James Kelley

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Iowa Public Radio

Hundreds gathered in Iowa City on Sunday to protest the Trump administration’s expanded federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis.

The demonstration came a day after a federal officer shot and killed Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen and Veterans Affairs nurse. Pretti is the second Minnesota resident to be killed by a federal officer this month. 

Lily Froehlich, a student at the University of Iowa, said she was horrified seeing online comments implying that Pretti’s death was justified. 

“I was just devastated by the fact that we’ve gotten to this point, as a country, where we’re excusing this — where we’re seeing this man, who spent his life helping veterans, helping others, helping a woman who had been tear gassed — and we have members of our community saying this is something that’s not a problem,” Froehlich said.

A federal immigration judge has barred federal officials from destroying or altering evidence related to Pretti’s shooting, as some congressional Republicans have joined Democrats in calling for an independent investigation. 

Read more.

Taylor Wettach for Congress

Democrat Taylor Wettach has dropped his bid for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District and is now running for Iowa state auditor.
 
The trade and national security attorney from Muscatine announced the pivot Monday morning. Wettach said he’s running to stop waste, fraud and abuse in government.
 
The state auditor’s race is open, with current Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand running for governor.
 
Two Republicans have announced runs for seat so far: Lt. Gov. Chris Cournoyer and Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas.

RAGBRAI

The Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa, known as RAGBRAI, will be the shortest in the ride’s 53-year history this year. The 391-mile route was announced over the weekend and marks the 10th hilliest ride to date.

Starting in Onawa, riders will stay overnight in Harlan, Guthrie Center, Boone, Marshalltown, Independence, Dyersville and cross the finish line in Dubuque.
 
Pass-through and meetup towns have yet to be announced.

The week-long ride, held July 18-25, attracts thousands of cyclists from all over the world.

It was 1874 when a large influx of immigrants from Russia settled in the Great Plains, bringing with them a hard red variety of wheat.

This wheat variety grew well in the harsh summers and dry winters. Hard red winter wheat is still a common sight on the Plains – most especially Kansas – which came to be known as the “breadbasket of the world.”

Yet, while Kansas is still a top wheat-producing state, wheat acres have been shrinking. That’s also been true in Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas since the 1980s, as drier conditions and competition from other crops made wheat less attractive to farmers.

But scientists think developing wheat hybrids could usher in a new era.

Keep reading more from Harvest Public Media.

A new initiative that aims to improve lung cancer screening rates launched on Friday at a pharmacy in Waterloo. The collaboration between the University of Iowa and Eli Lilly will roll out in two phases.

Over the next two years, 500 eligible people visiting Greenwood Pharmacy will be asked lung cancer screening questions by the staff. These are typically individuals between 50 and 80 years old who have a history of smoking. The staff will then help them through possible next steps, which could include a blood test or a CT scan at a nearby provider. 

University of Iowa College of Pharmacy Dean Jill Kolesar said screening people at a pharmacy rather than at a doctor’s office expands access for many people.

“Iowans actually visit their pharmacy eight times more frequently than they visit their primary care physician. So, by offering these screenings in a community pharmacy, where people are, we feel like we can really increase access,” Kolesar said.

The next phase of the project will involve expanding screenings to more rural areas, where lung cancer is prevalent. 

A new report ranked Iowa as the 17th healthiest state in the nation. The United Health Foundation’s America’s Health Rankings report looked at 99 different measures of health.

Ravi Johar, chief medical officer at United Healthcare, said Iowa did well overall across many categories. 

“There's a very low prevalence of non-medical drug use,” he said. “There's high prevalence of high school completion. People don't think education can play a factor in their health, but it certainly can. And then there's low income inequality.”

Johar pointed to some areas where Iowa ranked low, including HPV vaccination rates, the number of homes with lead risk and rates of excessive drinking. 

Office of the Governor

Gov. Kim Reynolds was in the Middle East this week to visit Iowans serving in the military as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Reynolds’ office said she and Iowa National Guard Adjutant General Maj. Gen. Stephen Osborn went to Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait. Nearly 1,800 Iowa National Guard members are deployed in the region.

Two Iowa National Guardsmen were killed last month in an attack in Syria. Reynolds presented the Purple Heart to an Iowa soldier who was wounded in that attack. She also visited airmen who provided medical care to Iowans after the incident.

Reynolds said in a statement that it was an honor to visit deployed soldiers and to personally thank them for their service.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that the Attorney General’s Office can go ahead with a lawsuit against TikTok. 

