U.S. Drought Monitor

Dry conditions remain in northwest Iowa, but they have continued to shrink due to September rains.

The area of moderate drought has gone from 6.79% to 2.1% in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report. The majority of the moderate drought is in Woodbury and Monona counties, with very small amounts in nearby Harrison and Plymouth counties.

The amount of abnormally dry areas is down to 12.4%, compared to more than 40% at the start of the calendar year. Nearly 88% of the state now has no dry conditions, which is up by nearly 2% from last week.

John Deere is calling back more than 60 workers to its Waterloo plant this fall.

The company said the Waterloo employees will support current demand, build up inventory for long-term planning and replace workers lost to attrition.

John Deere announced on Sept. 24 that 375 workers were being rehired at its Quad Cities operations. The company has hired or rehired around 900 employees across Illinois and Iowa since January. It has remained profitable despite a slump in the agriculture economy and projects a net income of around $5 billion in 2026.

The state filed an appeal against a judge’s ruling that requires the State Historical Society of Iowa’s research center in Iowa City to reopen.

A Johnson County judge ruled on Sept. 17 that the Department of Administrative Services unlawfully closed the Iowa City branch of the State Historical Society of Iowa in December 2025.

The ruling found that the department is required to maintain a research facility in Iowa City. The Department of Administrative Services said the Iowa City research facility is a safety hazard and too costly to maintain amid budget constraints.

Farmers already pinched by high production costs are now contending with record high diesel prices, right as many begin their fall harvest.

In mid-September, diesel hit an average of $6.68 a gallon in the Midwest. In Iowa, it reached $6.24 a gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Michael Langemeiee, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said farmers are already contending with higher prices for equipment and fertilizer.

“This would be a huge crisis if we hadn’t seen the increase in crop prices we’ve seen recently. That’s helping, but it’s not curing the high input cost problem,” Langemeiee said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, both corn and soybean prices are up, which many farmers say is the only silver lining in an economically turbulent year.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

Sen. Chuck Grassley is urging Iowa Republicans to vote for the GOP candidate for governor for a very specific reason. During an Iowa GOP event in West Des Moines on Friday, the nonagenarian said if he happens to die while serving in the U.S. Senate, Iowa’s next governor may be the one to appoint his replacement.

“At 93 years of age, I don’t know how many more groups of Republicans like this I’m going to have a chance to talk to. But one of the reasons I’m worried about who’s going to be elected governor — I don’t plan on dying in office, but if I did, I don’t want a Democratic governor choosing my successor,” Grassley said.

Grassley made a similar statement in October 2018 when he was 85 years old and Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds was in a tight race to win a full term as governor. Reynolds easily won reelection in 2022.

Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn are in a competitive race for governor this year. Under state law, Iowa’s governor makes a temporary appointment to the U.S. Senate to fill a vacancy until a permanent replacement is selected by voters in the next general election.

Grassley was reelected to an eighth term in the U.S. Senate in 2022. The term expires on Jan. 3, 2029. Grassley, the longest serving current member of the senate, has not said whether he intends to seek reelection.

The last time an Iowa governor filled a vacancy in the U.S. Senate was in 1936, after Democratic Sen. Richard Murphy, of Dubuque, was killed in a car accident.

Natalie Krebs

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Iowa Public Radio

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson called for an end to the war in Iran and wants to see Congress back in session to address the rising cost of diesel.

Hinson hosted a press conference in Des Moines on Friday, where she called on Congress to suspend the gas tax, pause diesel exports and expand E15 as diesel prices hit record highs nationwide. 

Hinson, who represents Iowa's 2nd Congressional District, said she has put pressure on House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring Congress back in session. 

“I think it was a mistake for them to cancel session,” she said. “Every option should be on the table, and we should be in Washington, D.C., working to provide that relief right now. I stand ready to jump on a plane as soon as they make that decision.”

Isabella Luu

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Iowa Public Radio

Hinson's Democratic opponent, state Rep. Josh Turek, hosted a campaign roundtable event on affordability Friday. He criticized Hinson's previous support of President Donald Trump's actions in Iran and said her support of tariffs has hurt Iowans financially.

"I'm just hearing over and over and over folks telling me, 'I can't afford to keep gas in my tank,' or when we're with farmers, particularly as we're in harvest time, telling me they can't afford diesel," he said.

Read more.

The University of Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom has selected four finalists in its search for a permanent director. The center’s executive committee, which recently lost about half its members, will hold interviews and choose a candidate the week of Oct. 19.

The four candidates will remain anonymous during the interview process. Each will be invited to tour the University of Iowa’s campus and possibly give a presentation to the Iowa Board of Regents.

The executive committee said its work on the search is now complete.

According to the Board of Regents, the candidates were selected from 62 applicants. The salary range for the position is $200,000 - $450,000. 

Two people were shot and killed over the weekend in Sioux City. Police said the gunman then took his own life.

Investigators said their work is still in its early stages. They haven’t released the names of those who died on Saturday.

Neighbors said the victims were the gunman’s estranged wife and her mother.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson said she would support annual increases in federal cancer research funding if elected in November. Hinson made her comments Friday at a roundtable event hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network in Urbandale.

She said she wants to make sure that federal dollars go to researchers and are not caught up in administrative costs.

Hinson also said she would support funding for tobacco prevention and cessation programs at the federal level. She's concerned about smoking's link to lung cancer and how it's affecting the state's lung cancer rates. 

“I think it is critical funding, and it's both education and awareness,” she said. “Then supporting the process to help people quit if they want to do that.”

More than one in five cancer deaths in Iowa this year are estimated to be from lung cancer, according to the Iowa Cancer Registry. Iowa has the second highest rate of cancer in the country and is one of the few states where diagnoses are increasing. 

Hinson's Democratic opponent Josh Turek participated in a cancer roundtable in August.

Some Midwest states have little to no regulations of Flock Safety cameras or other automated license plate readers. As surveillance companies face bipartisan backlash, that is likely to change during the next legislative session.

Read more from The Midwest Newsroom investigation.

The latest Iowa Realtors report shows home sales in August fell 10.5% compared to July.

The median sales price for an Iowa home in August was $266,750. That’s higher than a year ago, but down 4.5% from July. There was also a 9% dip in the number of Iowa homes that were put on the market in August compared to July. However, the total number of homes up for sale in Iowa reached nearly 9,900, which is well above July’s inventory and 13.5% above the number of homes on the market in August of 2025.

Nationally, sales of existing homes hit the lowest level since June 2025, while sales of new homes increased.

