Public health officials are encouraging parents to vaccinate their infants against measles amid a possible outbreak in the southern part of the state.

State health officials said 16 measles cases have been confirmed so far this year, with evidence of person-to-person spread. 

Sam Jarvis, community health division manager with Johnson County Public Health, said parents of infants under 1 year old should consider getting a zero dose MMR shot. 

“This is purely for protection, and why it's called the zero dose is it doesn't count towards the routine two dose series,” Jarvis said. “But if you fall between that time frame, we're wanting to make sure that infants between 6 and 11 months are afforded that protection, just in case.”

According to state data, about 84% of the state's 2-year-olds got the MMR shot last year. 

A jury was unable to reach a verdict in the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of killing a Native American woman more than 40 years ago in Sioux City.

Thomas Popp was accused of murdering Terri McCauley in 1983. A grand jury indicted Popp last year while he was living in Washington state.

Jurors said they couldn’t come up with a decision on Monday, leading the judge to declare a mistrial. The county attorney has 90 days to decide if he will retry Popp for the crime.

Rachel Cramer

/

Iowa Public Radio

Democratic candidate for secretary of agriculture Chris Jones is focusing his campaign on clean water. The retired research scientist laid out his vision for Iowa at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Saturday.

“I tell people they should view this campaign as a referendum on the condition of Iowa’s water,” Jones said. “So, if you think the condition of our water is adequate, if you think progress towards cleaning it up is adequate, then I’m probably not your person.”

Jones said cleaner water will require shifting from agriculture dominated by corn, soybeans and concentrated animal feeding operations into something more diverse. This includes more pasture for raising sustainable beef, increasing small grain production, like oats, and growing more fruits and vegetables for schools and local consumers.

Jones said this type of change requires incentives and what he has called “common-sense regulations.” He’s running against incumbent Republican Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig in the Nov. 3 election.  

Libertarian Jake Heard said he hopes to give voters in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District a third option in November. But first he has to make it on the ballot. 

The criminal defense attorney from Urbandale was recently nominated by the Libertarian Party of Iowa as a replacement candidate. However, the substitution was rejected by the Secretary of State’s Office over its timing.  

Speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Saturday, Heard said blocking third party candidates prevents wider conversations on policy. 

“It shouldn't be that tough to let the people of Iowa choose,” he told the crowd. “If Republicans believe their policy ideas win the day, then they should be able to face any challenger on the ballot.” 

A Polk County judge will decide this week on ballot access for both Heard and the Libertarian ticket for governor. 

Maura Curran

/

Iowa Public Radio

The Democrat running for Iowa attorney general promises to keep defending Iowans from wage theft. Nate Willems spoke during the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Friday.

Willems, a labor lawyer, told the audience that there’s allegedly $900 million stolen from working Iowans each year. He said he has represented workers for 20 years, including 11,000 hospital employees in Iowa City whose wages were being paid late.

“We put together a class action, recovered $15 million for them and now that hospital follows the law,” he said.

Willems said his work as a labor lawyer is the kind of work the attorney general’s office should be doing.

The Democrat will face off against incumbent Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird in November.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investigating a fish kill in Hecker Creek in northeast Iowa. The incident occurred during the same time as a massive fire at a meat processing plant in nearby Postville in late July.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch confirmed the DNR’s investigation on Friday. The department has not said the two incidents are related.

The fish kill was observed in late July. On July 28, a fire destroyed three-quarters of the Agri Star Meat plant, which is directly upstream. Over 20 area fire departments and emergency agencies responded to the fire over multiple days.

An environmental group sued Agri Star Meat and Poultry in 2025, alleging it polluted nearby waterways, including Hecker Creek.

Beginning in September, Scott County will launch a program that aims to combat chronic homelessness by leveraging both the courts and social services. The program hopes to serve 15 people, with a budget of roughly $270,000 for its first year.

The approach is called assisted outpatient treatment and it targets people who spend a lot of time in emergency rooms or shelters but refuse to stay in long-term programs.

Scott County Community Services Director Lori Elam said that when various providers in the county got together to identify their highest utilizers, they came up with a list of 17 people.

“Then we went back to our respective offices and calculated how much we had spent on those 17 people over the last five years, and we came up with $7.1 million for those 17 people, and we have not made their lives any better,” Elam said.

The new program is fully grant funded. Starting in September, a judge can order someone to participate in the program. Providers then coordinate to make sure the individual is following their medical regimen, showing up for appointments or connecting to the social services they need.

Johnson County has a similar program, but it’s not court ordered.

More imports of foreign ground beef will be allowed into the country following an announcement from President Donald Trump. Agriculture leaders say the move could be bad for American cattle producers.

Beef prices are up significantly this year due to a smaller cattle herd, but people are still buying beef products at the grocery store.

Trump said more tariff-free, low-price imports of ground beef could help save consumers money and give farmers time to grow their cattle herds. But Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue disagrees.

“We're just short cattle, and that drives the market up,” McHargue said. “But what that does is also provides added dollars into those ranchers' pockets to do the expansion that is needed to actually get more supply in the market.”

The White House said more imports will be allowed for 90 days.

Iowa Rep. Ashley Hinson called the decision a “bad idea.”

Union workers at John Deere voted down a proposed contract extension on Sunday, setting the stage for bargaining in 2027. The United Auto Workers (UAW) union represents workers at major Deere factories in Iowa.

Deere proposed the two-year extension in July, saying it hoped to provide "continuity" to its employees until the farm economy stabilizes. But UAW members chose to seek better terms when the current contract expires in October 2027. 

The company laid off nearly 4,000 employees between 2023 and 2025. But recent hiring has reversed those trends, with roughly 400 workers returning to jobs in Iowa and Illinois this year.

Deere also announced rising profits this summer, attributed to tariff refunds and demand from the AI building boom.

Nebraska Public Media

Iowa Public Radio has named a new CEO. Peter Clowney will take over for Myrna Johnson, who retired in July. 

Most recently, Clowney served as the chief operating officer at Nebraska Public Media. His career goes back more than 30 years and includes experience as an editor and executive in public media and podcasting. Clowney spent more than a decade with American Public Media and also held positions with Gimlet Media and SiriusXM. 

Clowney will oversee IPR’s $10 million annual budget and around 70 employees around the state, including at offices in Ames, Des Moines, Cedar Falls and Iowa City.

Read more.

Madeleine C King

/

Iowa Public Radio

The 2026 Iowa State Fair ended Sunday by breaking multiple attendance records.

The state fair saw a record-breaking 1,218,834 people over the 11-day run, topping the previous record of 1,182,682 from 2024. Saturday broke the record for the biggest single-day attendance with 130,654 people entering the fairgrounds.

Rainy conditions dampened attendance on the first two days of this year’s fair, but once the skies cleared, single-day attendance records were set multiples times until finally reaching the record on Saturday.

Libertarians running for governor and in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District are challenging the Secretary of State in court to try to make it on the November ballot.

The party nominated substitutes to replace candidates for the 3rd District seat and lieutenant governor.

The Secretary of State’s office rejected the new candidates, saying the wrong process was followed. That means the ticket for governor and candidate for the 3rd District are not officially on the ballot.

A Polk County judge said he plans to rule on the matter by late next week.

At the Little League World Series, Davenport pitchers threw a combined no-hitter to beat California 1-0 in their opening game in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Cooper Thissen struck out 15 batters and had a no-hitter going until he was removed from the game with one out in the sixth inning after reaching the little league maximum pitch count of 85. Thissen also scored the game’s only run with a home run to lead off the bottom of the first inning.

Iowa will play the winner of tonight’s Pennsylvania-New Jersey game on Sunday.

The Libertarian running for Iowa governor said property rights need to be reformed and more needs to be done to improve water quality. Nicholas Gluba made his comments at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Thursday at the state fair.

Gluba is calling for changes to property tax law, eminent domain and agricultural pollution in waterways. He promised to sign a bill restricting the use of eminent domain for carbon capture pipelines, if elected. Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a similar bill last year.

He also touted a property tax plan that would base tax assessments on the last fair sale purchase price.

Gluba said he has a proposal to expand water quality efforts too, like increasing fine amounts for chemical dumping in waterways.

“There’s also going to be restrictions on how close you can use pesticides, herbicides or various like glyphosates, nitrates and what not, around moving waters,” he told fairgoers.