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird sued the social media company two years ago, claiming the app’s age rating does not fit the graphic content available to kids. 

A lower court judge denied the company’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. TikTok appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court, arguing in part that the state does not have jurisdiction over the company.  

The justices disagreed in a unanimous opinion. They said that by doing business in Iowa, TikTok must answer claims of misconduct in court. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has confirmed a positive case of bird flu in Kossuth County in a flock with 7,000 pheasants and 120 chickens. This marks Iowa’s first detection of the H5N1 virus in domestic birds in 2026.

Gov. Kim Reynolds authorized a disaster proclamation for the county, which allows state resources from several agencies to assist with tracking and monitoring, containment and disinfection.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship advises poultry producers to contact their veterinarian immediately if they suspect the H5N1 virus. Signs include a sudden loss of appetite, swollen heads and difficulty breathing.

Last year, Iowa had 10 confirmed bird flu cases with poultry, affecting over 750,000 domestic birds.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources said people who find 20 or more sick or dead wild birds in a small area should report their findings to local wildlife management staff.

Over 200 employees at the CNH Industrial manufacturing plant in Burlington were notified this week that they will be laid off in the spring. CNH finalized its plan to close the plant last year, saying it’s a response to a significant drop in loader backhoe demand, a key product produced at the plant. 

Burlington Mayor Jon Billups said it’s crushing that the company didn’t give its Burlington workers the option to manufacture equipment besides the loader backhoe. 

“I get they’re not selling as many backhoes as they used to, but they’re selling other equipment we could be manufacturing for them,” he said. “They’ve got a perfectly good plant here with a fantastic workforce, and they’re not taking advantage of it.” 

Local leaders and members of the United Auto Workers had been trying to convince the company to keep the plant open. UAW President Shawn Fain called the closure an example of corporate greed. 

Billups said the plant has been a point of pride for the Burlington community for generations. 

“We reached out to the state leaders, and everybody was trying to keep them here,” Billups said. “So, it stinks because we’ve had years of investment in their plant, both as a city and as a state, and it’s just heartbreaking for the families that are going to be affected.” 

Iowa WARN shows the layoffs will take effect in April and May. 

Radio Iowa

The Iowa Republican Party has revealed that President Donald Trump will be speaking in a Des Moines suburb next week. According to the Iowa GOP’s Facebook page, Trump will speak at the Horizon Events Center in Clive on Tuesday, Jan. 27. Doors open at noon.

Earlier this week, Trump’s chief of staff indicated the speech will be focused on the economy and will kick off weekly events to bolster Republican efforts to retain majority control of Congress in the 2026 general election.

The venue for Trump’s appearance was the site of the Iowa Republican Party’s 2024 State Convention and is owned by David Barker. Barker is an Iowa City real estate developer and former economist for the Federal Reserve who moved back to Iowa in 1994.

He is now serving in the Trump administration as the U.S. Department of Education’s assistant secretary for postsecondary education.

The former superintendent of Iowa’s largest school district has pleaded guilty to two counts in federal court Thursday.  

Ian Roberts was arrested by ICE in September for being in the country without legal status. He was later charged with making a false statement for employment and possessing firearms without legal status.  
 
Pleading guilty could jeopardize Roberts’ ability to challenge removal orders, according to the agreement. He could also be subject to “immediate removal” after serving his prison sentence.  
 
“I will say, this is not one of the happiest moments of my legal career, which has been pretty long,” said Alfredo Parrish, Roberts’ attorney. “Dr. Roberts has come up and accepted responsibility for his conduct.” 
 
Parrish said he reviewed all possible defenses with Roberts, including claiming his possession of firearms was for self-defense reasons. Parrish said Roberts received threats while he was superintendent.  
 
Another judge will decide whether to accept Roberts’ guilty plea and what his sentence will be. The sentencing date is set for May 29. 

Iowa hit an air quality goal in December that had been in the works for more than 10 years.

Ed Tormey, with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR), said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the Muscatine area reached the federal mandated level for sulfur dioxide emissions.

“With that action by EPA, the entire state of Iowa is now in full attainment with all the federal national ambient air quality standards — the entire state,” Tormey said.

Tormey, who leads the DNR’s environmental services division, said the EPA tests air quality for particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and carbon monoxide, along with sulfur dioxide. He said it has been a long time since the entire state met the EPA goals.

