Isabella Luu
Central Iowa ReporterExpertise: Reporting writing and producing stories about communities across Des Moines and Central Iowa, all with an ear to help IPR listeners and readers understand their communities and the central portion of the state.
Education: Bachelors degree from the University of Georgia
Favorite Iowa Destination: Maquoketa Caves
Experience:
- Covered local and regional issues as part of WUGA's flagship news show Athens News Matters, for KCUR in Kansas City, for NPR, and for IPR
- Has covered homelessness policy and issues in Des Moines, Iowa's Third District congressional seat and other state races, and the compatibility of solar and crop production
- Has reported and written features across many topics, including a three-part series on Asian-American experiences in northeast Georgia, community organizers' efforts to rename Kansas City's historic Troost Avenue and a non-narrated feature highlighting an iconic Kansas City restaurant
My Favorite Stories
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Under the new bans, people who do not leave or remove their campsites can be arrested, charged with a simple misdemeanor and fined $15. -
Backed by the Department of Energy, Iowa State University researchers are studying how farming the land around solar panels can diversify farm income, boost biodiversity and improve worker safety. -
YSS, a youth social services provider in Iowa, is opening the Ember Recovery Campus with a residential addiction treatment program, crisis stabilization and crisis recovery services. -
DMACC is ending a food forest and urban prairie program that harvested fresh produce and rescued food waste around Des Moines, citing funding issues, aesthetic concerns and irrelevance to academic programs. -
The council approved a ban on camping and sleeping on public property that targets people who are unhoused. Opponents of the plan at the crowded meeting booed the decision.
My Latest Stories
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Fewer Iowans are enrolled in a federal food assistance program after the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed eligibility requirements and the state narrowed the types of SNAP-eligible foods. -
Four objections brought by GOP voters, a Republican strategist and a GOP congressional staffer are aiming to remove libertarian candidates from three races. The objections make claims around name and address discrepancies, a missing filing and insufficient signatures. -
Libertarian Marco Battaglia is the third candidate to jump into Iowa's 3rd Congressional District race. His campaign focuses on eliminating tariffs and sanctions on other countries, as well as ending aggressive U.S. military actions abroad. Immigration reform and abolishing ICE are also top priorities for Battaglia.
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Polls have closed across Iowa. See who voters picked to represent their party in November’s general election. -
At the first reading of a proposed data zoning ordinance, residents of Palo and nearby communities raised concerns over the negative impacts future data centers could have on water and traffic, as well as light and noise pollution. Many people asked for the city to tighten regulations, while several others asked the city to table the ordinance completely.
