DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) - Thursday afternoon, Iowa lawmakers continued with their flurry of action to pass a five-year moratorium on new casino licenses. House members, led by the Republican majority, approved the ban 68-31.

Cobble Hill chef Andy Schumacher is a Best Chef Midwest semifinalist. Simon's, an Italian restaurant in Des Moines, is named for Outstanding Hospitality.

Bills to create a five-year moratorium on new state-licensed casinos in Iowa have been introduced by Republicans in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature.

Iowa is the first in the nation to let a pandemic-era eviction requirement expire, the Des Moines Register reports.

The two large-scale data center projects slated for southwest Cedar Rapids are moving ahead, after the Cedar Rapids City Council, at its regular meeting

Thursday to recommend passage of a bill that would place a moratorium on new gaming licenses in Iowa until July 2030.

Central Iowa has become a haven for all things fried chicken, especially in sandwich form. Des Moines already has Chick-fil-A, which reopened in West Des Moines after a remodel late last year; Chicken Heat for Nashville hot chicken; Charlotte’s Kitchen with its locations in Johnston and Altoona; and so many more.

Iowa House and Senate subcommittees on Thursday moved a bill forward that would place a moratorium on new gaming licenses in Iowa until July 2030.