Criminal Justice

Iowa House Republicans recently passed what they call a "tough on crime" package. The package is made up of three bills — a "three strikes" sentencing law, new rules for how judges set bail and a public dashboard tracking what happens inside Iowa's courtrooms. Iowa House Republicans say this legislation will crack down on crime and make Iowans safer. Opponents argue the bills could overcrowd state prisons and burden taxpayers. On this episode, lawmakers and a defense attorney discuss the package and its potential impact.

Three bills that make up Iowa House Republicans’ “tough on crime” package cleared their first legislative hurdle in the Iowa House this week.

Veteran journalist Tom Chorneau discusses his book Mrs. Cook & The Klan, which examines an unsolved Iowa murder case from 1925. Chorneau’s true crime investigation also explains the complex social, political and cultural forces at work in 1920s America, where prohibition, the KKK's resurgence and the temperance movement created a volatile mix.This show was originally produced June 17, 2025.

In an internal meeting on Friday, the Iowa Department of Corrections told employees it is no longer pursuing privatization, saying now is not the right time. About 20% of the medical staff resigned over the past six months.

An Iowa federal judge reckons with the murders that rocked his hometown and changed the course of his life.

One of the most influential criminologists in the world explores why Americans are drawn to the true crime genre. Then, efforts to preserve a wetland in northwestern Iowa.

The Sac County Board of Supervisors picked Katie Stange to be the new sheriff last month. She's the first woman appointed to that role in more than a century.

A conversation with author Tom Chorneau on his new book "Mrs. Cook & the Klan."

The right to an attorney doesn't mean that an attorney will be free in states like Iowa.

A jury in Woodbury County recently reached a guilty verdict in the killing of a Sioux City man who was Native American. Advocates say the case is an example of how Indigenous people are at higher risk for gun violence and death.