this month, a judge denied her dismissal request in a lawsuit about her refusal to lawfully turn over documents to state reporters. Now, Reynolds is hosting secret meetings with parents in Iowa to push her private school voucher bill that will decimate public schools.

Reynolds may think that she is above the law, but she works for us. It's time that we have elected officials who work for all Iowans, not just the ultra wealthy.

4. LAWMAKERS ARE BACK (UH-OH): After more than two weeks of no activity at the Statehouse, the Iowa Legislature is back to business. The Senate Budget Committee is meeting to work on bills for next year's budget, which begins July 1. Adjournment may be near, but the fate of Gov. Reynolds' private school vouchers is still up in the air. All Iowa students deserve a quality education, regardless of their income status, skin color, or zip code, and that's what our public school system provides.

5. REYNOLDS KEEPS TAKING BIDEN'S CREDIT: If you look up hypocrite in the dictionary there should be a picture of Kim Reynolds. The Governor broke Iowa's child care. And now she's relying on President Biden to fix it, with funding she opposed. Make no mistake: this $25 million dollar grant program is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, a bill Reynolds spent months campaigning against. We're only seeing this investment because Rep. Cindy Axne voted in favor, and President Joe Biden signed ARPA into law. Unfortunately, this grant program won't be nearly enough to fix Iowa's worst-in-the-nation childcare crisis. We need leaders who will undo Reynolds' mess by lowering childcare costs for families and paying childcare workers what they deserve.

Want to hear more from our team? You can go to our online news blog, Potluck, to hear from Iowans and leaders around the state.

Want to help progressive messaging and policy in the state of Iowa? Sign up at ProgressIowa.org to volunteer, donate, and hear more from our team!

Thanks for reading, and we'll get back with you Monday for another Hive Five!

- The Progress Iowa Team

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