Libertarians recently chose a new running mate for Gluba after the State Objection Panel disqualified his first choice. The Secretary of State’s Office said the substitution was filed too late and doesn’t count. Gluba is challenging that decision in court to try to force the Libertarian ticket onto the November ballot.

Isabella Luu

/

Iowa Public Radio

Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James, a candidate in Iowa’s 2nd District race, said the U.S. needs to end the war in Iran and redirect the billions in war spending back to the U.S.

James called the Trump’s administration’s foreign policy decisions “reckless” and said they’re harming Iowans. She pointed to the Iowa soldiers who were killed and the jump in fertilizer and gas prices. 

James talked to reporters after appearing at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. When asked whether she supports the U.S. mission in Iran, she said there’s no longer a nuclear threat. 

“I would say that we need accountability for sure when there's nuclear weapons involved. But that has been well established that that is no longer a threat,” she said. “The war needs to be ended, and we need to bring those our soldiers home, and we need to bring our resources back to the United States.”

James is running against Republican Joe Mitchell, Libertarian Rick Stewart and independent Dave Bushaw.

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

A small northwest Iowa town at the center of a data center debate has voted down a one-year moratorium. Even though several people at the Salix City Council meeting voiced support for a moratorium Thursday night, the measure failed in a 3-2 vote.

Salix annexed 900 acres of farmland south of Sioux City for a potential project involving MidAmerican Energy and Google.

Council member Denise Burkhart voted against the moratorium."

“We need to open conversations with Google to see what they want to bring here, what they're capable of doing for our community,” Burkhart said. “And it may not be right for us, but we're not going to know until we ask the questions.”

Another council member said he thought the moratorium was already approved in July and that the council was only supposed to vote on its language on Thursday.

The vote was delayed a week after city officials received death and terroristic threats on social media.

Read more.

Meghan McKinney

/

Iowa Public Radio

A Libertarian who has run for several public offices in Iowa is now vying to represent Iowans in the 2nd Congressional District. Rick Stewart last ran for governor in 2022. At the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, he talked about different tax policies.
 
“This country is so rich. We are not going to run out of money because we have free riders. We're going to run out of money because we have a tax and spend system that taxes way too much, spends way too much, causes us to borrow too much money, causes interest rates to go up. We have regulatory expense. The government has made everything more expensive,” Stewart told state fairgoers. 

Talking to reporters after his speech, Stewart said income taxes should be eliminated and replaced with a land tax. He also supports a universal basic income program, regardless of income, and wants to end all public assistance programs.  
 
Stewart cofounded Frontier Natural Products Co-op in 1976. He faces Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James, Republican Joe Mitchell and independent Dave Bushaw in the general election.

Isabella Luu

/

Iowa Public Radio

U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is the latest Trump administration cabinet official to make a stop in Iowa. But he said it’s not because Republicans are worried about losing Iowa in the midterms.

Blanche visited the Iowa State Fair Thursday, less than two weeks after he was sworn in. He said Sen. Chuck Grassley invited him and that they have a personal relationship beyond work.

“I saw an influx of cabinet officials a few weeks ago in Wyoming. I saw an influx of cabinet officials a few weeks ago in Miami as well. So I like that there could be a narrative that we run around compensating for fear about what's going to happen in the election, but it's not true,” Blanche said.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins visited the state fair earlier this week. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have also been to Iowa recently.

Natalie Krebs

/

Iowa Public Radio

Incumbent Attorney General Brenna Bird said she will continue targeting people who scam Iowans if she’s reelected this November.

While speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Monday, she said her office has aggressively gone after scammers during her first term, and she plans to continue doing so. 

“We were the first state in the union to sue the crypto ATMs that were being used as the getaway driver for people's money when they were getting scammed and ripped off,” Bird said. “We sued them, and now today, one of those companies has declared bankruptcy, and we are still moving forward with those lawsuits to protect Iowans.”

Bird said she also wants to ensure there are additional protections for law enforcement and increased services for crime victims. 

The Republican was first elected to be Iowa’s attorney general in 2022, narrowly beating out longtime Democratic incumbent Tom Miller. This election, she faces Democrat Nate Willems.

Meghan McKinney

/

Iowa Public Radio

The independent candidate running for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District said he would work to improve water quality, if elected. Dave Bushaw said the president should deem America’s water quality a national emergency.
 
Bushaw, a farmer and labor organizer from West Union, said he would work on legislation for a federal work program to keep nitrates, PFAS and other contaminants out of the water supply.

“We have the technology to do it, but capital is the problem, and we can't wait for private investment to come in,” Bushaw told fairgoers at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox. “We can't wait for it to trickle in through localities raising money or states raising money. We need a federal, principled, targeted approach on this.”
 
Bushaw also said he supports citizen ballot initiatives and universal healthcare. He faces Democratic state Rep. Lindsay James, Republican Joe Mitchell and Libertarian Rick Stewart in the Nov. 3 election.

The incumbent candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture said he has worked to expand markets for Iowa’s farmers and scale up conservation practices across the state. Secretary Mike Naig spoke at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Monday.

The Republican touted his work leading international trade missions, fighting for nationwide E15 and launching Choose Iowa, a program that promotes products grown, raised and made in the state.

He also talked about the acceleration of conservation practices, like cover crops. Naig believes more needs to be done but said the approach should remain voluntary, drawing a distinction with his opponent, Democrat Chris Jones.

“He just has a very fundamentally different opinion about how to work on the issues that we need to work on: taxing and regulating farmers instead of working together,” Naig said. “What that leads to is a smaller agriculture, a diminished agriculture, and frankly, that kind of taxing and regulating drives farmers out of business.”

Jones has called for what he says are “common sense regulations,” which include banning fall tillage on corn-soy rotations and returning local control of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) to counties. 

Jones will speak at the soapbox on Saturday.

Spirit Lake Community School District leaders unveiled plans for an ambitious renovation project estimated to cost nearly $70 million.

Superintendent David Smith said the project would address aging infrastructure and longstanding maintenance needs.

“We have numerous areas where we need brand new HVAC,” Smith said. “We need new lights. We need new roofs. We need new electrical, windows and doors. We’re focused mainly on the elementary and in the high school.”

The plans also include improvements to the bus barn and a $13 million “athletic bubble” that would include a new field house. But Smith has recommended removing the latter from the project. He said the entire effort would be a major undertaking.

“We would have full, new classrooms in numerous parts. Basically, we would take down 50% of the elementary and about 50% of the high school and rebuild it from scratch,” he said. “We would move our vo-tech [vocational-technical], which is not connected with our high school building. It basically needs to be knocked to the ground. It needs to be a complete overhaul.”

The plan was unveiled Wednesday after a community tour of both schools. The Spirit Lake School Board voted Wednesday night to move forward on a $69.9 million bond referendum this November.

A few thousand people were recognized at the Iowa State Fair Thursday for having a farm in the family for over 100 years.

The Century Farm program launched at the 1976 Iowa State Fair, with 5,000 farms that had been in the same family since 1876 or receiving recognition.

This year’s ceremony recognized 274 Century Farms and another 240 Heritage Farms that have been in the same family for at least 150 years. The nearly day-long event was held in the Iowa State Fair’s Livestock Pavilion, which was built in 1902 and was the first major building on the fairgrounds.

“I could not think of a better place to celebrate those families,” said Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig.

Families were invited on stage individually, where they received a sign to put up at their farm showing that it’s been in the same family for generations.

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

The Democrat running for Congress in Iowa’s most conservative region wants to flip the traditionally Republican 4th District.

Dave Dawson is a former state lawmaker and prosecutor from Lawton, just outside of Sioux City. He believes both parties need to come together to fix the problems facing the U.S.

“My campaign slogan is ‘Let's Grow Iowa Together,’ because I truly believe if we work together, whether you're a Democrat, Republican or an independent, we can come up with the best solutions for our country to help move our country forward,” Dawson said during his Des Moines Register Political Soapbox speech at the state fair.

He told the crowd that he’s committed to expanding healthcare, addressing the cancer crisis and improving rural communities. He also said it’s important to run a civil and respectful campaign.

Dawson’s challenger is Republican Chris McGowan, the head of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce. Both candidates recently ran into each other at the Woodbury County Fair and took a photo together holding an American Flag that has been circulating on social media.