More than 5 million people have lost federal food benefits since last summer after a slew of federal cuts and rule changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

In rural areas, food insecurity is on par with the country’s largest cities at about 16%. Harvest Public Media’s Anna Pope reported on how food aid changes are hitting rural America. Keep reading.

The Waterloo City Council is split over a proposed change to its human rights commission. Mayor Dave Boesen introduced changes to make the commission’s director a nonmandated position.

Current city code states that the mayor “shall” appoint a director. Under the new proposal, that phrase would change to “may” appoint a director.

The city’s former director was terminated in April, shortly after Boesen took office, and it has remained vacant.

The commission oversees the investigation of housing, employment and other discrimination complaints filed in Waterloo. Its staff has historically worked directly with the federal government, as well as the Iowa Office of Civil Rights.

A state law passed in March moves more discrimination cases from local to state management. But city council member Belinda Creighton-Smith said Waterloo must maintain its local director.

“We want someone with civil rights experience hired in that department so that it is efficient and it will do what our fore-parents designed it to do, which is to have the teeth and the power that is needed to protect the human rights of the people,” she said.

A vote to kill the proposal failed to pass at the city council meeting on Monday. It will be considered at a future meeting.

State officials told the governor’s Iowa Medicaid Fraud Elimination Task Force that the state unit that investigates Medicaid fraud is efficient. But a former state official that oversaw the agency said the state needs to allocate more resources and staffing. 

In the budget year 2025, the Iowa Medicaid Fraud Control Unit had 10 employees and reached eight fraud convictions. Recent federal data shows Iowa has low staffing levels compared to other states with similar Medicaid budgets. 

Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Director Jeremy Ingrim said referring cases to county and federal attorneys helps make the group efficient. 
                           
“Collaborating with these prosecuting agencies is a force multiplier that significantly enhances the unit's productivity and efficiency by achieving successful case resolutions with limited staff, without requiring additional resources within the unit to prosecute these cases,” Ingrim told the task force Thursday.

Dean Lerner, former director of the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, said it would be a “big mistake” if the Medicaid task force did not suggest more resources for the unit in their recommendations to the governor. 

Plans for a professional soccer stadium in Des Moines are still in limbo after the city withdrew from some negotiations for part of the plan. 

In a statement, Des Moines Mayor Connie Boesen said the developer did not meet the city’s final set of terms after seven years of negotiating. She said the developer continued to ask the city for more financial resources despite the city facing budget constraints from state property tax legislation.

Jeff Lorenzen, board president of the Iowa Soccer Development Foundation, the group that would own the stadium, said funding is already in place, but project developers wanted to finalize agreements for the nearby development before moving forward with the project. Lorenzen said project developers are still negotiating with the city. 

Krause Group is the company behind the project. At a conference with stakeholders, CEO Kyle Krause said having women’s and men’s professional soccer teams in Des Moines would be inspiring for local youth.

"There's been a lot of time, money, resources part of this project," Krause said. "We can't allow politics to stop a fantastic project from happening."

The city is still honoring previous commitments to the project, like funds to remediate the site. Mayor Boesen said alternative options have been presented to the city to bring professional soccer to Des Moines.

"We are doing our due diligence to explore the possibilities these new opportunities can bring to our community," she wrote in her statement.

Mayor Boesen said the city is committed to bringing high-quality sports and entertainment to the city.

A community of Marshall Islanders in Dubuque is preparing for a day of cultural celebrations called Manit Day on Saturday.

The city’s Marshallese community is one of the largest in the Midwest. Immigrants were drawn to the area to attend seminary school in 1970s, and the community is still growing.

Maitha Jolet helps organize the celebration, which features traditional food, sports and dancing. He said ‘Manit’ translates to culture — something that’s fading from Marshallese communities in the U.S.

“We are kind of losing our Manit right now, and that is why we want to celebrate the Manit Day every September of each year,” Jolet said.

The U.S. tested nuclear weapons on the islands after World War II, and the islands remain contaminated. Marshallese can travel and live in the U.S. without acquiring a visa.

An investigation of an alleged meth trafficking ring operating in central Iowa has led to indictments against 14 people, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa.

“Illegal drug trafficking can have devastating consequences,” said Attorney David Waterman. “It fuels addiction, contributes to overdoses, and harms families and communities. Our message is straightforward: When individuals or criminal organizations seek to distribute illegal drugs into Iowa we will follow the evidence wherever it leads.”

Search warrants were executed Tuesday at locations in Marshalltown, Perry and Des Moines. Waterman said eight vehicles and 10 residences, as well as cellphones were searched.

“During the operation, law enforcement seized suspected methamphetamine and marijuana, approximately $22,000 in U.S. currency, six firearms, 18 phones, one laptop and one tablet,” Waterman said.

Eugene Kowel, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Omaha field office, said their investigation began in January.

“As a result of this case … 240 law enforcement officers from 17 different agencies came together as we conducted a joint operation to dismantle this group,” Kowel said. “The majority of the arrests were conducted without incident. There was one subject who barricaded himself in a residence, but our FBI SWAT team was able to take him safely into custody.”

Eleven defendants have made their initial court appearance, and their trial is scheduled for Nov. 30. Nine of those defendants are from Marshalltown, one is from Perry and the other is from Des Moines. Three other people were taken into custody Tuesday, but they’re part of a separate indictment and have not yet been charged.

Natalie Krebs

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Iowa Public Radio

A Polk County judge has dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and political pollster J. Ann Selzer.

Trump, 1st District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and former state Sen. Brad Zaun claimed an Iowa Poll before the 2024 election was a form of consumer fraud. The poll put then-Vice President Kamala Harris ahead of Trump in Iowa by 3 percentage points, but Trump won by just over 13 percentage points.

Judge Scott Beattie said in his ruling the poll cannot be called fraudulent for being wrong, in part because opinion polls are “inherently uncertain.” He said the poll is also protected as free speech under the First Amendment.

Read more.

Natalie Dunlap

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Iowa Public Radio

Dolly the mastodon is back in southern Iowa’s Wayne County after a two-year restoration project.

In 2022, a Wayne County resident noticed partially exposed bones in a creek bed. Two years later, the Office of the State Archaeologist brought what turned out to be a mastodon skull and partial skeleton to Iowa City for dating and preservation.

Now, the ancient animal is in its final resting place: the Prairie Trails Museum of Wayne County. Museum Director Brenda DeVore recalled the dig on IPR’s Talk of Iowa and shared how eager the local community is to have Dolly on display.

“I was there when we did the dig. I remember all the clay and getting it up out of the ground,” DeVore said. “It’s been a two-year process. Time has gone pretty fast. I’m excited it’s coming back to Wayne County. Everyone else is as well.”

