
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 for IPR, as part of WUGA's flagship news show Athens News Matters, and for KCUR in Kansas City
- 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 Troose 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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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The proposed bill would require school districts to adopt a policy banning the use of personal electronic devices — including cell phones, video game devices and portable media players — during instructional time. The bill would apply to public, charter and innovation zone schools.
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The House Higher Education Committee has honed in on standardizing general education requirements, banning schools from requiring DEI courses and preventing accreditors from penalizing colleges for following state law.
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Iowa’s current draft of its K-12 science standards, which include changing the word “evolution” to “biological change over time,” has drawn ire from some parents, educators, students and residents across the state who say the wording changes water down scientific concepts.
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The head of the Iowa National Guard asked legislators to improve the Iowa National Guard Service Scholarship and add exceptions to the state’s chronic absenteeism law for high school military recruits and members.
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In her Condition of the Judiciary address Wednesday morning, Chief Justice Susan Christensen asked legislators to reduce the number of magistrates across the state, raise state district judge salaries and address the shortage of court-appointed attorneys in Iowa.