The 4th Congressional District covers 36 counties in western and north-central Iowa and includes the cities of Council Bluffs, Ames and Marshalltown.

Eliza Billingham

/

Iowa Public Radio

Independent candidate Michael Bridgford is a new voice in an eastern Iowa congressional race that’s been dominated by the same candidates in recent election cycles.

Democrat Christina Bohannan is challenging Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks for the 1st District seat in the U.S. House for the third time. But Bridgford, who’s a financial advisor from the Quad Cities, told state fairgoers at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox that the two-party system isn’t benefiting anyone.

“Nothing's getting better. Nothing's changing,” he said. “Unfortunately, when people get elected now to go to Washington, you're given a red jersey, you're given a blue jersey, and you go to battle. You're doing what's best for the party, not what's best for the country, and that's what's putting us in this place.”

Bridgford said he would push for things like term limits and campaign finance reform if elected to Congress.

Iowa’s 1st District is one of 19 House races considered a “toss up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

Natalie Krebs

/

Iowa Public Radio

Some employees of the Agri Star Meat and Poultry plant in Postville are returning to work after a massive fire closed the facility in July.

The company made the announcement on Facebook, saying limited operations could resume next week. Agri Star said significant rebuilding efforts are underway and will continue even as some workers return to the facility.

The fire destroyed roughly three quarters of the facility, impacting over 600 employees. Argi Star is one of the region’s largest employers.   

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

A western Iowa community is dealing with the environmental fallout of a Cold War missile site 62 years after it was deactivated. More than 100 people packed a public meeting in Missouri Valley Wednesday night to find out when the contaminated water will finally be cleaned up.

An environmental investigation by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started in 2012. But now the Corps is telling residents that it needs up to two more years to decide how to tackle the trichloroethene (TCE) left behind by the former Atlas "D" missile site in the Loess Hills of Harrison County.

Courtesy of the United States Air Force

TCE has been linked to cancer, Parkinson’s disease and other health complications. Resident DeAnn Paul spoke about her health concerns at Wednesday’s public meeting.

“I've had two dogs die of cancer. I've had a brain tumor removed. I have all sorts of neurological issues,” she said. “Why did it take so long to tell us?”

Project manager Scott Sawyer said federal law restricts how quickly the agency can move.

“I apologize that it's not what you want. It's not at the speed you'd like to see it. It's just not going to be because I can't change the rules. We cannot change the rules,” Sawyer told the crowd.

The federal government has provided some property owners with water purification systems. But residents worry that any level of TCE is too much.

The Corps said it has tested three different treatment methods, each showing some reduction in TCE.

Read more.

Madeleine C King

/

Iowa Public Radio

The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has shifted its prediction of two key Iowa races. It changed the governor’s race from a “toss up” to “lean Democrat” and Iowa's U.S. Senate race from “lean Republican” to a “toss up.”

The changes were made after analysts reviewed recent poll results and the current political environment in the state.

In the governor’s race, Democrat Rob Sand is running against Republican Zach Lahn. In the Senate race, Republican Ashley Hinson, Democrat Josh Turek and Libertarian Thomas Laehn are on the ballot this November.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is investigating a spill into Bulger Creek in Dallas County that occurred after a large structure fire south of De Soto. 

The fire at an auto salvage facility caused the release of an unknown amount of fuel, oil and water into the nearby creek, according to a news release from DNR.

When DNR staff responded to the incident Wednesday, they observed an “oily sheen” on the creek, according to the release.

Local officials are assisting with placing absorbent booms in Bulger Creek to minimize the amount of spilled materials that flow downstream. Bulger Creek flows into the Raccoon River near Van Meter. 

According to the news release, the fire was extinguished and no dead fish have been observed in the creek, though downstream users are advised to use precaution in the water. 

WHO 13 reported that the Aug. 19 fire at Hawkeye Auto Salvage left one person injured.

Indianola has joined other Iowa cities in discontinuing its Flock camera program due to privacy concerns. Flock Safety’s automated license plate readers are used by police to scan passing cars for license plate numbers and other vehicle information.

Indianola Police Lieutenant Tye Sparks said there have been national and local concerns about third parties accessing the data that Flock cameras collect.

“As useful as they were for us, some of those questions, we didn’t have the answer for. And that’s with the third-party association involved with it,” Sparks said.

Sparks said the Indianola Police Department is halting the program until more regulations are put in place to address the data transparency concerns.

Other central Iowa cities, including Ankeny and Urbandale, are still using Flock cameras. Urbandale amended its contract in April to prohibit Flock from sharing its data with third parties without the city’s consent.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said President Donald Trump and Congress don’t get enough credit for steps taken to address inflation and concerns about affordability.

According to the Federal Reserve of New York, credit card debt is nearing record levels as more Americans use credit cards to pay for basic expenses. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Grassley was asked if the president has done enough to acknowledge concerns about inflation and affordability.

“Not enough to acknowledge it, but he is doing the right things by appointing [Kevin] Warsh to be the Fed director to get inflation down,” Grassley said.

Kevin Warsh took over as chairman of the Federal Reserve in May. So far, he has kept interest rates steady. Grassley also pointed to Americans saving an average of $3,400 on their taxes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law last year, along with steps Trump has taken to reduce input costs for farmers.

Gavin McGough

/

Iowa Public Radio

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said he’ll keep working to build trust in elections if voters give him another term this November. Speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, the Republican said he wants to increase voter turnout and feels the issue is related to election security.  

“Our voter participation numbers are up from when I started in office,” Pate told the crowd of fairgoers. “I point this out to you because part of my job — and a big part of it — is dispelling misinformation, disinformation that's being put out there. We have foreign actors who do this, trying to cause us to lose confidence in our elections, and we can't let them do that.”

Pate said poll worker training programs, paper ballots and voter ID laws keep Iowa elections secure. The Cedar Rapids resident served a term as secretary of state in the 1990s before returning to the office in 2015.

He faces Democrat Ryan Peterman in the general election.

A woman was killed and a state trooper was wounded in a shooting in the town of Stuart in central Iowa. 

Officers from the state patrol and local agencies responded to reports of shots fired Tuesday afternoon. They found Toni Elena-Ann Salazar, 42, had been shot and killed.  

They also found Nichols Reed, 46, carrying a shotgun. Reed fired at State Trooper Chase Carruthers. Carruthers was taken to a hospital in Des Moines, where he’s reported to be in stable condition. 

Reed was arrested and faces charges of murder and attempted murder of a police officer. 

The Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of State said elections need to be secure and accessible while addressing fairgoers at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox.

Ryan Peterman criticized Republican state lawmakers for shortening early voting to 20 days and said he would advocate for a longer window if elected.

“I don't see how going from our previous period down to our shorter period now benefited anyone,” he said. “The same amount of work has to be done. We have a shorter amount of time to do it.”

Peterman doesn’t think the new voting laws in Iowa improve election security. Rather, he said they “hinder accessibility.” He pointed to voter attestation, which is when someone attests to someone else’s identity at the polls, as something that should be brought back.

Peterman grew up in Bettendorf and was an officer in the Navy. He is running against Republican incumbent Paul Pate.

Electric scooters and e-bikes can be a lot of fun or a terrible menace, depending on who you ask. Communities across Iowa are working to better regulate the speedy two-wheelers to make trails and roads safer.

This week, Estherville City Council voted to put new restrictions on what it calls “micro-mobility devices.”

“We took the city’s existing bicycle regulations and added the other types of micro-mobility devices that people are using these days,” said Estherville City Administrator Penny Clayton. “That would include things like electric scooters and e-bikes, among some other items.”

The ordinance states that riders of these devices need to operate them in a safe and responsible manner, following all traffic codes like stopping at stop signs and giving the right of way to pedestrians.

“They need to not operate in a reckless manner. So stunting, speeding, zigzagging, just generally making a nuisance of themselves, they need to not do that,” Clayton said.

Those who violate the ordinance could face fines or impounding of the device for between seven and 30 days.

Several Iowa cities have adopted similar ordinances to regulate the use of e-bikes and scooters. Marion, for example, has set a 10 mph speed limit for sidewalks.

A Sioux City man is accused of threatening Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis and the Sioux City Police Department. Christian Burford, 28, has been charged with two counts of threats of terrorism.

On Monday morning, police were alerted to the 300 block of Court Street, where papers were left that appeared to be threatening in nature. One of the papers had a photo of Loomis and a handwritten note claiming there would be a bomb under his vehicle.