The museum will host a public ribbon cutting for the new mastodon exhibit on Saturday at noon.

Although the mastodon was nicknamed Dolly, researchers recently found out the 13,000-year-old skull belonged to a male.

Communities in southwest Kansas are reeling as a large immigration enforcement operation continues in the region. 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents raided the National Beef meatpacking plant in Dodge City on Wednesday. It’s not clear how many people were taken into custody. 

ICE entered the factory with a warrant and took people off the assembly line, according to New Frontiers, a civic and voting rights organization in southwest Kansas. The Midwest Newsroom could not independently confirm this information.

Kansas officials in Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal released a joint statement Wednesday afternoon, saying they had no prior notice of the ICE operations.
 
Community advocates say many people are scared to leave their homes. 

This region of southwest Kansas has a large immigrant population that is vital to the agriculture sector.

The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has released the names of the two victims who died during a school field trip at eastern Iowa’s Lake MacBride Tuesday.

Hannah Jorgensen was a 24-year-old fifth grade teacher at Iowa City’s Borlaug Elementary. Her body was found on Tuesday.

First responders recovered the body of 10-year-old Ahmed Osman, of Iowa City, on Wednesday around 1:30 p.m.

Authorities responded to the area Tuesday near the Coralville Reservoir spillway on a report of “subjects in the water.” No other information has been released about what happened.

The incident is still under investigation.

In a statement, the Iowa City School District said Jorgensen and Osman were valued members of the school community and their loss is felt across the district.

More rain is on the way before the end of the month, which will likely make this the wettest September on record for many parts of the state.

State Climatologist Justin Glisan said the seven-day forecast indicates some areas could get another 2-4 inches of rain. He said parts of Iowa are already near record territory, including eastern Iowa, which is seeing its second-wettest September, and southwest Iowa, which is seeing its fourth-wettest September.

Wet conditions are already slowing down the harvest, as farmers are unable to bring machinery into wet fields.

Glisan said that wetter soil cools down more slowly, meaning farmers may have to adjust fall fertilizer application this year. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach recommends that fall manure and anhydrous ammonia application not occur until the soil temperature at 4 inches is at 50 degrees and falling.

Glisan spoke Wednesday on an Iowa Learning Farms webinar hosted by ISU Extension and Outreach.

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate and Black Hawk County Auditor Karen Showalter met with students at the University of Northern Iowa Tuesday to encourage them to vote in the Nov. 3 midterms.  

Joining across party lines, Republican Pate and Democrat Showalter urged students to pre-register before the Oct. 19 deadline and make a plan to vote on or before Election Day.

Pate is hoping for high voter turnout, but he said he’s unsure what this year will bring.

“It's too hard to read that right now. There seems to be some voter fatigue going on out there,” Pate said while in Cedar Falls.

Showalter said she is seeing a lot of engaged voters in Black Hawk County.

“The amount of calls that we're getting every day, the amount of people that are requesting to have a ballot mailed to them, because that process has started, and just what I'm seeing and hearing from them and voters, the energy is there,” she said.

Pate is running for reelection against Democrat Ryan Peterman. Showalter is not up for reelection until 2028.

The country’s largest honey cooperative is breaking ground on a $130 million expansion in northwest Iowa.

Sioux Honey Association Co-Op, the maker of Sue Bee Honey, said it has outgrown its current facilities. The new complex near Sioux City’s airport will include more warehouse space and a processing plant.

The co-op plans to move its California operations to Iowa. More than 200 families belong to the cooperative, which has been around for more than 100 years.

The three-phase expansion is expected to create about 40 jobs, bringing the number of employees to 126.

A new case of bird flu has been found in a multi-species backyard flock in central Iowa’s Boone County.

The case was reported by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and involves 138 birds, including chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and turkeys.

This is Iowa’s seventh detection of the H5N1 virus in 2026. The last case was in March, involving a backyard flock of approximately 35 birds in Buena Vista County.

Maura Curran

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Iowa Public Radio

A new addiction recovery center is being built in Des Moines, with part of the funding coming from Polk County’s opioid settlement money. The Grays Woods Recovery Center in Polk County will be a residential campus that offers treatment for substance use, recovery services and mental health services.

The $18.5 million project is being led by the nonprofit Community & Family Resources, with a $1 million grant from Polk County’s opioid settlement funds. The nonprofit’s executive director, Michelle De La Riva, said services normally offered by different facilities will be in one place for patients.

“That gap, where someone would go home from a detox center and then come back for residential, is where we lose people. And sometimes, we lose them forever,” De La Riva said.

The new recovery center will give patients access to residential and outpatient treatment, as well as detox treatments. It’s set to open to the public in July of 2027. 

Linn County is mapping its water contamination sources to try to understand where its groundwater is most vulnerable.

Stephanie Tassier-Surine, with the Iowa Geological Survey, presented a preliminary map to the Linn County Board of Supervisors last week that layers the county’s known pollution sites with geological studies and hydrological calculations.

“You can see there are certain areas there that are higher risk either because of the geology, because there’s a contamination site nearby or because it’s an aquifer that you’re pumping a lot of water from,” she said.

Tassier-Surine said pollution sites can vary from leaking underground storage tanks (LUST) to manured fields to concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO).

“There are 334 LUST sites, that’s leaking underground storage tank sites, 207 contaminated sites, 9 landfills either existing or past, 37 CAFOs with 263 potentially manured fields,” Tassier-Surine said.

The geological study will overlay pollution sites with soil and bedrock data. The county will then be able to better understand which areas of its aquifer are more at risk of contamination, which will inform where it allows industrial development and draws safe drinking water from.

Researchers are scheduled to finalize the map by the end of the year.

Nearly half the members on an advisory council for University of Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom have resigned.

Tensions flared over email last week when a committee leader, University of Texas professor Richard Lowery, rejected a hiring timeline for the center’s new director. The president of the Iowa Board of Regents urged Lowery to work collaboratively with the board or step down from his role, according to emails obtained by IPR News. A few days later, 11 out of the 26 council members resigned. 

Lowery also said the regents have refused to support the center against “university efforts to undermine it” and claims some regents overstepped on duties that should belong to the center’s academic director.

Lowery previously tried suing the University of Texas for free-speech retaliation after criticizing the university’s stance on diversity, equity and inclusion, according to Bloomberg Law.

But, according to reporting from The Gazette, tensions have been growing for months. Leaders at the Center for Intellectual Freedom claimed the Board of Regents and the University of Iowa haven’t been supportive of the center.  

Lowery claimed in a statement to IPR News that attempts by some regents to “micromanage the center” were a large reason for his departure.

