federal government

As the Olympics near, we spotlight curling — a sport often forgotten outside of the winter games, but one that thrives year-round in eastern Iowa. We hear from Emily Nelson, marketing and communications coordinator for Cedar Rapids Curling, on the sport’s history, its Olympic influence and why watching elite curlers inspires local players. Then, Charity Nebbe goes out on the ice with Kari Kozak, a founding member and events coordinator of Cedar Rapids Curling, for a crash course in sweeping and throwing stones. Later, historian Ricki King joins discusses her work preserving Iowa’s Black history amid efforts to rewrite or erase it.

After the devastating floods in the summer of 2024, northwest Iowa communities continue to wait for federal buyout funds for nearly 270 homes, leaving local leaders urging swifter government action.

Students across the country took part in the “Free America Walkout” on Tuesday to protest recent ICE actions in Minneapolis. In Sioux City, where the school district is one of the most diverse in the state, a large group gathered outside North High School.

Since its inception in 1965 in President Lyndon B. Johnson's "war on poverty," the federal Head Start program has served nearly 40 million children and their families in preparing to succeed in school and life. Head Start has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including flat funding, new mandates, attacks from the Trump Administration and a proposal to eliminate the program entirely. On this episode, we here from different Head Start stakeholders in Iowa about the services this program provides to young children and their families, how they are managing this changing landscape and what the future may hold for this program.

U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans to ease some restrictions on federal education funding at a public school in western Iowa.

Some Iowa physicians are concerned that the federal government is reducing the number of broadly recommended vaccines for children, from 17 vaccines to 11.

An interview with Lee Rood of the Des Moines Register about the state's agreements with the Department of Homeland Security that took effect this January, and with IPR's Rachel Cramer on new restrictions on SNAP food purchases, and more.

In March, the entire Institute of Museum and Library Services staff was placed on administrative leave by the Trump administration, indefinitely pausing all work processing 2025 grant applications. Now, the IMLS has reinstated terminated grants.

The longest government shutdown is nearing an end, but is it a fix or just a time-out?

In this extended edition of River to River, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal joins Ben Kieffer for a wide-ranging conversation on the U.S. economy and Ryssdal's career.