“We have not been in that status since Dec. 30, 2011 — or 14 years ago,” he said. “We are now the 17th state in the union to be in full attainment with all those standards.”

Tormey said there’s a big difference in the air quality in Muscatine now compared to 2011. He said it took a lot of work and cooperation to bring the numbers down.

“Of course, this just didn’t happen overnight. We’ve been working with the Muscatine area businesses for the last 10 years to make this happen, because they obviously needed to reduce emissions in the area for this to happen,” Tormey said. “It’s been a really good partnership between those businesses and our air quality staff.”

Tormey made his comments on Tuesday during an Environmental Protection Commission meeting.

Sen. Chuck Grassley said he’s not worried about the U.S. distancing itself from NATO.

President Donald Trump’s recent remarks about Greenland have rattled NATO allies in Europe, but Grassley said an agreement announced Wednesday gives the U.S. what Trump has been asking for.

Speaking to reporters Thursday, Grassley said the president has been consistent in calling on Europe to pay more for its own defense.

“The president is getting Europe to do what he says for the last three decades they haven't done enough of, and so he's accomplished his goal, and I think we're for sure staying in NATO,” Grassley said.
 
A former Danish prime minister and former head of NATO said it’s time for Europe to shift its posture from the U.S. being a close ally and prepare to hit back against any tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark.

Even with extreme cold on the way, the organizers of the University of Okoboji Winter Games still predict a big crowd.

Morgan Strauss, with the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce, said they expect 40,000 people to attend the games, which start Thursday and run through Sunday.

“Friday is looking pretty intense for that cold weather,” Strauss said. “We just encourage everyone, obviously, to bundle up and only stay out there as long as you need to. We have plenty of indoor events and then Saturday is looking a little bit warmer.”

The forecast shows a high of 5 below zero on Friday, with a wind chill of almost negative 40.

Additionally, Arnolds Park and Okoboji Fire and Rescue issued a critical safety advisory to warn of ice instability due to a stretch of cold weather followed by warmer weather.

Strauss said all the events planned for the weekend are in safe areas near the shoreline.

Milken Family Foundation

A western Iowa elementary school principal has received a national honor for her work mentoring teachers and improving student education.

Principal Jill Ridder was handed the Milken Educator Award in a surprise ceremony at Woodbine Elementary Thursday morning. She was originally told the school was being honored for improved test scores.

More than 75% of elementary students at Woodbine are performing at least a year above grade level in reading or math. 

Ridder is the only Iowa educator singled out for the national award this school year. She also took home $25,000 and a free trip to attend a forum in Washington, D.C.

In the last year, the Trump administration had far-reaching negative impacts on American science, according to 14 scientists in eight states who work across a wide swath of research fields, including academic institutions and federal agencies.

They say the White House has rapidly reshaped U.S. research in three key ways: the administration slashed the federal scientific workforce, canceled thousands of federal research grants and clamped down on specific subjects like climate change and environmental justice.

Read more findings from interviews with scientists who told Harvest Public Media that 2025 was a year of major changes and uncertainty.

The Linn County Planning and Zoning Committee has approved a first draft of a new ordinance regulating data center development that addresses impacts on natural resources. 

The first draft states that large-scale data center projects need to include a water study that determines if there’s enough water to support the development. It also requires the developer to sign a water use agreement with the county to establish expectations for ongoing water use. 

Planning and Development Director Charlie Nichols said one goal is for the county to have approval authority over data center projects. 

“I think the important part is that for every data center project that is proposed, there is public scrutiny on it. There is a public process where these projects are discussed and evaluated in public, and then the elected officials make the decision based on the public comment and the information they have,” Nichols said.

In addition to the agreements, the ordinance draft includes regulations related to building setbacks, noise, emergency response planning and road use. The Linn County Board of Supervisors will consider the ordinance for the first time on Feb. 4.

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

An Iowan who gained national attention after he was arrested for painting flowers on manhole covers has asked a judge in Sioux City to dismiss the charges.

Police arrested Brandon Bradshaw in November for criminal mischief and consumption of alcohol in a public place. His attorney told a judge Wednesday that Bradshaw and the city reached an agreement a few weeks after the incident for all the charges to be dropped.

Bradshaw said he’s optimistic that will happen.

“The Sioux City mayor, the City of Sioux City and the residents of Sioux City have all spoken. They want this,” Bradshaw said. “So, I think it's just best to let it go. If I was drawing something else, it might be a different story. But it was flowers.”