In a statement, Regent Christine Hensley, who chairs the advisory council, said the Board of Regents looks forward to working with the remaining 15 advisory council members.

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This posted was updated on Sept. 23 at 1:45 p.m.

The Des Moines Public Library (DMPL) announced it will be closed on Sundays starting Nov. 1 due to city budget cuts. The cuts affect two branches that currently operate on Sundays: Central Library and Franklin Avenue Library.

DMPL will also eliminate six full-time positions it was holding open this past year. The library Board of Trustees voted on the changes at its meeting on Thursday.

DMPL Marketing and Communications Manager Aaron Gernes said ending Sunday hours would be least disruptive to patrons compared to other days.                         

“Any elimination of library service hours impacts people,” Gernes said. “Sunday had the least impact on the number of visits that we had, our circulation. So that's why the board decided to make that cut at this time.”

The reduced hours and staffing make up two-thirds of the library’s budget cuts. The library board is still looking at ways to make up another $250,000 in cuts. 

The last day of Sunday service will be Oct.25.

Both major party candidates for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat are calling for steps to ease the price of gasoline and diesel. AAA shows a gallon of regular gas currently costs $4.35 and diesel is averaging $6.31 a gallon in Iowa.

Democrat Josh Turek rolled out a series of proposals on Wednesday, saying the federal gas tax should be temporarily suspended and exports of U.S. produced diesel should be halted.

“That was something that even Sen. Grassley agreed with me on,” Turek said.

This week, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley suggested an embargo on diesel exports, posting on social media that “diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME.”

Like Turek, Republican candidate for Senate Ashley Hinson called for a suspension of the gas tax and a pause on diesel exports.

“Iowans are being squeezed and shouldn’t have to foot the bill at the pump or the checkout line for the war in Iran,” Hinson wrote on social media.

Hinson and Turek said the government should create a relief program to help farmers, as many worry about high input costs and even foreclosure.

“Farmers are hurting and they’re hurting uniquely,” Turek said. “Everywhere I’m going, I’m hearing farmers saying, ‘This is just one gut punch after another.’”

Turek also called for tapping into the country’s strategic oil reserve to boost fuel production as a way to lower prices for consumers. Hinson is calling for the $1 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel production that expired in 2024 to be reinstated.

Dubuque has pledged to zero out its greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The city council voted to adopt the limit at its meeting Monday.

The pledge comes as Dubuque works on its 2030 goal to halve emissions from the city’s 2003 levels. The city made that pledge over a decade ago and has reduced emissions by 39% so far, according to 2025 data.

The city is now committing to carbon neutrality by 2050.

City council member David Resnick said as climate change accelerates globally, Dubuque must maintain its science-based benchmarks.   

“We've had a real push against our clean air, clean water, just making this a wonderful place to live, and we know why,” Resnick said. “One of the major problems is the use of fossil fuels.”

The target is based on a methodology from the World Wildlife Fund.

Dubuque’s enhanced climate measures come as the Trump administration recently announced it’s repealing emissions limits on coal and gas power plants.

Courtesy of Mary Bennett

A Johnson County judge ruled against the state’s decision to close its State Historical Society of Iowa facility in Iowa City. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services closed the building in December 2025 due to budget constraints.

The judge ruled that Iowa law requires the department to maintain a research center in Iowa City.

Mary Bennett, a retired archivist who worked at the facility in Iowa City, was a plaintiff in one of the lawsuits against the closure. One of her concerns was how the historical materials were being handled during the closure.

“They did destroy or take away things in a very nontransparent matter,” Bennett said. “We don’t know what they took and where they took it.”

Bennett said the state closed the building and relocated some items to Des Moines without public input. She said most of the items in the building correlate with each other and are meant to reside in Iowa City.

The Iowa Department of Administrative Services said it’s reviewing the court order.

When a person intentionally has a baby without the aid of a medical professional, it’s called a "free birth," or unassisted birth. Free birth is controversial and relatively rare. But it’s gained traction online from social media influencers who promote it.

Experts say freebirth is dangerous and potentially deadly. But supporters say unassisted birth is misunderstood.

Caitlin Linscheid is an OB-GYN in the Kansas City area. She said some of the most common emergencies during birth are shoulder dystocia, when a baby’s head is born but a shoulder is stuck, or postpartum hemorrhage, when a person rapidly loses blood after birth.

“You can lose liters of blood in mere minutes and go from being perfectly fine to bleeding to death,” Linscheid said. “If you don't have access to a physician or a medically trained midwife who can intervene urgently, then that can be a life-threatening situation.”

Health officials don’t track free birth, but home birth in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri has increased in recent years.

Keep reading more from The Midwest Newsroom.

Sheila Brummer

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Iowa Public Radio

Prosecutors will retry a man accused in the cold-case killing of a Native American woman in Sioux City.

Thomas Popp is charged with first-degree murder in the 1983 shooting death of 18-year-old Terri McCauley. She was a member of the Omaha Tribe and mother of two.

In August, a judge declared a mistrial after jurors couldn’t agree on a verdict.

Popp’s attorney is asking for the case to be moved out of Woodbury County. He argues that extensive news coverage of the first trial would prevent a fair retrial.

No date or location has been set for the retrial.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced plans to repeal rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants fueled by coal and natural gas. The rollback is part of President Donald Trump’s pledge to make it easier for utilities to supply electricity amid higher energy prices.

Sierra Club of Iowa chapter director Pam Mackey-Taylor said the EPA changes are part of a push by utility companies to generate more electricity, particularly as a growing number of proposed data centers add to the demand.

Mackey-Taylor said the long-term health effects of coal emissions, like asthma and other respiratory diseases, along with the environmental threats, should not be forgotten.

“Climate change is real,” she said. “We need the ability to solve climate change, and the best way to do that is to reduce coal plant emissions, and the EPA is going the wrong direction.”

The EPA is also working to prevent future administrations from regulating power plant emissions. Environmental groups have vowed to challenge the rule changes in court.

MidAmerican Energy is reviewing the EPA’s changes and said it’s committed to delivering reliable, affordable and sustainable energy to customers. The Des Moines-based company operates five coal plants in Iowa and plans to end its coal operations by 2049.

A nonprofit that supports low-income Iowans is anticipating increased requests for utility assistance this winter due to a projected 8.7% rise in energy bills.

The Iowa Community Action Association is an organization made up of agencies from across the state that distributes funds from the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), a federal program that covers a portion of a household’s utility bills.

Loris Ferris, the organization’s executive director, said this year’s LIHEAP funding still has not been finalized, and first-round applications open next week.

