Lawyers for the Des Moines Register and former political pollster Ann Selzer are asking an Iowa judge to pause part of a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump.   
  
The president filed a lawsuit against Selzer, the newspaper and its parent company, Gannett, in 2024 over a poll that showed former Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump in Iowa ahead of the election.   
  
A lawyer for Trump wants to proceed with swapping information and evidence about the case. But Selzer’s attorney, Robert Corn-Revere, wants to pause until the president pays a bond of at least $300,000 and is no longer president. He said Trump’s executive role and privileges could complicate fact-finding.  
  
“A stay is necessary to avoid the difficult questions that necessarily arise when the president is a private litigant,” Corn-Revere said. 
 
Another group of defendants that includes the Register and Gannett is asking a judge to put the process on hold while they request the case be dismissed.  
 
Selzer’s attorney also wants to wait until a similar suit involving a Register subscriber has been resolved.   
  
The judge in the case said he would issue an order on the ruling in about two weeks.   

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

There's a growing mental health crisis gripping Americans in all corners of the country, and Iowa’s farmers are facing unique challenges. From economic shifts to generational pride, the stress of it all can take a toll — not only on their livelihood, but on their mental well-being.

For Doug Fuller, running his family’s 1,000-acre farm became too much as he dealt with depression and the death of his beloved cat, Ellie.

“I just went downhill, really bad,” he said. “I was able to help put the crop in that spring. But by fall, I didn’t even work. I was just incapable of doing much of anything.”

Fuller said that painful experience, coupled with the pandemic, launched him into a long bout with severe depression. He ended up spending two months in the hospital.

“I was very suicidal,” he said. “It didn’t happen, but it was on my [mind] all the time. And I can’t tell you how many goodbye notes that I wrote.”

Fuller shared the farm with his brother. The two were the fourth in their family line to inherit the farm. A few years after Fuller’s battle with depression, his brother died by suicide.

The brothers are not alone in their mental health struggles. Farmers are 3.5 times more likely to die by suicide than the general population, according to the Rural Health Association.

Keeping reading more from IPR’s James Kelley.

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Even though it’s not a presidential election year, the Iowa caucuses will be held Monday night. Both parties will pick central committee members, local delegates and discuss their platforms.

Republicans and Democrats will meet at their precinct locations at 7 p.m.

Ryan Akerberg, chair of the Woodbury County Democrats, said the election this fall is just as important as a presidential election year.

“These are the times of gathering, facilitating the necessary steps to make sure that we're a strong enough party to where we can make a difference in those ultra important years, and frankly, we have midterms coming up this year,” he said.

Iowa Democrats have applied to restore the state’s position as holding the party’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. Iowa is expected to hold the first Republican caucuses in 2028.

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This story was corrected to state that party members meet at different places, not one location.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Gov. Kim Reynolds has endorsed Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson for the U.S. Senate.

In a statement on X, Reynolds said she is “continually impressed” by Hinson's grit, preparation and commitment to Iowa.

Hinson announced she was running for the Senate seat last fall shortly after Sen. Joni Ernst announced she would not seek a third term.

Hinson has also received endorsements from other top Republicans, including President Donald Trump.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center is set to lay off 67 employees, according to a notice published on the Iowa Workforce Development website.

A spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement that Trinity Health, MercyOne’s parent company, is projecting annual revenue reductions of $1.5 billion due to "recent and future government funding policy changes."

The hospital system said it’s also struggling with low insurance reimbursement rates, staffing shortages and rising prices for drugs and equipment.

Earlier this month, MercyOne announced it will shut down its Ottumwa clinic at the end of February.

Nicole Baxter

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Iowa Public Radio

Iowans who haven’t upgraded to a REAL ID with the gold star in the top right corner may have to pay a $45 fee at the airport if they want to fly starting Sunday.

Jessica Mayle, regional spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), said passengers 18 and older who don’t have a REAL ID or other acceptable form of government-issued ID will have to pay the fee through the TSA website before passing through a security checkpoint.

Mayle said the online payment form is short, but flagged that it only covers travel for 10 days.

“If you are there and back in 10 days, you can use that as a receipt more than once. If your trip is longer than 10 days, you would need to pay more than once,” she said.

If an individual doesn’t have a REAL ID, Mayle said they will have to verify the $45 fee has been paid at TSA.gov before getting in the security line. She said cash or credit card payments are not accepted at the checkpoint, so passengers should have their receipts ready either on their phones or printed out when they enter the TSA area.