The prosecutor said an agreement wasn’t reached with the Woodbury County Attorney’s Office, which has jurisdiction in the case. The judge will issue a ruling at a later date.

Corn production in Iowa and the U.S. has been on an upward trajectory for decades and hit a record high in 2025. But industry leaders say there’s a problem: There’s not enough market demand for corn.

A new study prepared for the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association predicts that the demand gap will continue to grow.   
Monte Shaw, executive director of Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, said an oversupply of corn will drag down prices for farmers, unless something changes.

According to the study, allowing the year-round sale of E15 across the U.S. would close the demand gap for corn by 2031. But scaling up sustainable aviation fuel and low-carbon marine fuel would be needed in the long run to keep corn profitable without reducing the number of acres it’s grown on.

Read more.

Katarina Sostaric

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Iowa Public Radio

New campaign fundraising reports show Democratic State Auditor Rob Sand raised far more money in 2025 than all the other candidates for Iowa governor. 

Sand raised $9.6 million last year without contributions from his wife and in-laws. In 2024, he received $7 million from close family members.  

Iowa’s 4th District Rep. Randy Feenstra led the five-person Republican primary field. He reported raising $4.3 million last year, with about a third of that coming from his congressional campaign.   

Adam Steen raised about $500,000 in 2025, and Brad Sherman raised $200,000. Zach Lahn loaned his campaign $2 million and raised an additional $150,000. Republican state Rep. Eddie Andrews raised $40,000 in 2025.

Candidates will have to file paperwork by mid-March to officially get on the primary ballot. 

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Students across Iowa took part in the “Free America Walkout” on Tuesday to protest recent actions by ICE agents in Minneapolis.

Almost 200 high schoolers protested outside of North High School in Sioux City. Junior Raiden Parvu helped organize the students at his school.

“Showing that people are together like this will allow a sense of community among everyone here,” he said. “I think, right now, that's vital for the safety of Americans and really anyone — civilian or not.”

The walkout took place on the first anniversary of President Donald Trump's second inauguration. Other protests were planned at schools in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Grinnell.

Read more.

As the U.S. Supreme Court continues to weigh the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, several farm groups say the administration’s “chaotic” trade policy will have long-lasting effects.

Aaron Lehman, a farmer and president of the Iowa Farmers Union, said his group is watching the case closely, but the bigger issue is Trump’s overall approach to trade policy.

“This chaotic tariff policy is not getting us any closer to fair trade,” Lehman said. “We are no closer to stopping product dumping, manipulative monetary policies, uneven labor and environmental standards, and unfair labeling restrictions.”

Lehman said the administration’s approach undermines decades of investments by farmers to build relationships with buyers overseas, many of whom may switch to suppliers in other countries.

He said retaliatory tariffs also shrink farmers’ limited market options at a time when estimated production costs continue to be higher than prices for corn and soybeans.

Lehman made his comments alongside other farmers in the U.S. during a press call organized by the group Tariffs Cost US.

The Cedar Rapids school board voted to cut nearly $13 million from next year’s budget. The district faces a roughly $12 million budget deficit in the upcoming fiscal year.

The board approved cuts in consulting and administrative positions and put a freeze on new curriculum spending. It's trying to right-size the district’s budget as it faces declining enrollment due in part to increased state support for education savings accounts that can be used at private schools.

Superintendent Tawana Lannin said district leadership teams have been having conversations with principals to find out what works for them. 

“We just know that we can serve our students better,” Lannin said. “We want to do that, and we’re working extremely hard every day to do that. And right now, with the way that our budget is, we just can’t give back to the campuses with what we have right now.” 

The board is expected to consider a plan to consolidate some of the district’s schools next month. If passed, the plan would likely go into effect in the fall of 2027.

In farm country, dense tree cover can be hard to come by. But researchers from the University of Illinois have found that when more trees surround rivers and streams, there is a link to higher biodiversity.

The researchers found evidence of an additional land species for every 10% increase in forest cover.

“We detected bobcats that have had a big population recovery in Illinois over the last few decades,” said Eric Larson, who leads the lab that conducted the study. “We detected bats. We detected box turtles. I think those benefits to wildlife also have benefits to people.”

The researchers collected water from streams and analyzed any traces of DNA they could find in the samples. The process is called environmental DNA metabarcoding.