“We would like to see an increase,” Ferris said. “The reality is that with these rising costs those dollars don't go as far.”

Ferris said most households receiving the supplemental aid are seniors on fixed incomes, working families and people with disabilities. LIHEAP applications are accepted Oct. 1 – April 30.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

Hemp farmers and sellers face a federal ban set to take effect in December.

Under the new measure, businesses will no longer be allowed to sell hemp products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC. That includes THC-infused drinks and many CBD oils.

Jonathan Miller, an attorney for the advocacy group U.S. Hemp Roundtable, called the rule shift a “death blow” for American hemp.

“We’re talking about a $23 billion industry, with about half a million jobs in agriculture and retail sectors … and 95% of that would be wiped out,” Miller said.

The ban was supposed to begin in November, but Congress recently delayed the start date by one month. Miller hopes that will give lawmakers enough time to change course before the ban takes effect.

Read more from Harvest Public Media.

The central Iowa city of Slater is urging residents not to give local tap water to children under 6 months old or use the water to make infant formula.

The city said the nitrite level in its water is at 1.1 milligrams per liter, which is above the recommended safe guideline of 1 mg/L.  Slater is also urging residents not to boil the water because it can concentrate nitrites.

A Facebook post from the city on Friday said Slater gets its water from wells about 200 feet underground, and the high nitrite levels are not affected by agriculture activities. The Slater Municipal Water Department is working to resolve the issue.

Grant Gerlock

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Iowa Public Radio

Vice President JD Vance promoted the Trump administration’s accomplishments on taxes and trade at a rally in western Iowa Friday.

Vance made the campaign stop at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs to support Iowa Republicans in the midterms. He said the administration has made progress for voters by ending taxes on tips and adding an enhanced tax deduction for seniors. 

“If you paid in to Social Security for your entire life, or you're working 60 hours — away from your wife and your kids, your family — then I think we should send a simple message: Tell the politicians to keep their grubby hands out of your pocket — let you keep more of your money,” Vance told the crowd. 

Vance spent much of his speech stumping for Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn, who is in a tight race with Democrat Rob Sand. Sand has made moving beyond party politics a focus of his campaign, but Vance called him a “partisan servant” to Democrats.  

Early voting starts on Oct. 14.

Read more.

With over 10 days left in the month, this September is already one of the wettest in history for some parts of Iowa. And state climatologist Justin Glisan said there’s more rain the forecast.

“It's been extremely unusual, and I don't piece those two words together often,” Glisan said on IPR’s River to River.

Glisan said western Iowa recorded one of its five wettest Septembers, and central Iowa marked its 10th wettest September. In Des Moines, where many residents have experienced damp or flooded basements, it’s already the second wettest September on record.

Glisan said thunderstorms called “ridge riders” have been pushing along the edge of heat domes south of Iowa and have dumped moisture in concentrated areas, especially along I-80.

Rain is expected to continue this weekend for much of the state.

Any hope of Congress passing a new, five-year Farm Bill before the November elections all but evaporated this week when House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled Thursday’s votes and sent members back to their districts a day early.

Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which passed its version of the Farm Bill on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters Thursday, Grassley said he had hoped the legislation would be passed sooner, but it’s out of his hands.

“We don't have anything to do with how the House operates,” he said. “I'm sure that we'd be better off if we passed the Farm Bill before October. I would hope that Johnson will call them back so we can get [the bill] passed before the election.”

Grassley, who turned 93 on Thursday, said he’ll push Senate leadership to advance the Farm Bill as soon as possible. He added that he hopes the final version will include year-round sales of E15 and the Save Our Bacon Act, which would block state and local governments from regulating how livestock is raised in other states. It aims to overturn voter-approved animal welfare laws like California's Proposition 12.

The Senate is scheduled to go on recess Oct. 5.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association laid out its legislative agenda Thursday at a beef operation in Mitchellville. Among the organization’s goals is expanding Iowa’s cattle herd, while also expanding opportunities for regional beef processing.

The U.S. cattle herd is the smallest it’s been in 75 years, at a time when there is also strong demand for beef and ongoing concentration in the packing industry. In early September, beef prices hit a record high, with ground beef passing $7 a pound.

Iowa Cattlemen’s Association Board of Directors President Craig Moss said more regional processing will provide stability for producers hit by the recent closure of two major beef plants — one in Nebraska and the other in Illinois. Moss said reaching these goals won’t happen overnight.

“It takes a long time to build a processing plant, and it takes a long time to rebuild a cow herd,” Moss said. “Just the life cycle alone; a heifer that was born this spring, going to be weaned this fall, is not going to have a calf until she's 2 years old. And that calf is going to take anywhere from 12 to 24 months to hit the market as beef.”

This upcoming legislative session, Moss said the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association will ask the state Legislature to increase limits and cap interest rates for Iowa’s Beginning Farmer Loan Program. The association is urging lawmakers to eliminate the Forest or Fruit Tree Reservation property tax exemption as a means of opening up more pastureland. The group also favors banning the use of eminent domain for private development.

Iowa Local Food Day is coming up on Sept. 23. While the focus has been on connecting farms and schools, the state’s department of agriculture said the day is an opportunity for all Iowans to participate.

One way to find products from nearby farms is through the Choose Iowa directory, which includes nearly 360 members across the state. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig spoke about the state’s branding and marketing program for products grown, raised and made in the state while on the campaign trail in Greene County this week.

“What I love, from an economic standpoint, is things that are grown on a farm, processed local, sold locally, consumed locally — every dollar in that supply chain stays local,” he said. “That means it’s affecting Iowa communities and also creating opportunities for young, beginning and small farmers.”

Choose Iowa launched in 2023 and has expanded to include grant programs for small-scale meat processors and dairies and schools and food banks wanting to purchase local food.

The Choose Iowa Local Food for School Program will fund 125 public and private schools this year. Each participating school will receive roughly $1,600, which will be matched at least one-to-one by the school district. Naig said he “can’t think of better group of Iowans” to have fresh and nutritious food than kids.

This is the school program’s first year with permanent funding, after a pilot project in 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled a similar program with significantly more funding last year.

Natalie Krebs

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Iowa Public Radio

The race to fill Sen. Joni Ernst's open U.S. Senate seat has become increasingly competitive.

Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson is facing Democratic state Rep. Josh Turek and Libertarian Thomas Laehn in a race that the nonpartisan Cook Political Report recently moved from “lean Republican” to a ”toss up.”

Iowa Democrats think this could be their opportunity to win back a Senate seat for the first time in more than a decade, and it could be one of the four Senate seats they need to flip in order to gain control of the chamber. 