Sioux City police were also contacted by the Fort Bend County Justice Center in Richmond, Texas. They received an email just after 11 p.m. on Sunday that made threats to bomb the Sioux City Police Department.

The department investigated the threats and obtained information from a social media account, which led to the arrest of the defendant. Burford is being held on $10,000 bond in the Woodbury County jail.

Isabella Luu

/

Iowa Public Radio

Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn told state fairgoers that his bipartisan record makes him an effective choice for Congress. Nunn, who’s running for his third term in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, spoke to Iowans at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox on Monday.

The nonpartisan group Bridge Grades recently ranked Nunn as the third most bipartisan member in the U.S. House. At the fair, Nunn highlighted his work on a bipartisan housing bill that became law in July. Nunn’s provisions on rural housing made it into the final version.  

“We've been able to pass three bills and get them signed to law under Joe Biden, and I don't always agree with Joe Biden on very much,” Nunn said. “But we also passed 27 bills signed into law under President Trump. They were all the reflection of our hard work here.”

Nunn also highlighted his past bills to ban congressional members from trading stocks and touted his support of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in July 2025.

Nunn is running against Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, of West Des Moines.

Trone Garriott criticized Nunn for voting for Medicaid cuts included in the law. The nonpartisan group KFF estimated it will reduce Medicaid spending by $137 billion in rural areas over the next 10 years. 

Gavin McGough

/

Iowa Public Radio

Republican 4th District U.S. House candidate Chris McGowan said he’ll focus on economic development and property rights if Iowans elect him to Congress.

Speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, McGowan said he wants to work on legislation to reduce the government’s power to take private land.

“The reason for that is because people want to be reassured — assured and reassured — that their property, their investment in property, is sacred, and that they can dictate and they can have input on how their property is used,” McGowan said.

He said this issue is important to Iowa farmers, especially those who’ve been trying to stop the use of eminent domain to build a carbon capture pipeline in the state.

The Sioux City native works as an economic developer and is running against Democrat Dave Dawson for the open 4th District seat. The district is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra and includes 36 counties in western Iowa.

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

The Republican running for Congress in Iowa’s 2nd District said Washington, D.C., needs a shake-up. Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake is a former state lawmaker and homebuilder, who served as a regional director for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Mitchell said he doesn’t accept PAC money and supports term limits and a ban on insider trading by elected officials.

“There's too many people. They're out there, they're working their butts off, and they're getting ripped off. And their government screwed them over. So that's why we're running for Congress,” Mitchell said.

Speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the Iowa State Fair, Mitchell also took aim at Democratic challenger state Rep. Lindsay James of Dubuque, calling her too liberal and criticizing her attendance record in the Iowa House.

The 2nd Congressional District covers 22 counties and includes Mason City, Waterloo and Cedar Rapids.

The Dubuque Community School District has proposed a set of school consolidations to reduce costs.

In a letter released Monday, the district announced it must reach roughly $17 million in savings by 2031. The preferred plan involves merging the city’s two high schools and closing multiple middle schools.

The district will hold a series of public input sessions over the next two weeks, with the goal of recommending a final plan to the school board in October.

Reduced state funding and low birth rates are behind the change, according to the district. Twenty years ago, Dubuque served over 10,000 students. Estimates show that number will be down to 8,000 by 2031.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn said he would like to redirect existing University of Iowa funding to increase pediatric cancer research. Lahn participated in a cancer roundtable hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Tuesday in Urbandale. 

As governor, Lahn said he would like to look at ways to reallocate university resources to support cancer research before increasing funding from the state.

“Would you say that a degree in the humanities is more important than funding more pediatric cancer research? I don't think it is. I think pediatric cancer research is actually more important,” he said. 

This year, Iowa lawmakers approved directing up to $3 million annually to the University of Iowa for pediatric cancer research. 

During the event, Lahn also said he would support a $1.50 per pack increase to the state’s tobacco tax, but only if there's a commeasurable increase in resources to help Iowans stop smoking. According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the state. 

Lahn’s Democratic opponent Rob Sand participated in a cancer roundtable in July. 

KSCJ

Hundreds of colorful backpacks packed with essential school supplies were passed out Monday in Sioux City. Parents and students lined up at the district’s downtown Educational Service Center ahead of the first day of school to receive the free back-to-school supplies.

Lizzy Diaz, a family communications specialist with the district, said local businesses and other donors provided all of the items for the students.

“A lot of great people in the community come together and donate a lot of school supplies, along with backpacks, and we end up giving them out to our families that are in need,” Diaz said. “The need is great and we do help out a lot of our families.”

The district’s English Language Learner, Dual Language and Student Services Department said there were about 800 backpacks filled with supplies available during the event. Diaz said all families in the district were invited to the event, regardless of income.

More free backpacks will be passed out across the Sioux City Community School District Tuesday during Back to School Night.

Gavin McGough

/

Iowa Public Radio

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth visited the Iowa State Fair Monday to boost support for Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and to sell the defense department’s hefty budget proposal.

Hegseth said that Nunn is a needed ally to champion the Trump administration’s contested defense budget in Congress. Nunn, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, is running for reelection in Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. 

The defense secretary lauded Nunn as a supporter of defense spending.

“President Trump needs the type of leaders who understand why a $1.5 trillion budget, a one-time generational investment, is what is necessary to ensure that my kids and your kids, that your grandkids and my grandkids, live in a free country, defended by the most powerful military in the world,” Hegseth said.

Politico reported that the $1.5 trillion request would be the biggest defense budget in modern history if passed.

In July, Hegseth estimated the war with Iran has cost the U.S. nearly $40 billion since it started in February.

Hegseth’s visit to Iowa comes as the U.S. and Iran pass their 60-day deadline for a deal to end the war. Both countries signed an agreement framework back in June that expired on Monday. 

Read more.

Natalie Krebs

/

Iowa Public Radio

U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson called herself a bipartisan fighter who will focus on making things like healthcare more affordable for Iowans. Hinson made her comments at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair on Monday. 

The Republican U.S. representative from Marion said she will work to lower healthcare costs for Iowans and protect certain public benefits if elected to be Iowa’s next U.S. senator.

“I know there is more to do to protect Medicare and Social Security,” she told the crowd. “I know there is more to do to make sure we're standing up for our veterans and delivering every single benefit that you all have earned.”

Hinson said that as a representative in the U.S. House, she has worked to enact policies like no taxes on tips or overtime and has reduced Social Security taxes. 

Hinson faces Libertarian Thomas Laehn and Democrat Josh Turek in the Nov. 3 election. Read more from the Iowa State Fair’s political soapbox.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

/

Unsplash

A measles outbreak has been confirmed in southern Iowa.

As of Aug. 16, 12 cases of the respiratory infection have been identified by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Health officials said there is evidence of person-to-person spread. The highly contagious illness is spread through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

Iowa HHS did not identify specific counties in southern Iowa that are being impacted by the outbreak.

The department released a list of locations individuals visited while contagious, including Des Moines, West Des Moines, Clive and Bloomfield. Iowa HHS recommends that anyone who was at those locations during the listed dates and times monitor themselves for symptoms.

Libertarian candidate Thomas Laehn warned state fairgoers over weekend that his opponents for U.S. Senate are too concerned with special corporate interests.

At the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, Laehn targeted Republican U.S. Rep. Ashely Hinson and Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek for being beholden to PACs and deep-pocketed donors.

“I will not be beholden to any political party or interest group,” Laehn said. “There are no PACs funding my campaign. Every donation I've received has been from an individual Iowan, and I will go to Washington, D.C., and I will represent all of you.”

According to campaign finance data, Laehn’s top two contributors are individuals from Colorado and South Carolina. Laehn has raised just over $30,000, compared to Turek’s $6 million and Hinson’s $10 million.

Laehn was elected Greene County attorney after teaching university courses on American government and constitutional law. He’s the first Libertarian in Iowa to be voted into a partisan office.

Grant Gerlock

/

Iowa Public Radio

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the Trump administration’s new presidential fitness test is aimed at making kids healthier and more active. 

Kennedy stopped at the YMCA in Newton on Monday with 1st District U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks to promote the Presidential Physical Fitness Test. While there, they also observed kids practicing planks, push-ups and other exercises benchmarked in the test.

