Iowa Capital Dispatch

Soybean harvest across Iowa has picked up after a slow start to harvest season and is now 6 percentage points behind the five-year average harvest, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/n...

Seventy-five of Iowa’s 393 nursing facilities are now subject to a reduced form of government inspection -- although some facilities have been cited for violations related to the criteria for the reduced oversight, a new analysis of federal data shows. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/a...

The Iowa Food System Coalition is embarking on a 12-month project studying pasture-based livestock systems in Iowa to examine the community and economic benefits of the practices, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/i...

Iowa regulators have reinstated the license of a nurse previously sanctioned for alleged drug thefts in four different states, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/a...

A record number of women are running for state legislative seats this November, more than two-thirds of whom are Democrats, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/r...

President Donald Trump’s 11th-hour campaign to intervene in California’s vote counting encountered the first signs of resistance in federal court over the weekend, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/26/r...

Iowa Capital Dispatch sat down with gubernatorial candidates Democrat Rob Sand and Republican Zach Lahn to speak about why they joined the race and what they hope to accomplish if elected, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/c...

Fewer than 5% of U.S. House races are seen by a top political analysis as truly competitive heading into November’s midterm elections, giving relatively few voters the ability to determine which party controls the chamber, Jennifer Shutt reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/24/r...

After a sometimes-bitter primary season, shared policy goals on affordability for Americans and accountability for the Trump administration have bonded the party’s left wing and its establishment factions, analysts say. Story by Jacob Fischler. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/25/r...

Podcast fodder this week includes the first of two Iowa visits by President Donald Trump, the Iowa 1st Congressional District debate, tight U.S. House races, record fundraising in the governor’s race and early voting in person versus by mail. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/25/i...

College political leaders at Drake University said Friday they want to see people bring an open mind and an interest in learning to the political conversations they participate in, both before and after the upcoming elections, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/d...

A Carlisle couple is suing the federal government over delays in processing the immigration papers for people married to American citizens, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/c...

A Venezuelan citizen held by U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement in the Muscatine County Jail for almost six months is taking the federal government to court over the matter, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/v...

The U.S. Department of Justice is stepping up its legal campaign over the midterm elections, suing Alaska over its U.S. Senate election and appealing a lawsuit against suspected noncitizen voters in California, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/r...

The current Trump administration claims it has expelled nearly a million immigrants through July of this year, but those include both voluntary returns and people turned around at the border, according to a new analysis, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/r...

University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook has announced his upcoming retirement as the institution celebrates record-breaking fundraising and 150 years in existence, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/23/u...

President Donald Trump, while rallying Iowa Republicans in Sioux City, devoted time to defend Ohio Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and criticize Minnesota U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/t...

The Republican candidate for Iowa’s open Senate seat, U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, visited Thursday with youth, parents and staff at Ember Recovery Center and talked about promoting addiction education and youth addiction screening, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/h...

Eight domestic fertilizer manufacturers were selected to receive more than $573 million in USDA funds to boost domestic fertilizer production. With private sector funds, the total overall investment is more than $1.34 billion, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/d...

Iowa’s nursing home inspectors issued more citations for insufficient staffing last year than regulators in any other state in the nation, an Iowa Capital Dispatch review of federal data shows, Clark Kauffman reports iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/i... .

Iowa’s competitive congressional and statewide races have brought in record high campaign fundraising hauls for the state ahead of the Nov. 3, 2026 election, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/i...

As Election Day approaches, top Democrats on the intelligence committees in Congress are preparing for the possibility that President Donald Trump will allege foreign interference to discredit unfavorable results, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/r...

Health sciences universities in Iowa and India have paired up to provide opportunities for connection in education and research, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/d...

State regulators have fined an Iowa chiropractor $1,000 for his role in an alleged scheme to defraud Medicare and other insurers, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/i...

The price health insurance companies charge for employer-sponsored plans increased again this year, as did the deductible many people must pay, according to a survey released Thursday by the nonpartisan health organization KFF, Jennifer Shutt reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/22/r...

A federal judge on Wednesday night blocked the Department of Homeland Security from conducting election-related field operations that could sweep up U.S. citizens in nine states, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/r...

President Donald Trump’s midterm travel blitz will continue in the coming days, headlining rallies in several states hosting hard-fought Senate contests seen as toss-ups, including Iowa, Shauneen Miranda reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/r...

The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday denied the Trump administration’s emergency request to implement a rule that would terminate gender-affirming care for transgender people incarcerated in federal prisons, Ariana Figueroa reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/r...

An Iowa State University student has filed a petition against the City of Ames, alleging its policy prohibiting firearms on city buses violates state law, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/i...

National Democrats are suing President Donald Trump, accusing his administration of intimidating election officials and asking a federal court to block him from interfering in the midterm elections, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/r...

Single-family home completions remain stuck at early pandemic levels as of September as costs, labor supply shortages and high interest take a toll on home builders, especially in the Northeast and South, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/r...

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is investigating two separate instances of manure that spilled from transport tankers, neither of which resulted in a fish kill, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/21/m...

Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democrat Christina Bohannan emphasized their willingness to break from party lines during the 1st Congressional District debate Tuesday — while also trading barbs on immigration and inflation, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/m...

The U.S. Department of Justice is intensifying its campaign against voter fraud with a spree of arrests in the final weeks before Election Day, an effort that voting rights advocates warn risks instilling fear among voters, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/r...

An eastern Iowa chiropractor accused of initiating “nonconsensual” sexual contact with patients has agreed to voluntarily surrender his license, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/a...

Dan Osborn in Nebraska is one of four independent candidates for U.S. Senate this year who are the main opponents of incumbent Republican senators, Jonathan Shorman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/r...

Party control is up for grabs in 15 state legislative chambers across the country as Republicans are increasingly on the defensive this midterm election cycle, a new analysis found, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/r...

The Iowa Board of Regents has selected Carson Holloway as the new director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, opening a new chapter for the center amid conflict over its development, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/i...

Farmers will be eligible to receive one-time payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide relief for high fuel and input costs, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/20/u...

Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor, has withdrawn from a debate scheduled for Wednesday with Republican candidate Zach Lahn following the death of his brother-in-law, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/r...

The interim director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa alleged in a report to lawmakers that university and Iowa Board of Regents officials broke the law in attempts to obstruct the center’s development, Brooklyn Draisey reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/c...

A pair of laws passed during Iowa’s 2026 legislative session will change how public school enrollment is calculated, with the likely effect of squeezing districts’ budgeting and per-pupil funding from the state, guest columnist Jeff Morrison writes. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/t...

Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle, Jacob Fischler reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/r...

Corn and soybean harvest in Iowa is about 20 percentage points behind the five-year average pace, but is progressing after a wet September. Officials urged farmers Monday to fit voting into their busy harvest-season schedules, Cami Koons reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/a...

Less than two weeks after the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency was stepping up enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act, the USDA’s lawyers are arguing in court that it’s not required to enforce that law, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/u...

State regulators have revoked the license of a nurse who allegedly confessed to a drug addiction after leaving a bag full of used needles at the nursing home where she worked, Clark Kauffman reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/i...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ husband, Kevin Reynolds, is recovering from a surgery to remove a brain tumor after being diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer, the governor’s office announced Monday, Robin Opsahl reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/g...

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a Women’s Health Division within the National Institutes of Health, Shauneen Miranda reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/r...

In many states, including Iowa, the rosters of public defenders have been shrinking at an alarming rate, often leaving defendants in jail for days, weeks or months without access to an attorney, Stateline reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/r...

Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend, Ariana Figueroa reports. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/10/19/r...