But Iowa has a large number of active no party voters — more than active registered Democrats — and active registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 183,000, according to the most recent data from the Secretary of State’s Office.

Peter Hanson, a political scientist at Grinnell College, said both Hinson and Turek have been leaning into bipartisan messaging to try to sway the state's uncommitted voters this November.

“This is Hinson's race to lose, but that is certainly within striking distance for Josh Turek,” Hanson said.

Read more.

Iowa Republicans held a press conference Thursday in the Des Moines metro urging Iowans to vote for a constitutional amendment that would make it harder for lawmakers to raise taxes.

Amendment 1 would require a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to increase the individual or corporate tax rate or create a new income tax. 

State Rep. Dan Gehlbach, R-Urbandale, who represents the area where the press conference was held, said the amendment would ensure there’s wide consensus among lawmakers to raise taxes.  

“This amendment to our state constitution makes one thing clear, and that's Iowa taxpayers know how to spend their hard-earned money way better than politicians do,” Gehlbach said.

Opponents include Democrats, labor unions and progressive nonprofits. They say the amendment helps wealthy individuals and profitable corporations avoid tax increases and makes it harder to balance the state budget. 

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states require a legislative supermajority to raise income taxes.

Madeleine Charis King

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Iowa Public Radio

A new center at the University of Northern Iowa will be dedicated to one of its most famous graduates: Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley.

Grassley earned his bachelor’s degree from UNI in 1955 and a master’s the following year. He gifted the school his pre-Senate papers in the 1980s and plans to give UNI his remaining materials at the end of his Senate career.

The Board of Regents approved the creation of the Chuck and Barbara Grassley Center Thursday. It will give the senator’s collected papers a permanent home at the heart of UNI’s campus; however, the naming won’t become official until Grassley leaves public office.

UNI President Mark Nook said the school has been preparing for the collection to come to campus.

“We knew his collection was coming our way upon his departure from the Senate, and we look forward to establishing this center, taking care of those archival materials, making them available to the general public and building a strong center that serves the people of Iowa,” Nook said.

A building on the Cedar Falls campus is undergoing a state-funded $30 million renovation to house the center. Its operations will be funded primarily through private donations.  

Michael Leland

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Iowa Public Radio

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) is hoping to hire more than 500 seasonal snowplow operators for the winter ahead. The department is partnering with IowaWORKS to host recruitment events across the state through Oct. 1.

Craig Bargfrede, the DOT’s winter operations administrator, said driving the big orange snowplow can be exceptionally challenging, but it also brings a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“These jobs can be quite demanding and quite stressful,” he said. “However, at the end of the day, you’re helping out your fellow Iowans, you’re helping out your friends and neighbors in trying to get these roads back to a really safe condition for the traveling public.”

Bargfrede said the DOT has 100 state maintenance garages in nearly every county, and they’re aiming to fill multiple positions at each one.

“The basic requirement is, we have to have a CDL [commercial driver’s license] in order to operate our heavy equipment,” Bargfrede said. “It helps to have knowledge and experience in operating large equipment, but for the most part, we will do some training when these individuals come on board with us.”

Bargfrede said snowplow operators play a vital role in keeping Iowa’s roads safe and communities connected during winter weather, and the pay is competitive. The DOT offers $24 an hour to returning seasonal workers and $22.50 to new employees.

Because the work depends on the frequency and the amount of snowfall, Bargfrede said there’s no way of knowing how often drivers will be called in. He said some areas of the state off a minimum number of hours to seasonal drivers.

Key decisions about the Center for Intellectual Freedom were determined Thursday by the Board of Regents. The board shared a timeline for selecting a permanent director for the controversial center and approved an organizational plan for the center to operate independently from the University of Iowa.

The center, which was created by the state lawmakers in 2025, is aimed at studying the founding ideas of the American constitutional system and promoting intellectual diversity. 

The Board of Regents approved a timeline to select a director and will hold final interviews and select a candidate the week of Oct. 19. According to the board, a committee is moving forward with 11 candidates selected from 62 applications.

The salary range for the position is $200,000 — $450,000. Currently, UI Economics Professor Luciano de Castro is serving as interim director.

The board also approved a plan to keep the Center for Intellectual Freedom independent from the university. The plan outlines how the center will remain administratively independent. This includes keeping the center's records — financial record and correspondence — separate from the university.

Regents determined that they would approve the center’s budget and would not need approval from the university. Regent Christine Hensley said the plan received pushback from some advisory members of the center.                          
 
“I'll be real honest with you right now; they're not satisfied with the document, but they are an advisory committee, and the Board of Regents has final authority to approve that,” she said.

Hensley said the advisory members had a chance to submit additional suggestions, which they did not do. She said a separate memorandum of understanding will outline how the center will be academically independent. 

The Senate Committee on Agriculture has advanced a new, five-year Farm Bill, moving the legislation one step closer to consideration by the full U.S. Senate. The current Farm Bill extension is set to expire Sept. 30.

The committee voted 12-11 Wednesday, with support from every Republican member. All Democrats on the committee voted against it, as they continue to oppose changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Speaking after the vote, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley praised his Republican colleagues on the committee, but said there’s still work to do. He plans on pressing Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota to put the bill up for a full vote quickly.

“I'll be pushing leader Thune to get the Farm Bill passed as soon as possible,” Grassley said. “Iowans know that I've fought hard for E15 and a new five-year Farm Bill, and I'm not done working towards that goal.” 
 
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst attempted to insert the Save Our Bacon Act as an amendment to the Farm Bill, but that effort was shut down by committee Chair John Boozman of Arkansas. The measure would have prevented state and local governments from regulating farming and livestock production practices used in other states.

The new Farm Bill must still move through the full Senate. Lawmakers would then need to reconcile the Senate legislation with the Farm Bill already passed by the U.S. House before sending a final bill to the president. 

A new civics center at the University of Northern Iowa has focused on creating free speech and dialogue in its first full year of operations.

Allison Rank, founding director of the Center for Civic Education, said she’s laying groundwork for a nationally recognized institute. The Board of Regents approved the center in September 2024.

During a Board of Regents committee meeting Wednesday, Rank said the center has launched a program to train teachers in civics education. 

“We talk about it as connected to politics, but not politicized,” she said. “That's what teachers say they want, that it's hard to find content-rich information that they can trust. We see ourselves as being able to fill that gap.”

The Center for Civic Education has secured $1.22 million in federal funding for its work at UNI. The Board of Regents has also supported it as part of a broader effort to promote civics and free speech at Iowa’s public universities.