The Obama administration moved away from the test to its own youth fitness program, which Kennedy called a mistake. 

“We think the sedentary condition of many of our children is contributing to this malaise, to the mental health crisis, to the physical fitness crisis, to the chronic disease crisis in our country,” Kennedy said.

A new state law requires Iowa schools to make the fitness test part of physical education classes.  

U.S. Drought Monitor

The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows drought conditions have improved overall in Iowa, but dry soil continues to persist in the western part of the state.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan said drought conditions are still able to pop up quickly in Iowa due to lingering effects from the multi-year drought that lasted from 2020 to 2024.

“There are many [monitoring] stations across the state that missed out on at least one year’s worth of rainfall,” Glisan said. “So, when you think about agricultural drought, it’s not so much because we’ve had regular rainfall through the growing season. But when we start to talk about hydrological or ecological drought, that’s where we look at those longer-term precipitation deficits having impacts on water availability in some parts of western Iowa.”

Around 36% of the state has abnormally dry conditions, which is an improvement from a week ago, when it was 44%. Just over 24% of the state has moderate drought conditions — all in western Iowa — with a pocket of severe drought in parts of Ida, Monona, Woodbury, Sac, Crawford, Carroll and Calhoun counties.

Glisan said the counties that have soil moisture deficits are now seeing more water demand.

“Particularly, as we warm up in summertime, with vegetative demand increasing from corn and beans, that’s where we start to extract soil moisture,” Glisan said. “So, you wrap in these warm temperatures, these windier conditions that we’ve seen, that’s where you start to see drier conditions prevail, and that’s where we see these drought conditions expanding.”

Three months ago, just 27% of the state had abnormally dry conditions. One year ago, none of the state was considered abnormally dry.

Sioux City Police Department

The funeral for the first woman to serve as a Sioux City police officer was held Monday. Janell Armstrong died Aug. 9 at the age of 84.

She was born Janell Clare Daws and grew up on a farm in Willis, Nebraska. She graduated from Bishop Heelan Catholic High School in 1960 and joined the Sioux City Police Department after going to the police academy in 1972. Her good friend Janet Comeau said joining the all-male department was not easy for Armstrong.

“It was difficult, breaking that glass ceiling and stepping into that with such fortitude and strength,” Comeau said. “Sometimes it was on a daily basis, just trying to get through the shock of her being on the force as a woman. She really set such a precedent and paved the way for all the women that are there now.”

Comeau said Armstrong was able to help many female victims of domestic abuse and assault cases because she had a different understanding of what they were going through.

“That role, as a woman police officer, was so impactful to the women who were injured, because there’s a compassion that comes from women who are victims that comes with an understanding that most men could not, especially at that time,” she said.

Armstrong published her autobiography, Patrolling the Darkness, in 2015, which told the story of how her faith guided her through her journey as the first female officer. Comeau said Armstrong started the first Bible study in the police and sheriff’s department, and she said many officers’ lives were changed through Armstrong’s courage in sharing the gospel.

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

Between the funnel cakes, midway rides and people-watching, the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox has become a fixture at the Iowa State Fair. This year, Republican Zach Lahn and Democrat Rob Sand drew large crowds as they made their cases to become Iowa’s next governor.

Lahn told the crowd that his priorities include keeping young people in Iowa, protecting family farms, strengthening public education and addressing cancer rates and water quality. He also took aim at Sand’s campaign finances, criticizing the millions of dollars his opponent has received from family members.

During Sand’s appearance on the soapbox stage, he pointed to his record as a state prosecutor and as Iowa’s only Democrat currently elected to statewide office.

He said state leaders should focus more on people than political parties and work together to solve problems. Sand acknowledges that some of his positions have upset members of his own party but said elected officials should tell people what they believe rather than what voters want to hear.

Keep reading.

Food manufacturers are under pressure from consumers and federal agencies to phase out synthetic, petroleum-based dyes, which have been linked to certain health risks. Researchers at the University of Missouri say a purple corn variety from South America could offer a natural alternative.

Pavel Somavat and his team of scientists found the extracted pigments largely retained their color, even when exposed to 250 degrees Fahrenheit for more than an hour. 

“If the colors are stable after that much heat exposure, it’s a very good thing because natural pigments, they tend to break down,” Somavat said.

They also found colors from purple corn held up well for weeks in both low- and high-acidic beverages stored at different temperatures.

The researchers are collaborating with a U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher who’s developing purple corn varieties better suited to growing in the U.S. They say this could provide a new economic opportunity for farmers.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

Smoke from distant wildfires has drifted into parts of Iowa, and mental health experts say that the dangerous air can affect more than just a person’s lungs.

Clinical health psychologist Dr. Kristi White said many of her patients are bringing up the smoky conditions during appointments.

“It can cause stress, it can cause anxiety and depression symptoms,” White said. “From just a physiological perspective, in terms of what it does to the brain, that particulate matter or pollution can actually cross over the blood-brain barrier.”

White said wildfire smoke can affect both physical and mental health, and it’s fueling concerns about the future. She said many people worry that smoke-filled summers could become more common.

“There’s kind of this background stress of climate change that’s making extreme heat and wildfires worse, and so this is starting to become something that is more regular and people don’t want it to become a new normal,” she said.

It’s recommended that people with various sensitivities consider lighter and shorter outdoor activities and go inside to cleaner air if symptoms appear. White said some people are feeling frustrated about missing opportunities to enjoy the outdoors.

“People are feeling like some of the best days of the year to get outside and spend time are kind of ruined for them,” White said. “A lot of people like to get outside, spend time in nature, really enjoy the summer weather.”

She said losing access to outdoor activities can take a real emotional toll.

Shaun Griswold

/

Source New Mexico

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Saturday approved by voice vote its lineup of six early primaries for the 2028 election cycle, kicking off with South Carolina and Nevada. Notably, the early lineup excludes Iowa, despite a push from its state party officials to keep it among the initial contests.

In a speech opposing the 2028 calendar Saturday, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said that it “fundamentally misses the mark.”

“The 2028 calendar has no representation of states with a majority of central or mountain time zones, and no Midwest state is among the first four,” she said.

Hart noted that Republicans have kept the Iowa caucuses as the first contest of the 2028 presidential nominating process, and the resulting surge in spending in the state during its contest could harm Democratic candidates for elected office in the state if that spending is not met by Democrats.

DNC Chair Ken Martin said during Saturday’s meeting that the early lineup reflects the diversity of the party’s electorate.

“Our 2028 nominee, whoever they are, will have to earn the support across the full breadth of America — every region, every demographic, every generation, every economic station in life,” he said. “No shortcuts. No coronation. You want to lead this party? You go earn it.”

Saturday’s vote ratified the DNC’s rules and bylaws committee vote in late July to recommend the lineup for approval by the full party.

Read more.

Democratic state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott said she’ll work to restore healthcare coverage for Iowans if elected to Congress. Trone Garriott is running in Iowa’s 3rd District against Republican incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn of Ankeny. 

Speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox at the state fair Friday, Trone Garriott criticized Nunn for voting for Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. She also blamed him for people losing Marketplace insurance due to expired enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits that Republicans failed to extend. 
                         
“That is terrible for our older Iowans, for our families, for our farmers,” she said. “That is making life harder for our neighbors and raising costs on everyone.”

Nunn broke with his party to support extending enhanced ACA premium tax credits earlier this year.

Trone Garriott also criticized Nunn for not holding public town halls. She told reporters after her speech that she would hold public town halls if elected. 

Nunn will speak at the fair on Monday at 2:15 p.m.

Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek said he doesn’t want to play into partisan politics in Washington, D.C., and welcomes the chance to work with Republicans on legislation, if elected. 

Turek, a state representative from Council Bluffs, calls himself one of the most bipartisan members of the Iowa Legislature. He told state fairgoers at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Friday that he’s used to working with Republicans because he’s from a red part of the state.  

“I don't care if it's a Republican idea or a Democratic idea; I will be out there, always,” he told the crowd. “What is best for the people? What's best for Iowans? What's best for our workers? And what is best for the middle class that is being hollowed out — that is my promise to each and every one of you.”

Turek faces Libertarian Thomas Laehn and Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson in the Nov. 3 election. Laehn is scheduled to speak at the Political Soapbox on Saturday and Hinson will speak on Monday. 

