Blind Iowans marched outside of the Iowa Department for the Blind in Des Moines Tuesday as they protested changes to a state program that prepares people with impaired vision to live independently.
The department recently ended the requirement for blind Iowans to use sleep shades — eye masks that block out all light — while learning to navigate the world without vision at its Orientation Center.
Opponents of the change are concerned it will make the state’s intensive training for blind Iowans less effective. About two dozen protesters chanted slogans, including, “Make IDB Great Again,” and “Keep the shades, raise the bar, shades show us who we are.”…