The University of Iowa could soon have a new institute focused on developing cancer drugs. The Board of Regents, which oversees the state’s public universities, took the first step toward approving the project Wednesday.

The University of Iowa Institute for Cancer Drug Discovery and Development, dubbed CANDID, would focus on accelerating new drug development from the lab to early clinical trials.

UI Executive Vice President and Provost Kevin Kregel said the institute will be a partnership between the pharmacy school and the university’s cancer center. He sees the institute as a way to help train the next generation of people working in cancer drug development.

“We know there's a real need in Iowa for these pursuits, and we know that rural Iowans face higher cancer rates, mortality and later stage diagnoses,” Kregel said. “So, CANDID can unite our research strengths and help to address that burden.”

Kregel said the center will need $1.5 million to get started during its first year and $1 million every year after that. He predicts the institute will receive money from industry partnerships, grants and other sources to help sustain it.

A research project at the University of Iowa is offering private well owners in certain counties free arsenic testing kits.

The testing kits are available to private well owners in Mitchell, Floyd, Cedar, Jones, Benton and Plymouth counties through the University of Iowa’s Iowa INSIGHT project, which studies environmental impact on human health. 

University of Iowa professor David Cwiertny, who helps lead the project, said they chose those six counties because there’s limited data on arsenic levels in private wells. 

“We want to offer that testing so vulnerable Iowans get that information, make decisions best for them, and if we can keep up with the demand and meet the need, we'll happily extend this into other counties,” Cwiertny said.

Arsenic is naturally occurring, but it has been linked to certain health risks like cancer, even in small amounts. Eligible Iowans can request a test kit through the Iowa INSIGHT website. 

Scientists say the effects of this winter’s El Niño weather pattern could be stronger than ever because of record-high temperatures in the Pacific Ocean.

States in the central U.S., such as Iowa, can expect a dry, warmer-than-average winter. For the Upper Midwest this winter is likely to be 2 to 4 degrees warmer than average.

Jen Brady, senior data analyst at nonprofit Climate Central, said El Niño isn’t responsible for daily weather events, but its overall warming could create more lake effect snow.

“If we have a warmer winter, that means the lakes aren't going to freeze,” Brady said. “So, when there are the conditions set up for snow, it could be even heavier because you have a warm lake to fuel that snowstorm.”

But because of the warmer temperatures, that snow may melt faster, which could hurt outdoor recreation this winter.

Read more.

The auto industry would be required by federal rules to install AM radios in new vehicles under a bill that passed Tuesday in the U.S. House. The AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which was cosponsored by all four of Iowa's representatives, cleared the House by a voice vote.

Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst are among the bill’s cosponsors in the U.S. Senate, where it has been eligible for debate since last year.

Supporters say AM radio provides an essential, free service and an important lifeline for broadcasting emergency information when cellphones and the internet aren’t working. If the bill becomes law, AM radio would be classified as standard equipment in a vehicle and automakers would not be allowed to charge extra for it.

A similar bill stalled in Congress three years ago, after industry giants like Ford, GM and Toyota complained about the cost of installing AM receivers and argued the motors of electric vehicles interfere with AM signals.

The president of the National Association of Broadcasters said AM radio provides listeners “with trusted news” and “a vital connection to their communities.” According to the most recent data from Nielsen Media Research, over 90% of U.S. adults listen to the radio every month, and 74% of people who commute listen to the radio while they’re driving.

Vice President JD Vance is scheduled to be in Council Bluffs Friday to headline a rally for Republican candidates. The event will be held at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs at 11 a.m. The venue previously hosted a rally with President Donald Trump before the 2018 midterms.

Republican Chris McGowan, who’s running in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, said Vance’s visit underscores the importance of Iowa races in this year’s election.

“We’re coming off the heels of the first-ever Republican Midterm Convention in Dallas. I was there. I saw the vice president speak,” McGowan told KSCJ Radio. “He is a phenomenal orator and a great communicator.”

Iowa’s open U.S. Senate race has Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson facing off against Democratic State Rep. Josh Turek, who is from Council Bluffs. McGowan said called it a key race that could determine which party will have a majority in the U.S. Senate next year.

“My job is to make sure that Iowa 4 comes out en masse, in complete and total support and helps Ashley Hinson win her Senate seat statewide,” McGowan said.

Democrat Dave Dawson, assistant Woodbury County attorney, is running against McGowan in the 4th House District. On Sept. 1, Republicans held a voter registration edge of nearly 183,000 over Democrats in the western Iowa district.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Iowa Republicans “keep parading politicians from the Washington, D.C., swamp through Iowa in hopes it will save them from record-high diesel and gas prices.” Hart said it’s not going to work “because Iowans are smarter than that.”

Madeleine King and Grant Gerlock

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Iowa Public Radio

Two Iowa representatives in battleground U.S. House races voted to limit President Donald Trump’s war powers in Iran. Iowa’s 3rd District Rep. Zach Nunn and 1st District Rep. Mariannette Miller Meeks joined five other House Republicans in voting against the majority of their party Tuesday. 

The war powers resolution directs the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran unless Congress gives authorization. 

Both Nunn and Miller-Meeks come from military backgrounds and are running in two of the most competitive House races in the country, according to political forecasters. 

Iowa’s other two Republicans in Congress, 4th District Rep. Randy Feenstra and 2nd District Rep. Ashley Hinson, did not vote to limit the president’s war powers.

Read more.

Maura Curran

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Iowa Public Radio

Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) has named Matt Smith as the district’s new superintendent. Smith has served as interim superintendent since last year, after former Superintendent Ian Roberts was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Des Moines School Board voted unanimously Tuesday night to appoint Smith. The board did not consider other candidates in the process.

District leaders said Smith has expanded outreach for multilingual families and helped shape the Reimagining Education initiative at DMPS.

Smith said the district can expect him to be the same kind of leader he was in his previous role.

“I look at working with my team and with others and getting their feedback around, ‘How do we need to continue to evolve and shift our infrastructure to make sure that we are delivering on these promises and these commitments to students and families?’” Smith said.

Smith’s top priorities include improving literacy outcomes and graduation rates, as well as moving forward with the district redesign.

Nearly 200 scientists who endorsed the 2026 Iowa Climate Statement say the state is at a critical crossroads for meeting growing demand for electricity.

The 2026 Iowa Climate Statement states the electrification of buildings, transportation and industry contributes to new electricity demand, but most of it is driven by the growth of data centers.

Iowa is among the top five states for the number of data centers per capita.

“Iowa may see over a 30% increase in peak electricity load in the next decade,” said Jacqueline Dowling, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Iowa. “That's huge. It's like adding another major metro area's worth of power demand to the state.”