Zayrha Rodriguez

/

NPR

U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona who may run for president in 2028, said President Donald Trump and his Republican allies want “to intimidate their way to victory” in this November’s congressional elections.

“They understand how important these races are and they’re spending hundreds of millions of dollars right here, right now. They’re flooding the state with everything they have and they’re going to fight for the system that is working for them,” Kelly said. “That’s why we can’t give up and we can’t back down.”

Kelly was in Clear Lake Thursday, where he headlined the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding, a fundraiser for Democrats in six northern Iowa counties.

“I was a little bit disappointed when I found out ‘Wing Ding’ doesn’t have anything to do with airplanes,” said Kelly, who spent 15 years as a NASA astronaut after retiring from the U.S. Navy.

Last year, Kelly was one of five other Democrats in Congress who recorded a video urging military personnel to refuse illegal orders. The crowd at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake cheered when Kelly repeated that message.

“Donald Trump called for me to be hanged, executed, prosecuted. He couldn’t even get the order right,” Kelly said, to laughter and applause.

Kelly told the crowd that the president — who has called Kelly a traitor and said he should be tried for sedition — is trying to silence his critics.

Kelly was first elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2020, winning the seat that had been held by the late Arizona Sen. John McCain. Kelly was reelected in 2022 for a full six-year term.

Madeleine Charis King

/

Iowa Public Radio

State Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, has dropped out of his legislative race and will not seek reelection. 

Bousselot was running for the District 23 seat in Polk County, which is currently held by retiring GOP state Sen. Jack Whitver. But Bousselot said he has a new position in the private sector that will not allow him to continue serving in the statehouse. 

A spokesperson for Senate Republicans said Wednesday is the deadline for the Iowa GOP to nominate a new candidate. Tony Thompson is the Democrat running for the seat. 

Republicans currently hold 33 seats in the state Senate. Democrats hold 17. 

Rachel Cramer

/

Iowa Public Radio

Tyson Foods is scaling back its beef operations as the industry faces a historic cattle shortage. The company plans to close beef facilities in Illinois and Utah and is pursuing the sale of another plant in Washington.

The Illinois plant near Joslin is expected to close by Monday, affecting 2,700 employees in the Quad Cities area. The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said the Quad Cities closure will significantly affect producers, employees and rural communities across the region.

Tyson plans to concentrate more of its beef business at plants in Dakota City, Nebraska, near Sioux City, as well as at facilities in Kansas and Texas. The changes come months after the company eliminated 3,200 jobs following the closure of its beef plant in Lexington, Nebraska, in January.

Rising costs, drought and international competition have pushed U.S. cattle numbers to levels not seen in about 75 years. Tyson estimates its beef segment will post an adjusted operating loss of between $500 million and $650 million in fiscal year 2026.

Courtesy of the Office of the Governor of Iowa

/

Courtesy of the Office of the Governor of Iowa

Gov. Kim Reynolds has taken a different path as governor when it comes to the Iowa State Fair.

Former Govs. Terry Branstad, Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver made appearances at the Iowa State Fair while they were serving as governor, but after Reynolds took over as governor, she decided to spend each day at the 2017 Iowa State Fair.

“I get to be in blue jeans, cowboy boots and a bling belt for 11 days,” Reynolds said on the opening day of the 2026 fair. “Who doesn’t want to do that?”

Reynolds, who is not running for reelection, kicked off the ninth year of that 11-day ritual on Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

“I’m going to get emotional. It’s just bittersweet,” she said. “I’ve loved it. I’ve loved every part of it.”

Reynolds is again scheduled to flip pork chops, serve beef and hand out boiled eggs on a stick. On Saturday, she’ll show a steer in the 44th annual Governor’s Charity Steer Show.

“I kind of have to start lifting weights to hold the head up as long as I need to,” Reynolds joked.

During the opening ceremonies, Reynolds suggested she may volunteer to hand out water during next year’s Iowa State Fair to keep her attendance streak going.

“There’s simply nowhere, absolutely nowhere, that I’d rather be,” Reynolds told the crowd.

A teenage girl has been charged in the shooting death of a child in May in southeast Iowa.

First responders were called to a rural home in Jefferson County near Libertyville on May 24, after a caller to 911 said a girl had been shot in the head. Seven-year-old Jean Grey Irvin was rushed to a local hospital, then to Iowa City, where she was pronounced dead.

Investigators with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation said it was initially thought that the gunshot may have been accidental or self-inflicted, but they now say it was intentional.

An unidentified girl, who was 14 at the time, was charged Thursday with second-degree murder as a juvenile, though the county attorney said a decision will be made shortly to determine if she should be tried in adult court.

Many programs that support unhoused people in Iowa are in financial limbo as they wait on litigation with federal grants.

The Trump administration is attempting to change what programs receive yearly federal funding under the Continuum of Care Program by shifting more of the dollars toward short-term programs, like shelters, instead of permanent housing programs.

Courtney Guntly, who oversees the distribution of the funding for 96 counties in Iowa, said some permanent housing programs may be terminated if the new restrictions are allowed.

“There's not currently any state programs to fund permanent housing projects, and while some local communities are helping to fund that, that is not something that is consistent across the state as a whole,” Guntly said.

Federal officials tried to pass the restrictions last year, but an appeals court blocked them. Guntly said the uncertainty is making it difficult for programs to plan for the long term.

Katarina Sostaric

/

Iowa Public Radio

The Satanic Temple has filed a lawsuit against the state of Iowa, claiming the state has repeatedly violated its constitutional rights to freedom of religion and speech by denying them permission to host holiday events at the Iowa Capitol rotunda.

The lawsuit was filed in a federal court by the ACLU of Iowa. It’s seeking to block state officials from denying the group permission to participate, as well as an undetermined amount in damages.

Rita Bettis Austen, the legal director of the ACLU of Iowa, said it’s a foundational principle in the U.S. and Iowa that the government doesn’t favor one religious belief over another.

“That means when the state makes the public space in the Capitol rotunda available for these religious holiday events, for example, a Christmas event or a Hanukkah event, it cannot then deny that same right to other religious groups that it disfavors,” she said.

The Iowa Department of Administrative Services did not immediately respond to IPR’s request for comment.

Read more.

Dubuque County residents said water use is a top concern as the county works to regulate data centers. At a meeting Wednesday night, county supervisors discussed the topic with water regulators.

Michael Anderson, an engineer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, estimates data centers in Iowa use over 2 billion gallons a year for cooling purposes.

“We're handling that OK. It may not be great, and you may not all agree with it. But right now, OK. But it's expected to more than double in the near future,” Anderson said. “New ones are planned in Van Meter and Cedar Rapids and Davenport, Warren, Council Bluffs, Camanche, Clinton and potentially here in Dubuque County.”

Supervisors passed a data center moratorium after a developer was considering a data center project in the area in May.

The county hopes to have a set of rules in place when the moratorium expires in 2027.

Gavin McGough

/

Iowa Public Radio

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Ashley Hinson met with pharmacists from the state’s northeast on Wednesday.

At the meeting in Waterloo, pharmacists said their businesses operate on razor-thin margins, but they know consumers are struggling to afford medication.

Pharmacist David Scott said less than a third of the prescriptions he fills turn a profit.

“And I don't want to discriminate on my patient population based on their insurance, but I just find myself making way too many business decisions,” Scott said.

Grassley said pharmacy benefit managers (PBM) act as middlemen and are setting the price.

“And we should know what they’re doing. Not only to protect you as a consumer, but to save the taxpayers money,” Grassley said.

Hinson and Grassley said Congress should act to expose PBM practices.

“We, as legislators, are going to keep trying because it's about providing that relief to patients, and that's what we're both committed to in the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate is making sure that we're driving down those costs every single day,” Hinson said.

The Iowa Legislature has attempted to regulate PBMs on the state level. Those efforts are tied up in the courts.

Maura Curran

/

Iowa Public Radio

The nonprofit Greater Des Moines Supportive Housing is converting two vacant hotels into supportive housing projects in the metro area.

After a five-year-long search for the sites, each one will offer permanent housing for those experiencing homelessness or housing instability.

The site in Urbandale will feature 104 studio apartments, while the one in West Des Moines will have 89.

The nonprofit’s CEO, Emily Osweiler, said these are supportive housing projects, which means each one will offer onsite support services.