Travelers who arrive at the airport without their receipt or an acceptable form of ID may miss their flight if they aren’t able to make the payment from a cellphone or laptop before passing through a security check.

More than 94% of travelers at TSA checkpoints nationwide already present an acceptable form of ID, according to Mayle.

Michael Leland

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Iowa Public Radio

Bird flu hit a game bird hatchery in Kossuth County with about 25,000 pheasants, quail and chukars, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. It marks the second confirmed case of the H5N1 virus this year for domesticated birds. 

The first detection early this month involved roughly 7,000 game bird pheasants and over 100 chickens in Kossuth County. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the current public health risk is low, and there’s no recorded person-to-person spread at this time. However, poultry producers and backyard flock owners are encouraged to use biosecurity practices to prevent the spread of the disease.  

Two Iowa nonprofits that support victims of sexual assault and domestic violence are merging.

The Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, known as Iowa CASA, is joining with the Coalition Against Domestic Violence. The announcement came after Iowa CASA shared on social media that its board voted to dissolve the organization.

Maria Corona, executive director of the Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said merging into one will help both organizations withstand threats to funding.

The groups said services for sexual assault survivors are not affected by the change.

An Ankeny man will serve six-months’ probation for running over a flock of geese on a local street.

Court documents show Joseph Lamb, 82, stopped on State Street at 6:30 a.m. on June 10, 2025, to let a flock of nine Canada geese cross the roadway. He then accelerated into the geese once they were in front of his vehicle. One goose died after being hit.

Canada geese are protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Lamb was fined $2,000 along with the probation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Lamb could have been sentenced to up to six months in jail and fined $15,000 for killing a protected bird.

The Iowa Court of Appeals has denied the second appeal of a man serving life in prison for the deaths of two Iowa State Fair vendors.

Rodney Borushaski was convicted of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of his mother and father-in-law, Marilyn and Bobby Blewer, at the State Fair campgrounds in August 1996. Prosecutors said he was part of the plot by his wife, Jamie Blewer, to hire hitman Jeremy Sneed to kill her parents to steal money from their fair funnel cake business.

Borushaski argued there was new evidence to show he was not involved, but the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled all the evidence had previously been considered and dismissed his appeal.

Jamie Blewer and Sneed are also serving life sentences for the murders.

Nearly 100 employees who were laid off will return to work at John Deere facilities in Davenport and Dubuque. The company made the announcement one day after President Donald Trump praised the industrial manufacturer at a rally in Clive.

John Deere laid off hundreds of workers in 2025, citing decreased demand and lower order volumes. The company said in a statement that demand is now increasing and that the callbacks help ensure there are skilled teams in place to support production.

The workers will return to the facilities in mid-February. 

Courtesy of MidAmerican Energy

Utility crews from Iowa are helping restore power after the recent winter storm left more than 300,000 homes in the dark across Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.

Geoff Greenwood, spokesperson for Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy, said a team of 36 line workers and support staff was sent to Oklahoma on Friday, but that area didn’t end up seeing severe weather, so they redeployed to Louisiana.

“They moved and headed down to the Shreveport area, initially, to help Southwestern Electric Power Company with their storm cleanup down there,” Greenwood said.

The MidAmerican crew has moved again and is now in the area of Hornbeck, La., about two hours south of Shreveport.

“This area was very heavily impacted by ice, so the ice built up on trees, it built up on power lines, it took down infrastructure,” Greenwood said. “Our crews are helping the local utility restore those customers that were hit hard in that area.”

MidAmerican is part of a nationwide mutual aid network that lets utilities send crews to each other during emergencies. Greenwood said the partnerships help speed up restoration efforts when communities need it most.

President Donald Trump spoke to diners at the Machine Shed restaurant in Urbandale Tuesday before addressing a crowd of supporters at an event center in Clive. 

The president told the crowd that the U.S. economy is booming after his first year in office. He said rolling back some vehicle emissions standards will be good for Iowa’s corn farmers, and he gave a shoutout to the CEO of John Deere.

“I even signed a John Deere hat for him. He said, ‘I’m going to put this in the museum.’  I said, ‘That’s good.’ It’s a great company,” Trump said during his speech. “And you just said you’re opening two massive plants because of tariffs.  You’re opening up one in North Carolina and one someplace else.”

Trump said the past year has been a “dramatic” turnaround for the county’s economy and told the crowd that it happened a lot faster than he thought it would.

Katarina Sostaric

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Iowa Public Radio

Four of the five Republican candidates for governor say Iowa’s abortion laws should reflect their belief that life begins at conception. They made their comments Tuesday at a debate in Des Moines hosted by Moms for Liberty.

Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews, Zach Lahn and Brad Sherman were asked when life begins. They all said “at conception.”

Steen, the former director of the Department of Administrative Services, said abortion is the most important issue of the governor’s race.

“There’s a few things I would love to see by the end of my time as governor here in the state,” he said. “The first one is, I would love to see Iowa being the most pro-life state in the union. I’d love to see a life at conception bill passed.”

“Life at conception” bills typically ban all abortions and could threaten certain fertility treatments or contraceptives.

Steen also criticized Iowa’s 4^th District Rep. Randy Feenstra — the fifth candidate for governor and perceived frontrunner — for not being at the debate to answer questions about abortion policy. Feenstra was in Des Moines earlier Tuesday night for the president’s rally.

Read more.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Second District Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson did not say whether she has confidence in Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem during her weekly press call on Wednesday. It comes as Democrats in Congress are calling for Noem’s impeachment and as President Donald Trump has changed who’s leading immigration enforcement efforts in Minneapolis. 

Hinson said it’s a moment for strong leadership. She joined the president Tuesday in Clive for a rally where the economy, the midterms and immigration were addressed.

“Yesterday, when I was with him [Trump] in Des Moines, he talked a lot about this, and he said sometimes you do need to make changes in how you’re doing things. And that’s exactly what he did yesterday in sending Tom Homan to Minneapolis. So, I think we’re looking for some positives out of this,” Hinson said.

Republican Sens. Tom Tillis of North Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska are calling for Noem to leave her job at the Department of Homeland Security.

Congress is currently divided on a funding bill that would approve $10 billion for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

Grant Gerlock

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Iowa Public Radio

Protesters lined the streets and took over the parking lot of a gas station in Clive Tuesday ahead of President Donald Trump’s rally on the economy.

They carried signs demanding the removal of immigration officers from Minneapolis and called out “Justice for Pretti, Justice for Good.” 

Shirley Keenan of Des Moines said the president has allowed immigration officers to treat people inhumanely.  
"He needs to have a heart and follow the Constitution, quite frankly” she said. “Congress needs to act as they are supposed to, as a third, equal branch of government and a check on the executive branch.” 

Keenan said Congress should use the next spending deadline to cut funding for the Department of Homeland Security and force the administration to change its approach on immigration. 

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

President Donald Trump urged Republican voters to turn out for the midterms to continue advancing GOP priorities during his visit to Iowa Tuesday.

The president highlighted the “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” parts of his massive tax and spending law, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. He also touted his efforts to restrict immigration at the southern border.  

Trump said the country was “dead” under former President Joe Biden and what he calls “radical left lunatics.”  

“If we lose the midterms, you'll lose so many of the things that we're talking about, so many of the assets that we're talking about, so many of the tax cuts that we're talking about,” Trump said. “And it would lead to very bad things.” 

The president's visit comes as Iowa heads into eventful midterm elections later this November. Iowa’s races for governor and a U.S. Senate seat are open, and half of the U.S. House races in the state are currently ranked “toss-ups” by the Cook Political Report.

Read more.

The Gazette has a new president. Pulitzer Prize-winning editor Richard Green is now overseeing The Gazette and 11 other affiliated newspapers in Iowa, according to Adams MultiMedia, which purchased The Gazette and the other titles in December.

Green was president and publisher of the Des Moines Register from 2013 to 2015. His most recent job was executive editor of The Herald-Leader in Lexington, Ky.

In a statement published by The Gazette, Green said he is honored to work with The Gazette’s team to serve the paper’s readers and advertisers. He is taking over for Kelly Homewood, who announced her retirement earlier this month.

Senate Democrats say they won’t vote for a budget bill funding the Department of Homeland Security until there are reforms in Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE has come under intense scrutiny for its actions in Minnesota, including the killing of two U.S. citizens.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said although it includes some funding for ICE, the bill also contains needed disaster aid, and Democrats' refusal to vote on it could lead to another government shutdown.

“It won't accomplish what the Democrats want to accomplish because if they think they're defunding ICE, they aren't because the working families tax bill I just talked about has funded ICE through 2028,” Grassley said.

The bill Grassley was referring to is the One Big Beautiful Bill, which passed last year and triples ICE’s budget over the next few years.

Communities in northwest Iowa, impacted by historic flooding in the summer of 2024, have requested buyouts for 267 properties, totaling more than $53 million. Almost half are in Rock Valley.

Some city leaders want quicker action by the federal government.

The city administrator of Spencer, Kevin Robinson, said he’s frustrated over the wait for buyouts for 41 homes. Spencer turned in their request more than a year ago.