Rather than investing in new gas plants and higher coal usage to meet demand, Dowling and the other scientists advocate for more wind and solar, saying renewable energy is critical for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and price fluctuations.  

The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded $2.8 million to help two Iowa communities rebuild after devastating tornadoes more than two years ago.

In Greenfield, more than $800,000 will go to Adair County Hospital to replace its emergency medical services building and ambulance. Another grant will help the city pay for fire station construction and replace outdoor warning sirens.

The City of Minden is receiving nearly $2 million to help build a new water treatment facility. The city is currently leasing a temporary system.

The Des Moines City Council approved initial budget recommendations that are projected to save the city $11.5 million. The cuts stem from the state’s new property tax law, which capped the city’s revenue growth and created a $12 million gap in Des Moines’ upcoming fiscal year budget.

The city council voted 6-1 Monday night to approve staff and service cuts across departments, including public safety, libraries and parks and recreation. Council member Josh Mandelbaum voted in favor of the proposal but said the staff cuts are concerning.

“We don’t have the dollars, and every single department, we are now, after this process, asking to do more with less,” Mandelbaum said.

Mandelbaum said some departments already don’t have enough staff. Other council members called the circumstances concerning but said the city must meet the numbers.

The state of Iowa will create a $25 million restitution fund for teens who were harmed by having accounts on Facebook or Instagram. Attorney General Brenna Bird said Monday that Iowa is the first state to announce this kind of fund using settlement money from the social media giant, Meta. 

In all, Iowa will receive $126 million in the Meta settlement. Bird estimated the restitution fund could pay around $100 to each affected person. 

“I think it's important that the money that Meta made making profits by having these types of accounts, that at least a portion of it goes back to those who were hurt by those accounts,” Bird said.

The Attorney General’s Office is hiring an administrator to work out the details for families to file claims.  

Bird also announced a $10 million fund that will be used to help prosecute online sexual exploitation and to help schools address harms related to social media. 

A former central Iowa police chief will avoid jail time after pleading guilty Monday to charges of misconduct in office.

Bill Daggett was charged in January with felonious misconduct and first-degree theft after a state audit turned up more than $51,000 in improper payroll and compensation time payments. Daggett was serving as the police chief and interim city administrator in Mitchellville when the State Auditor’s Office report was released. He resigned after he was charged.

As part of a plea deal, Daggett pleaded guilty in Jasper County court to one charge of non-felonious misconduct in office. He was ordered to pay a $430 fine. The state dismissed the theft charge. 

KCCI reported Daggett admitted to failing to report using accrued sick time from the city of Van Meter while serving in the same role in Baxter.

Iowa regulators proposed timelines Monday for gathering evidence and deciding whether to grant two pipeline permits to SCS Carbon Transport, an affiliate of Summit Carbon Solutions.  

The two proposed pipelines are each under 5 miles. If approved, they would connect POET Bioprocessing in Ida County and Valero Renewables in Floyd County to Summit's larger pipeline network, which has not been built and faces legal hurdles.  

On Monday, the Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) proposed schedules that would conclude with hearings in February and March.  

SCS Carbon Transport, the Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association asked for the hearings to be moved up to mid-December.  

“The evidence from our side of the case will be very similar, if not identical in many respects to evidence already heard once by the commission in the original docket,” said Brant Leonard, an attorney on behalf of SCS Carbon Transport. 

Grant Gerlock

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Iowa Public Radio

Landowners like Terry Beek said they feel like the process is being rushed.  

“This does not seem to accommodate the people that are going to be impacted. This schedule seems to accommodate the people that are trying to get the pipeline in,” Beek said, adding that he wasn’t notified by the commission about the scheduling meeting and found out from someone else.   

Many of the pipeline opponents also said a hearing should not be set for these new permits unless the first part of Summit’s project moves forward. 

“We have the cart before the horse, because we don’t even know the purpose of this project,” said Deborah Main. “And that’s entangled now in chaos and litigation.” 

In 2024, Iowa’s regulators granted a permit to build the first phase of the project, on the condition that Summit receive agency-level approval from North Dakota and South Dakota for pipelines and underground storage.  

After a law banning eminent domain for pipelines passed in South Dakota, Summit requested the IUC remove the state-specific condition on the construction permit in Iowa. The IUC granted that change. However, the permit approval is being challenged in Polk County District Court. 

Ann Hammond

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Courtesy of Monarch Research

Conservationists are calling a rusty patched bumblebee sighting in eastern Iowa a good sign that habitat restoration efforts are helping the federally endangered species.

Danielle Holthaus, a research station manager at Monarch Research in Linn County, said she spotted the rare bee in a cluster of flowers near their building.

“Just to see one in Marion, right outside our research station building, that's incredibly special for us because it suggests that there's some habitat characteristics around here that are attracting the species and supporting them,” Holthaus said.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers many parts of eastern Iowa “high potential zones,” which are places rusty patched bumblebees are most likely to be.

Holthaus said the bees benefit from native prairies and healthy woodlands. She said the two best things someone can do to help the species is to plant some native flowers and then be on the lookout so the bees don’t go undetected.

Read more.

New federal data shows Iowa accounted for nearly 10% of the nation’s child labor violations in 2025.

Records from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division show there were 1,114 child labor violations nationwide last year, with 108 found in Iowa. 

Sean Finn, with the nonprofit Common Good Iowa, said the problem is Iowa has less restrictive labor laws than the federal government. He said that can be confusing for employers. 

“Iowa changed the law to make it less restrictive than the federal standards, even though everybody still has to follow federal law, even if the state law isn't as strict,” Finn said.

In 2023, Iowa lawmakers loosened child labor restrictions for 14- and 15-year-olds. Supporters said it would give kids more opportunities to work and help address labor shortages in the state.

Finn said many of the child labor citations are hours violations.

The nation’s top domestic security official said Iowa Republicans will be critical in this year’s midterms. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin spoke at a fundraiser for Iowa’s 1st District Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks on Saturday.

Mullin told the crowd of about 180 attendees that Democrats want to throw the country into “chaos.”

“We’re not fighting socialism right now; they’re communists,” he said. “It’s flat out, no question. The president has called it that. He knows exactly what he’s talking about too because we’re seeing it.”

Mullin replaced Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary in March. He’s the latest in a string of Trump allies to stump for Iowa candidates ahead of the midterms.

Political analysts say the races for Iowa’s 1st and 3rd House districts, as well as the U.S. Senate, are some of the country’s tightest. In the 1st District, incumbent Miller-Meeks faces Democrat Christina Bohannan and Independent Michael Bridgford.