Larson said the sampling method can be as easy as throwing a bucket attached to a rope off a bridge, so volunteers or farmers can collect samples to support a wide range of conservation research.

Read more from Harvest Public Media’s Jess Savage.

Grant Gerlock

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Iowa Public Radio

The Iowa State Board of Education approved plans to open three new charter schools across the state, including two located at public school systems. 

The Council Bluffs Community School District was approved to open a STEM-focused charter school in the fall of 2027 that would offer extracurriculars in robotics, coding and entrepreneurship. 

The Sumner-Fredericksburg School District, located in northeast Iowa, plans to open a charter high school next fall focused on work-based learning. Superintendent Ryan Cunningham said students would explore careers through five-week internships with local businesses. 

“We think that this is a way to support people coming back to small towns,” he said. “As students go through this process, they learn about what's in their community, and whether they come back to that small town or another place, they know more what are in the rural communities of Iowa.” 

The state board also approved a plan for Horizon Science Academy, an independent charter school operator, to expand into Cedar Rapids with a K-5 school in the fall. Horizon currently operates schools in Des Moines and Davenport.  

The Animal Rescue League of Iowa opened two low-cost veterinary clinics in the Des Moines metro. Both ARL Afford-a-Care locations are full-service clinics and offer spaying, neutering, vaccinations and other treatments. They are open to anyone, regardless of income. 

One clinic is located in central Des Moines on East 14th Street, and the other is on the south side of the metro on SE 14th Street.

ARL of Iowa CEO Tom Colvin said the goal is for the clinics to make owning a pet more affordable.  

“One of the major reasons that animals are surrendered to the Animal Rescue League and other shelters and rescues is because of a lack of affordable veterinary care access,” he said.

Colvin said the clinics also want to collaborate with veterinary colleges and vet technician programs to offer hands-on training for students through internships or externships.

Colvin said the two clinics were purchased in 2025 with a $1 million gift. Each center will be self-sustaining, and any profit will go towards other ARL programs that lack adequate funding. 

Civil rights groups hope a federal appeals court will allow their class-action lawsuit over jail fees collected in Black Hawk County to move forward. 

The ACLU of Iowa and other groups say the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office makes people sign an agreement before they are released detailing their jail fees. They claim the agreement lacks due process because it does not give a way to challenge the amount.    

A lower court ruled that the individuals involved in the case do not have legal standing to pursue a lawsuit. A federal appeals court will now weigh in on that decision after hearing arguments last week. 

The Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office has said the fees are reasonable and the process is allowed under state law. 

Matt Poole

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USFWS (Public Domain)

New reports from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) show the number of young ospreys in Iowa hit a record high last year, with nearly 60 fledglings, while the number of young peregrine falcons held steady.

Riggs Wilson, a wildlife research specialist with the DNR, said the migratory raptors were re-introduced to the state starting in the late 1980s and ‘90s.

“That allowed us to get these populations established in the state as nesting populations. And then, now that they're fairly established, they're kind of doing their own thing and doing well,” Wilson said. “But then that continued monitoring allows us to know where they're nesting in the state, and if there's any big fluctuations in their nesting.”

Wilson said monitoring nests during the spring and summer relies heavily on a network of volunteers.

Osprey nests are largely concentrated in the Des Moines metro, Spirit Lake area and corridor between Waterloo and Iowa City. Most of the peregrine falcon nests are near the Mississippi River.

Both raptors are considered conservation success stories after populations in North America crashed in the mid-20th century from the pesticide DDT.

Read more.

Gov. Kim Reynolds says the federal funding she’s designating for cancer screening tests and treatment will be quickly distributed.

Two weeks ago, Iowa was awarded $209 million in federal funding to expand rural health care options. Reynolds announced during her Condition of the State message on Tuesday that $50 million of it will be designed for cancer-related care.

“We have 250 proposals that they’re going through right now,” Reynolds said. “We will be able to start awarding contracts the end of this month. I was on a phone call with Dr. Oz just this week and he thought it was just amazing that we’d be able to turn it around this quickly.”

Oz is the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency that awarded the $209 million grant.

Reynolds’s staff began developing grant application guidelines when the state submitted its original request for the federal funding months ago. Part of the $50 million Reynolds has reserved to expand access to cancer screening and treatment will go toward equipping hospitals that are regional hubs for cancer patients.

The latest available data indicates Iowa has the second highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S. and the only state where the cancer rate is rising.