“So things like case manager offices, adult classrooms, a media center, a big living room space like you would have in your home,” Osweiler said.

They will also provide counseling, life skills training and a food pantry with essential items.

Osweiler said having affordable units and support in one place addresses two sides of the homelessness system.

“We as a community are not doing enough prevention and diversion,” she said. “And … we don’t have enough affordable and supportive housing inventory.”

Osweiler said studies done in Polk County show gaps in homelessness prevention and recovery. She said the new sites will help people at risk of becoming homeless or those already experiencing it.

Renovations are expected to be complete by late 2027.

Read more.

State law now says local governments can’t add any local civil rights protections that exceed state ones, but Johnson County may still find a way to protect transgender people.

Johnson County Supervisor V Fixmer-Oraiz is proposing an amendment to the county’s civil rights ordinance to include a definition of sex stereotyping — when one person expects another person to conform to their idea of how someone of a certain sex would talk, speak or act.

Fixmer-Oraiz said that type of stereotyping would fall under sex discrimination in the Iowa Civil Rights Act, and therefore the amendment would fit into current state law.

“This was also discussed at the transgender advisory committee,” Fixmer-Oraiz said. “It’s something that they’re obviously anxious to see getting passed. And we’ll utilize this to go throughout the county and other city councils and use as a template.”

Iowa City already has a similar amendment in place.

The county’s amendment process takes several weeks.

Iowa Libertarians have new candidates for lieutenant governor and the 3rd District House race in November.

The State Objection Panel removed Jules Cutler and Marco Battaglia from the ballot in June over election paperwork. The Libertarian Party has nominated Charles Aldrich to replace Cutler as the party’s lieutenant governor candidate.

Jacob Heard will run for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. Heard will replace Battaglia, who ended his run earlier this month after experiencing a medical emergency.

Iowa Libertarian Party Chair Stephanie Berlin said Heard is ready to step into the competitive congressional race.

“He is ready and happy to move forward with this nomination,” Berlin said. “He is currently — for those of you may not know Jake — he is a criminal defense attorney. He's absolutely wonderful, well spoken.”

The 3rd District includes the Des Moines area and parts of southern and central Iowa.

Read more.

This year marks a decade since Republican Gov. Terry Branstad privatized Iowa's Medicaid system. At the time, Branstad said private companies would make the system for low-income and disabled residents more efficient while saving the state money.

The managed care model, or privatization of Medicaid, started back in the late 1960s in California. It was a way to try to make state Medicaid spending more predictable by paying private companies a set amount of money per Medicaid recipient.

Most states currently use managed care organizations to manage at least some of their Medicaid population, according to the nonpartisan health policy think tank KFF. In Iowa, the managed care system has been plagued with turnover and controversy since its start.

Opponents — including Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand — say hiring for-profit companies to manage nearly all of Iowa’s Medicaid population has been a failure. Still, some worry major changes could cause too much disruption for patients and hospitals.

Read more.

Sen. Chuck Grassley is urging Congress to take action on the looming solvency crisis facing the Social Security program.

As Baby Boomers retire, there are fewer workers paying into the system. The Social Security Board of Trustees projects the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be exhausted in late 2032, leading to a 22% cut in Social Security benefits.

Grassley, who chaired a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the solvency problem on Aug. 5, said lawmakers had a chance to address the problem 20 years ago.

“George W. Bush was reelected on a campaign, and I was chairman of the Finance Committee and that's the last time the Finance Committee dealt with it,” Grassley said. “We were not successful.”

There’s division in Congress over whether to form a bipartisan commission that would give lawmakers options, including raising the payroll tax rate or raising the retirement age from 65 to 67. Groups that advocate for retirees say Congress should do the work itself to ensure the process is transparent.  

A trial is underway in Woodbury County for a former Sioux City man accused of killing a Native American woman more than 40 years ago.

Terri McCauley was 18 years old when she disappeared after a night out in 1983. In 2025, a grand jury indicted 63-year-old Thomas Popp on a first-degree murder charge.

Woodbury County Attorney James Loomis told jurors the gruesome details of how McCauley was found 43 years ago, when a man walking his dog in a wooded area discovered her body.

“A mother of two living in Sioux City, Terri McCauley was murdered,” he said. “She was shot in the face with a shotgun, a 20-gauge shotgun.”

Kendall Crawford

/

Iowa Public Radio

Popp’s defense attorney John Loos said there’s no physical evidence, including DNA, linking his client to McCauley’s death.

“Not one piece of hair, not one fingerprint, not one piece of fiber from the clothing Terri McCauley was wearing, located in Mr. Popp’s vehicle,” Loos said.

Loomis said McCauley’s friends last saw her leave in a car matching the color of one owned by Popp and that he owned a similar gun to the one used to kill McCauley. He also said that back then, investigators didn’t have the tools they rely on today.

“As you can imagine, in 1983, police work was different. There were no body cameras worn by officers. No patrol car video. No cell phones to download. DNA testing was not even something that anybody thought about,” Loomis said.

The trial is expected to continue through next week. Prosecutors expect to call 15 witnesses, including McCauley’s best friend and a former investigator who said Popp should have been tried years ago.

Popp is also expected to testify. If convicted, he faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Major League Baseball returns to Iowa Thursday night after a four-year hiatus. The Philadelphia Phillies will play the Minnesota Twins at the Field of Dreams Movie Site outside Dyersville.

The MLB has played at the location twice, once in 2021 and again in 2022, but the games were held at temporary facilities. This year, a permanent stadium welcomes the teams. The new stadium is part of a $120 million, state-backed investment in the site, which is owned by a local nonprofit.

Dyersville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Karla Thompson said the city of roughly 4,000 has been buzzing all week.

“People are definitely traveling early and experiencing the town,” she said. “They're taking in the sights of the community; they are going to local businesses and restaurants and attractions. So that is a great thing.”

The first pitch is scheduled to fly Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The game will air live on Netflix.

Sheila Brummer

/

Iowa Public Radio

A city council meeting in northwest Iowa scheduled for Wednesday night has been postponed because of safety concerns.

The mayor of Salix said the decision was made after officials received death threats and terroristic threats on Facebook. The threats come as the community remains divided over plans for a potential data center.

In a social media post, city leaders said they do not feel comfortable proceeding until authorities can investigate and “clear us of danger.”

Salix annexed about 900 acres of farmland in April for possible development. Google recently confirmed it’s in the early stages of evaluating the site for a data center.

Read more.

The National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center confirmed a derecho blasted across eastern Iowa on Tuesday morning. The powerful storm continued into Illinois and Indiana, where winds topped out at 99 mph.

Damage in Iowa is still being assessed, though it’s reported that Clinton and Jackson counties were hit hardest, including near the town of Maquoketa. The Storm Prediction Center also confirmed that three EF1 tornadoes touched down in Tuesday’s storm, all in Delaware County.

Meteorologist Tyler Ryan, with the National Weather Service in Des Moines, said a derecho is a wide-spread, long-lived thunderstorm.

“Typically, they’re extremely powerful because they will produce significant wind damage along some of the leading edge of some of those showers and storms,” Ryan said. “By definition, if the wind damage swath extends more than 240 miles and it includes wind gusts at least 58 mph or greater along most of the length, then that may be classified as a derecho.”

Tuesday’s derecho came six years and one day after Iowa experienced a massive derecho that caused widespread damage.

“Storms don’t follow dates, and sometimes they can land on important dates. But it’s summertime, it’s August. It’s not necessarily out of the realm,” Ryan said. “We typically see maybe one to two derecho events in a year, so it just happened to fall around a time that a lot of people do remember.”

The derecho on August 10, 2020, was extremely destructive, shredding more than half of the tree canopy in Cedar Rapids with winds of 140 mph. Millions of Midwesterners were impacted by the damage and power outages. The overall cost was estimated at $11 billion, and clean-up lasted more than a year in some communities.

The City of Clinton is creating more ways for citizens to influence a future data center ordinance.

The grassroots group Clintonians Against Data Centers has organized in opposition to QTS Data Centers. The developer is eyeing Clinton for a hyperscale, 10-building data center campus.

The city council is in the midst of drafting a data center ordinance and is asking the group’s steering committee to meet with them publicly to discuss the ordinance line by line. Council member Gregg Obren said prolonging the drafting process is a good idea.

“In the big picture, we’re not really in any time constraint. So, we have the time and space to really do this the right way,” Obren said.

