State Sen. Dan Dawson discusses tax incentives for small nuclear reactors during a legislative public forum in Council Bluffs on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026.
The Iowa Senate has approved legislation that would eliminate a long-standing requirement in state law that Iowa maintain a historical research center in Iowa City — but the proposal appears unlikely to advance further after a top House Republican declared the bill dead on arrival in the chamber.
The Iowa State Historical Society is housed in the Centennial Building, 402 Iowa Ave., in Iowa City. Seventeen historians, archivists, professors, authors and donors with decades of public service are suing the State Historical Society of Iowa for its decision to close its Iowa City research facility and archives.
Greg Chapman of Iowa City looks at photographs of old railway depots as he does research at the State Historical Society Research Center in Iowa City on Dec. 31, 2025.
Joni Hindman of Iowa City takes a photograph of a page of buried permits for people who died at the Johnson County Poor Farm as she does research Dec. 31, 2025, at the State Historical Society Research Center, in Iowa City.
Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville, asks a question Tuesday, March 3, 2026, during an Iowa Senate subcommittee on a Department of Administrative Services bill aimed at eliminating the requirement that the state maintain a historical research center in Iowa City.
Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, speaks Jan. 12, 2026, during the first day of the Iowa Senate legislative session at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines.
Sen. Carrie Koelker, R-Dyersville, asks a question Tuesday, March 3, 2026, during an Iowa Senate subcommittee on a Department of Administrative Services bill aimed at eliminating the requirement that the state maintain a historical research center in Iowa City.
Greg Chapman of Iowa City looks at photographs of old railway depots as he does research at the State Historical Society Research Center in Iowa City on Dec. 31, 2025.
Joni Hindman of Iowa City takes a photograph of a page of buried permits for people who died at the Johnson County Poor Farm as she does research Dec. 31, 2025, at the State Historical Society Research Center, in Iowa City.
The Iowa State Historical Society is housed in the Centennial Building, 402 Iowa Ave., in Iowa City. Seventeen historians, archivists, professors, authors and donors with decades of public service are suing the State Historical Society of Iowa for its decision to close its Iowa City research facility and archives.
Iowa Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, speaks Jan. 12, 2026, during the first day of the Iowa Senate legislative session at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines.