“People continue to pay mortgages and property insurance on these properties, and so we've been fighting and advocating for them with the federal government and FEMA to get this done as fast as possible,” Robinson said.

Michael Cappannari, a spokesperson for FEMA, said cost analysis for nine communities in northwest Iowa continues, but approval takes time.

“You know, it never comes fast enough. But just know that we are doing everything we can to get these projects reviewed and approved as quickly as we can,” Cappannari said.

He said once the funding goes through, the homes will be torn down and replaced with green space, which could include parks and ballfields.

Shannon Lundgren for Iowa

Republican state Rep. Shannon Lundgren of Peosta has ended her campaign for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

In September, Lundgren announced she was running for the U.S. House seat currently held by Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, who’s running for the U.S. Senate. Lundgren said she’s an “original Trump supporter” because she endorsed Trump in 2015, and she had pledged to be unwavering in backing Trump’s agenda in Congress.

Lundgren has been a state legislator since 2017 and said she’s made “the difficult, but clear decision” to seek another term in the Iowa House instead.

Two other Republicans are running in Iowa’s 2nd District: Former state Rep. Joe Mitchell of Clear Lake and state Sen. Charlie McClintock of Alburnett.

Former Republican U.S. Rep Rod Blum of Dubuque withdrew his bid to return to the House last fall.

State Sen. Catelin Drey, D-Sioux City, said she’s been diagnosed with stage one uterine cancer.

Drey won a special election last year after the previous senator for her district died of pancreatic cancer.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Drey said Iowa is the cancer capital of the country. She said current health care policies make early cancer detection and treatment harder and more expensive, and she said silence perpetuates bad systems.

“I am not interested in pretending this is just a private matter. It is a public policy failure playing out in my body,” she said. “I am going to be transparent, not because I owe anyone my vulnerability, but because sunlight is a tool and I intend to use every tool available to me.”

Drey said she’s getting a hysterectomy Tuesday. After that, her doctors will determine if she needs additional treatment. Drey said she’ll be back at the Capitol as soon as she’s able to start working again.

New bipartisan legislation would modernize how the U.S. Department of Agriculture doles out loans to farmers. The bill would allow those with a 50% stake in a farm to apply for much-needed loans. Under the current system, a farmer or rancher needs to be the sole owner-operator.

Farm Credit Council CEO and President Christy Seyfert said it’s common for siblings to co-own farms these days. She said a USDA policy change would be a practical fix.
“Very, very simply, it will help provide access to this much needed capital to help farmers — the next generation farmers — to get out and get in the field, do what they need to do to keep agriculture going in this country,” Seyfert said.

Two Illinois lawmakers who sit on the House Committee on Agriculture, U.S. Reps. Mike Bost and Nikki Budzinski, introduced the legislation late last year and have attached it to the latest version of the Farm Bill, which is set to expire this September.

Read more from Harvest Public Media’s Will Bauer.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Democratic state Rep. Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights announced she’s dropping out of the 3rd Congressional District race. Instead, she has endorsed Democratic candidate state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott.

Konfrst thanked her family, supporters and campaign team in a statement. Konfrst said she will continue to fight to get Democrats elected in Polk County and across the state.

Konfrst previously served as the Iowa House minority leader, but stepped down from that role to focus on her congressional campaign.

Iowa's 3rd District seat is currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn, who is running for a third term.

Rachel Cramer

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Iowa Public Radio

Researchers at Iowa State University are working to overcome one of the biggest obstacles in wind energy: how to store electricity when turbines aren’t spinning.

Steve W. Martin, a professor of engineering at ISU, is working with his students on batteries that use inexpensive and easily sourced materials, including sulfur and sodium.

As one of the leading producers of wind energy per capita, Iowa is well-positioned to offer advancements in the field, Martin said.

“We just need to keep going, and one way to keep it going is by enabling storage,” he said. “We're kind of saturated [with] how much electricity we can generate from the wind turbines. So, if we can store that, then we can make the wind energy more reliable right here in Iowa.”

Martin said sodium is around 1,000 times cheaper than lithium, which is commonly in batteries.

Sodium-sulfur batteries aren’t a new technology, but Martin said what makes ISU’s model unique is the glass used as a “separator.” The separator keeps the battery from shorting out, while also conducting sodium ions. 

Martin said it will take thousands of such batteries connected to each other to reach industrial-scale wind energy capacities.

ISU’s battery research is partially funded by the Iowa Energy Center, which is part of the Iowa Economic Development and Finance Authority.

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.