The meeting between city officials and the grassroots group is set for Sept. 1 at Eagle Point Lodge. The public is welcome to attend but won’t have a chance to speak.

Tuesday is National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, and county auditors across Iowa are looking to sign up more poll workers for the general election on Nov. 3.

Finding poll workers in rural precincts is a big challenge in most counties, according to Woodbury County Auditor Michelle Skaff.

“Sometimes we have to pull individuals from Sioux City that go to some of those areas like Otho and different areas,” she said. “So any individuals from the rural area or from cities outside of Sioux City, we would be more than happy to have them apply.”

Skaff said her office trains everyone who works on Election Day so they are ready to handle voter rolls when the day comes. She said making sure poll workers feel comfortable interacting with voters is important.

“You’re asking for their ID, you’re scanning them in, making sure that it’s an eligible individual,” Skaff said. “The software helps a lot, but you still have to use common sense when you’re looking at their ID, making sure you’re making eye contact with that person, looking at the picture and so forth.”

Election Day can be a long day for poll workers, Skaff pointed out, but it’s paid work. Individuals who are interested in becoming a poll worker this year can attend a webinar hosted by the Secretary of State’s Office on Wednesday at 11 a.m. Application information is also available online.

The website also has links where you can apply to be a poll worker.

The Waterloo Community School District is selling an old high school to be redeveloped as veteran housing. The school board approved the sale at its meeting Monday night.

Waterloo developer Victor Rottinghaus has plans to purchase the Expo High School and turn it into a mixed-use development.

“The vision is a commercial level on the bottom floor, residential on the middle floor and then green housing on that top floor,” Rottinghaus said. “The thought process there is by putting a veteran in one unit of the fourplex, that I can subsidize their living out of the other three units, the commercial level and the fruits and vegetables sold off of the roof.”

Rottinghaus secured the building for $150,000 — less than a third of the asking price — but he must invest in the campus in two years, or it reverts to the district.

The Expo School previously housed alternative learning programs that are now located at the city’s career center. Waterloo is consolidating its high schools as part of a multi-year project.

The Libertarian Party of Iowa will meet Wednesday to nominate two new candidates for November’s general election, replacing candidates that did not qualify for the ballot.

In two separate hearings, Polk County judges upheld decisions made by the State Objection Panel that found Libertarian candidates Jules Cutler and Marco Battaglia cannot appear on the ballot due to errors in their applications.

The state panel ruled that lieutenant governor nominee Cutler did not provide an affidavit of candidacy needed to appear on the ballot and 3rd Congressional District candidate Battaglia was not qualified to run because his nomination papers didn’t match his legal name.

Stephanie Berlin, chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, said Battaglia was planning to appeal the decision, but had to drop out unexpectedly.

"Unfortunately, Marco had a medical emergency, so he is completely withdrawn,” Berlin said. “So we will not be moving forward with the appeals in his case at this time. Hence, the need for the nomination and voting for replacement Libertarian candidates.”

The Iowa Libertarian Party's board had originally planned to choose replacement candidates Sunday night, but they instead adopted the protocol that they will use Wednesday to make those decisions. Under Iowa law, the new candidates must be nominated by Aug. 14.

The Farm Bill was blocked in the U.S. Senate on Thursday by Democrats who said they were concerned about fraud measures in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Senate candidate and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson was hoping to see the bill pass after it passed the House.

“I’m frustrated, and once again, I will just say that I think that Democrats in D.C. have shown just how out of touch they are with rural America right now by blocking this from moving forward in the Senate,” Hinson said. “I have been out traveling the state. Our farmers are struggling right now.”

The Republican from Marion hopes the Farm Bill will get passed when the Senate returns from its fall recess.

“I’m hopeful that it’s just a symptom of the political environment right now leading up to an election,” she said. “We’ve seen the same rhetoric around government funding.”

Hinson said the efforts to stop fraud in SNAP are important, and she hopes Democrats will “come to the table” to reach an agreement.

“We want to eliminate fraud and make sure that taxpayer dollars are not going out unnecessarily so that these programs can exist long term, whether it’s SNAP or Medicaid or any other government program,” she said. “I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to get [there] at some point.”

Hinson’s opponent in the Senate race, Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek, criticized Democrats for failing to pass the Farm Bill. Turek said a new permanent Farm Bill is long overdue.

Linn County won’t change its 18-month data center moratorium to make an exception for projects tied to nuclear power. The board of supervisors was considering a carve-out for Google’s proposed data center, but after hearing strong opposition from the public, they kept the pause in place.

If county supervisors approved the change, it would have allowed Google to build a data center in unincorporated Linn County near the Duane Arnold nuclear plant. The plant is undergoing federal review to be recommissioned.

Supervisor Brandy Meisheid led the effort to consider a carve-out.

“I felt like Iowa has positioned itself to be a pro-nuclear state,” Meisheid said. “I feel like our residents are in favor of nuclear power, which is why I wanted to make sure that we were looking at how we support nuclear energy.”

But Meisheid said public feedback showed opposition to data centers was strong enough that she didn’t want to alter the moratorium. If Google wants to move forward, it could ask for the land in question to be annexed into Palo city limits.

Dubuque is among the latest recipients of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding to clean up former industrial sites. EPA administrators will visit the city on Wednesday to recognize those efforts.
 
Dubuque received $500,000 from the latest round of the EPA’s Brownfields cleanup program. The funds will help redevelop sites along the Mississippi River, including a shuttered Alliant Energy coal plant and a former coffin factory.

Mayor Brad Cavanagh said the program has helped the city pivot from its industrial past since the early 2000s.

“If there wasn't such a​​ thing as Brownfields funding at the federal government level, we would still be figuring out how to deal with all of these contaminated areas,” Cavanagh said. “And the fact that we have that partnership with the federal government — it's a game changer for industrial cities along the river like ours.”

The Brownfields Grant program aims to spur redevelopment and cleanup at contaminated industrial sites nationwide. The latest round includes $3.5 million for five cities and organizations in Iowa.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced it will conduct a year-long study to see if the plains spotted skunk belongs on the threatened or endangered species list.

Even the most dedicated wildlife watchers of the Great Plains may have never seen the plains spotted skunk. The nocturnal, squirrel-sized creature lives in prairies and forests — and does a handstand when it’s threatened.

Prairie restoration organization Grasslands Unlimited submitted the petition asking U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials to consider endangerment status for the skunk. Executive Director Trevor Pellerite said the group filed a lawsuit after the agency was slow to act.

“It's not any more or less important than any other species,” Pellerite said. “If we want healthy ecosystems, then all of the animals that evolved to be a part of that ecosystem have to be protected.”

If the plains spotted skunk does gain endangered status, he said it could bring more conservation attention to the species. Read more from Harvest Public Media.

A first-degree murder trial starts Tuesday for a man accused of killing a Native American woman in Sioux City more than 40 years ago. Police arrested Thomas Popp, 63, in Washington state in January 2025 in connection with the 1983 death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley.

After several delays, the trial is set to move forward. If convicted, Popp faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.

McCauley’s nephew, Josh Taylor, said he wants people to remember his aunt as more than a crime victim.

“The more important aspect of this case is remembering Terry as a daughter, a sister and a loved one,” Taylor said. “[We] kind of forget about those aspects. We're quick to jump to she's another statistic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives.”

A social media campaign helped give attention to McCauley’s case, and her family started Red Sky Nation to highlight the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives crisis.

“When we started an awareness campaign for Terry, we asked ourselves, ‘How can we help others than just Terry?’” Taylor said. “The awareness aspect, the social media aspect — creating those relationships with the county attorney's office, the Sioux City Police Department, Woodbury County Sheriff's Office — creating those relationships and essentially building that bond and getting a seat at the table.”

Taylor said the organization has helped others locally and in other states across the region.

Des Moines residents have weighed in on where they would choose to make potential cuts as the city plans for its upcoming budget. Over 2,000 people responded to a city survey that gave options to cut services or raise new revenue to fill a $12 million budget gap.  

The option selected the most — by 88% of participants — was to eliminate the floodplain property buyout program.

Over half of participants also selected to reduce library operations, including closing small branches an additional day, and 58% chose to reduce police neighborhood services.

The results will help shape recommendations that will be introduced to the Des Moines City Council later this month.