NEWS
Tuesday, February 25, 2020 Iowa State Daily
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CAITLIN YAMADA/ IOWA STATE DAILY The last Democratic presidential debate before the 2020 Iowa caucuses took place Jan. 14 in Des Moines.
Democrats set for last debate before Super Tuesday contests BY MALLORY.TOPE @iowastatedaily.com
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS A bill in the Iowa Senate would prevent municipalities and counties from passing ordinances to stop landlords from discriminating against renters if they use public assistance, such as Section 8 housing vouchers, to pay rent.
Renters face potential for discrimination Landlords may have ability to turn down leases based on income
BY KYLEE.HAUETER @iowastatedaily.com An Iowa Senate subcommittee voted in favor of Senate Study Bill 3178, a bill that would prevent cities and counties from blocking landlords and property owners from discriminating against renters based on their source of income. Currently in Des Moines, property owners cannot refuse to rent a property based on a renter’s source of income. This is in accordance with Ordinance No. 15,781, enacted last summer. Included in this ordinance are protections from discrimination for those receiving aid from Social Security, child support, alimony, veterans’ benefits and
Section 8 housing vouchers, which assist low-income families, the elderly and the disabled. Ames does not have such an ordinance. It instead has the Fair Housing Act, which prohibits renting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, handicap, sex or familial status. Stor y County ’s Section 8 voucher assistance program is controlled by the Central Iowa Regional Housing Authority (CIRHA). The CIRHA had a contract for just over 1,000 vouchers, but due to funding allocated by the Iowa Legislature, only 900 of those vouchers are funded. Vanessa Baker-Latimer, housing coordinator for the City of Ames, said as of February 2020, 276 of these vouchers are being used in Story County. The others span across Boone, Dallas, Jasper, Madison and Marion counties. Two-hundred and twenty-one of the vouchers in Story County are allocated specifically to Ames, meaning that just
under 25 percent of all the vouchers controlled by the CIRHA, spanning a sixcounty region, are being used by Ames residents. Republican Sen. Jeff Edler said without this bill, more problems would be created than end up being solved. “Cities and counties should not be allowed to coerce private entities into non-consensual contract agreements,” Edler said. Another question those in opposition of the bill have raised is whether the enactment of this bill would allow landlords and property owners to evict current residents based on their source of income. Edler said no, that the bill would not hold authority over any preexisting federal housing contract. If the bill passes, it would invalidate Des Moines’ local ordinance. The bill would have no effect on Ames’ Fair Housing Act, as that ordinance does not include sources of rent payment as an illegal discriminatory act.
The next Democratic presidential debate is set to take place Tuesday and will feature seven candidates. “This debate is really important.The reason is that some of the candidates that did well in Nevada, like Elizabeth Warren, need to do really well in South Carolina,” said Steffen Schmidt, professor of political science. The debate will be broadcasted live at 7 p.m. on CBS from Charleston, South Carolina, four days ahead of that state’s Democratic primary. This is the last debate before the Super Tuesday contests next Tuesday. In order to qualify for this debate, candidates have to meet one polling requirement: two polls at 12 percent or more of South Carolina Democratic primary voters or four polls at 10 percent or more in South Carolina or in national surveys of Democratic primary voters. Only polls approved by the Democratic National Committee and released between Feb. 4 and Monday count. Candidates could also qualify from earning at least one delegate in the Iowa caucuses, the New Hampshire primary or the Nevada caucuses. The seven candidates who qualified are Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, Warren, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Tom Steyer and former Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Steyer will rejoin the debate stage after not qualifying for the Nevada debate. Schmidt said he expects topics like healthcare, criminal justice and education to be brought up during the debate. “Those are hot-button issues in the African American community,” Schmidt said. African American voters accounted for 61 percent of the South Carolina Democratic primary electorate in 2016, according to a CNN exit poll. This is the last televised debate candidates will have before Super Tuesday. Candidates that do not do well in this debate or the primary are going to hurt going into Super Tuesday, Schmidt said. “If candidates screw up in South Carolina, people voting in other states are going to go, ‘I don’t think he or she is going to beat Trump,’” Schmidt said.
Class teaches mothers how to breastfeed BY ELIZABETH.KHOUNLO @iowastatedaily.com Future mothers and support partners attended a two-part prenatal class about breastfeeding and pumping at the Ames Public Library on Monday. The class covered the process, goals and challenges of breastfeeding and pumping. As mothers walked into the session, they could collect free gifts to assist them during their breastfeeding journey. These gifts included breastfeeding books, nursing bars, nursing covers, lactation milk and tea. The first part of the prenatal course was the “Best Start Breastfeeding” class. This class took place from 6-7:30 p.m. The instructor began by explaining the benefits
of breastfeeding and showed a video describing breast milk creation. She then provided a visual related to breast milk production and a review game after this session. One of the participants, Kayla Mobley, has three other children and is due with her fourth child in March. She decided to choose breastfeeding for her fourth child because she noticed her older three children getting sick often. “I just wanted to try something different this time to see how big of a difference it actually makes,” Mobley said. The instructor continued with the different stages of breast milk and the difference between breast milk and formula. She later explained the importance of a good latch during breastfeeding and showed a video on
CAITLIN YAMADA/ IOWA STATE DAILY Michelle Rowe, employee at Mid-Iowa Community Action, taught expecting mothers how to breastfeed at the Ames Public Library.
different breastfeeding positions. One of the main topics of this course was the “golden hour,” which is the first 60
minutes after birth that encourages skinto-skin contact for successful breastfeeding. After discussing the “golden hour,” the class transitioned to breastfeeding while in the hospital, going home and what to expect in the first few days. Topics also discussed were newborn behavior cues to indicate a hungry newborn and gauging how often one should breastfeed. Another participant, Amy Baker, is pregnant with her first child. She said the class gave “a really good picture of what it might be like.” “If you haven’t done it before, there is a lot of questions about what to expect,” Baker said.
CLASS
PG8
