5+ day, 6+ hour ago (835+ words) Outside the Cobblestone Event Center in Holstein on Monday, the enticing aroma of sizzling steaks floated along Highway 20, as the Ida County Cattleman grilled dinner for about 150 attendees at the event hosted by the Ida County GOP. The crowd then feasted on speeches delivered by nine men competing in next year's primaries. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate was the emcee at the event, which featured most of the candidates in two significant races for governor and the U.S. House. Each candidate was given 10 minutes to present their backgrounds and priorities. "We've got great news tonight " we out-register the Democrats, and we out-register the no-parties," Pate said. "We, Republicans, are rocking it, and you're the ones that got it done." Pate emphasized the importance of unity among Republicans as many candidates started hitting the campaign trail. "We always count on western…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (84+ words) 'Tis the season to celebrate your favorite podcast. Cast your vote for NPR's Pod Club Awards! We're wrapping up the year by celebrating the podcasts we love with NPR's first-ever Pod Club Awards! We're honoring the most memorable episodes of the year, and YOU get to crown the winner of the People's Choice Award. Want to find out if your pick wins? We'll announce all the winners in the Pod Club newsletter, so make sure you're signed up! Voting deadline is December 5....

2+ week, 4+ day ago (520+ words) The Iowa Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday in selecting David Cook as the 17th president of Iowa State University after a months-long national search. Since 2022, Cook has served as president of North Dakota State University, a land-grant university with nearly 12,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Cook will fill ISU's highest office on March 1, following Wendy Wintersteen's retirement in January. "I am deeply humbled by this opportunity " a bit speechless, candidly. It's a lot to take in," Cook said following the announcement. "This is an institution that means so much to my wife and I. It is coming home." Cook was born and raised in Ames and graduated from ISU in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in political science and speech communication. He earned a master's degree and Ph.D. in organizational communication at the University of Kansas, where he gained tenure and held numerous…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (594+ words) The state of Iowa will pay $600,000 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by a former communications director for the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH), who claimed she was forced to resign for attempting to comply with Iowa's open records law. State officials did not admit to any wrongdoing by entering the settlement agreement, which was approved Wednesday with a 2-1 vote by the State Appeal Board. Polly Carver-Kimm alleged in her 2020 lawsuit that she was forced out of her job as IDPH communications director for working to fulfill journalists' requests for public records. Carver-Kimm said she handled public records requests for 13 years, which included sending records to an assistant attorney general for redaction and approval before providing them to the public. She said as the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Gov. Kim Reynolds' administration "sought to slow, stifle and otherwise…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago (731+ words) The federal government stopped providing SNAP benefits to 42 million Americans, including around 270,000 Iowans, on Nov. 1 because of the government shutdown. A group of 25 states, not including Iowa, sued the Trump administration for refusing to use emergency funds to support SNAP recipients. Last week, a pair of federal judges ruled that the Trump administration must use emergency funds to support the program. The administration has said it will use the funds to provide people enrolled in SNAP with about half of their usual payment, but NPR reports it's not clear how long it will take for benefits to kick in. Chakia, who declined to share her full name, was at the North Liberty Community Food Pantry just outside of Iowa City Monday to pick up food. Typically, she would receive money at the beginning of each month through SNAP to help…...

3+ week, 3+ day ago (321+ words) Zach Lahn launched his campaign for Iowa governor Thursday, making him the fifth Republican to officially join the race. Lahn said he is his "own biggest donor" who "can't be bought." In a news release, he said his "Iowa First" agenda will be focused on keeping Iowan land in Iowan hands, "making Iowa healthy again," supporting families and preventing abortions. "The people who built Iowa are being pushed aside by greed and corruption," Lahn said. "Big ag and big pharma have rigged the system against farmers and poisoned our families for generations. When I'm governor, we'll sue them, break up their monopolies and make them answer for what they've done to Iowa." Lahn and his wife, Annie, founded an investment company called Homeplace Ventures. They have seven children and live on a farm near Belle Plaine that was in Lahn's…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago (686+ words) Nearly 200 science faculty from 26 colleges and universities across Iowa endorsed the 15th annual Iowa Climate Statement, which warns of higher insurance costs due to climate change. The scientists pointed to data showing the number of inflation-adjusted billion-dollar disasters in the region, including in Iowa, more than doubled in the last four decades. "Insurance, obviously, is a way that we spread costs of private risks in our society " but with climate change increasing risks from extreme events, that cost will increase for all of us," Dave Courard-Hauri, professor of environmental science and sustainability at Drake University, said during a news conference Monday. Bill Gutowski, professor emeritus of meteorology at Iowa State University, summarized decades of research linking the burning of fossil fuels to increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which trap heat. Earth's 10 hottest years on record have all occurred in the…...

2+ week, 2+ day ago (1083+ words) The Iowa Department of Corrections announced Friday that it is no longer pursuing privatization of medical care in the state's prisons, according to two current medical employees and Todd Copley, a local union president. In an afternoon Zoom meeting led by Beth Skinner, the director of the Iowa Department of Corrections, employees were told the department accepted no proposals following a competitive bid process, and there are no plans to move forward with privatization. It is not yet known which companies submitted bids or what the bids included. An employee present at the meeting told The Midwest Newsroom that a private contract to update the electronic medical records system may still be pursued. The employee also said no public announcement from the DOC about the decision is planned. The Midwest Newsroom is not naming the employee because they were not…...

6+ day, 6+ hour ago (696+ words) State officials have denied The Satanic Temple Iowa's request to hold a holiday event in the Iowa Capitol for the second year in a row, as the state faces a religious discrimination complaint related to last year's denial. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services confirmed the decision in an email Monday, saying the event was denied "based on the grounds the event was also denied last year." Gov. Kim Reynolds' office declined to comment Monday. Matt Kezhaya, general counsel for The Satanic Temple, said the government is not alowed to deny pubic services or benefits to people or religous groups because officials disagree with their beliefs. "Once state officials open up the Capitol to public events, as it has for displays and events around the holidays, they can't legally exclude The Satanic Temple because of its disfavored or minority viewpoint,…...

3+ week, 4+ day ago (760+ words) Iowa voters wrapped up the 2025 city and school elections Tuesday by weighing in on local issues. In Des Moines, voters approved a large school bond measure, while one was narrowly defeated in Cedar Rapids. And several eastern Iowa communities are adopting a local sales tax. Here are details on some of the results. Voters overwhelmingly passed a $265 million bond to renovate school buildings in the Des Moines school district. The bond received support from 74% of voters, according to the unofficial results from the Polk County Auditor's Office. It needed 60% approval to pass. The average homeowner will see around $188 added to their property tax bill over the next 20 years. The district will use the money to update aging infrastructure. Other sources of funding will be freed up to put towards redesigning education as part of a plan two years in the…...