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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. You can support what you hear on this podcast at ipr.org/donate

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Latest Episodes
  • A data center company building near Cedar Rapids is injecting $5 million into workforce development, while the Palo City Council voted to advance their data center ordinance this week. An Iowa woman is the first known patient in the U.S. to receive a quadruple organ transplant with re-transplanted lungs. And U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says he's monitoring a proposed merger between two railways.
  • Some school districts are delaying or changing projects in connection to changes in state property tax laws. Another Iowa county has put a pause on data center development. And a conversation with Iowa Public Radio's retiring CEO.
  • Pete Buttigieg rallied with Iowa Democrats last night. President Trump has endorsed Republican Zach Lahn for Iowa governor. And a Midwestern couple is trying to set up government support for Alzheimer's early detection.
  • A hospital in Council Bluffs is set to close its labor and delivery unit. Des Moines residents are sharing their thoughts about the city's expected budget shortfall. And the education center at Springbrook State Park will be demolished.
  • Iowa has its first confirmed measles case of the year. The city of Decorah is considering an ordinance that would end its cooperation with ICE agents. And an Iowan shares her story of leaving the corporate world to start her own bakery.
  • The Democrat running in Iowa's Third Congressional District shares her plans on public health insurance. Undeveloped industrial land in the Cedar Valley region has made a national ranking. And a story of Indigenous resistance in Iowa.
  • Democrat Josh Turek, who is running for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat, says he would push to break up agriculture industry monopolies. The Iowa Bee Atlas is training Iowans to help conserve native bees. And an artist's value of environmentalism shows up in her art.
  • Zach Lahn, the republican nominee for governor, has responded to criticism for having a second home in Kansas. Severe weather over the weekend has displaced about 400 Des Moines residents. And this week on Here First we have personal stories from Next Gen Journalism.
  • There will be more medical residency training slots at Iowa's teaching hospitals. Residents in the Des Moines area are allowed to water their lawns again. And Iowa's Bosnian community has been showing up for their home country's team during the World Cup.
  • A new state law taking effect today changes how Iowans access medication abortions. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Iowa City is closing. And an environmental advocacy group is suing the EPA for records about a nitrate health study.