High-profile child deaths spark push for welfare agency transparency
News Desk A memorial honoring San Carlos Apache teen Emily Pike can be seen at the intersection of Mesa Drive and McKellips Road in Mesa, Ariz., the location where she was last…
Politics
Iowa Down Ballot podcast: Lahn upsets Feenstra. What happened?
Zach Lahn upset U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra on June 2, 2026, for the GOP nomination for governor. He is seen here with his family at the Iowa Secretary of State’s…
Lines of attack solidify against Iowa candidates for the general election
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and state Rep. Josh Turek will compete in the Nov. 3, 2026 election to become Iowa’s next U.S. senator. (Photos by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch) The…
Pete Buttigieg, 2020 Democratic caucus winner, to headline Iowa Democrats’ July event
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, left, and Democratic Sen. Pat Leahy of Vermont at the U.S. Capitol going into lunch with Senate Democrats prior to a vote on an agreement to…
Naig: Iowa is monitoring screwworm; parasite poses no food-safety risk
A pinned specimen of a full-grown New World screwworm fly is shown in this image. Federal and state officials are preparing for a potential invasion from the flesh-eating parasite that…
Trump to pump $700M into coal power in the states, as he again blasts renewable energy
President Donald Trump speaks during a “Beautiful, Clean Coal” event in the Oval Office of the White House on June 4, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Behind him, left to right,…
US Senate launches marathon session to pass nearly $70B for ICE, Border Patrol
The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., amid fog on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans fended off an attempt Thursday to…
Trump picks acting AG Blanche to stay on full time
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the department on a permanent basis, walks by reporters at the U.S. Capitol on May 21, 2026. (Photo by…
Inspection shows sanitation, use-of-force transparency lacking at La. ICE detention center
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s badge and weapon are seen as ICE conducts a vehicle checkpoint in Washington, D.C. in August, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) WASHINGTON —…
Democratic governor candidate Rob Sand warns that Iowa faces ‘fiscal time bomb’
Iowa Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat running to become Iowa governor in 2026, answered questions from attendees of the Iowa Association of Business and Industry conference in Coralville June 4,…
Farm animal welfare rules might be rolled back by Congress
A confined swine feeding operation is shown in this photo. Congress is once again taking aim at state animal welfare laws regarding livestock confinement. (Photo by Kent Becker/U.S. Geological Survey)…
US House approves measure to restrain Trump action in Iran
President Donald Trump salutes as a U.S. Army carry team moves a flag-draped transfer case containing the remains of Sgt. Declan J. Coady at Dover Air Force Base on March…
Three Iowa House incumbents lose primary elections
Black Hawk County voting sign sits outside of Tamary Hall at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa, June 2, 2026. (Photo by Kadin Luhmann/Iowa Capital Dispatch) Three incumbents in the…
Iowa, Midwest senators sign letter of support for ethanol
Fuel options at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, gas station on Aug. 22, 2025. The nationwide average price of a gallon of gas was $4.55 May 22, 2026, up from…
Treasury’s Bessent mum on Trump’s IRS immunity deal
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during a U.S. Senate Committee on Finance hearing on June 3, 2026. The department’s budget request for fiscal 2027 was the subject of the hearing.…