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Here First podcast from IPR
Here First
Monday – Friday before 7 a.m.

Start your day with the essentials. Coffee. Breakfast. And the local news you need to know. Host Meghan McKinney rises bright and early to bring you the top news stories from around Iowa in under 10 minutes. Wake up, grab that coffee and get your news Here First.

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Latest Episodes
  • Iowa is taking in less revenue, so state lawmakers will have to use some state savings to cover some of next year's budget expenses. Lawmakers still haven't finalized an education spending plan. And what are restorative dialogues?
  • The Iowa House has passed a bill that would allow legislative members to apply for a professional weapons permit. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is coming to Iowa. And how are some Iowans recovering from long COVID?
  • LGBTQ rights advocates continue to speak out at the state capitol. The Iowa House still has its supermajority after a special election. And two Des Moines police officers can now be sued for inappropriate behavior involving a 2018 traffic stop.
  • Over 300 farmers that have planned for USDA money aren't getting it now. A suspect is facing charges in a decades-old cold case involving the alleged murder of a Native American woman. And a clerical error with the USHUD has caused stress for an Iowa agency that is missing a payment.
  • The state attorney general's office is staying silent about one of Iowa's worst fish kills. Parking ticket fine increases is one of many possibilities to help the City of Des Moines anticipated budget shortfall. And what bills made it and didn't make it past funnel week in the state legislature?
  • Republican lawmakers release a major plan to overhaul the state's property tax policies. A bill targeting homeless populations in the state has been tabled. And what do state lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have to say about funnel week?
  • A bill in the state legislature would make sleeping or camping on public property illegal. Another bill would limit protests outside of the state capitol. And The 1619 Freedom School is now hosting the yearly African American Read-In event.
  • The American Soybean Association wants the Trump administration to reconsider tariffs on Chinese imports. Two bills in the state legislature would loosen gun ownership restrictions. And how is Iowa's health care workforce doing five years after the COVID-19 pandemic?
  • Agriculture leaders are concerned about a trade war. A student speaks out about the University of Iowa ending identity-based residential communities. And an LGBTQ rights nonprofit says transgender Iowans should prepare now for a state law going into effect in July.
  • Some biodiesel producers in Iowa are slowing production. A bill would cut state support for public libraries if they're members of national library groups. And what did Governor Kim Reynolds have to say about why she signed a historic bill that removes gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act?