The No Kings rallies held in more than 1,400 cities across the country on Saturday were meant to have a festive atmosphere, as millions gathered nationwide to protest the actions of the Trump administration. Organizers of the Iowa City suggested people wear costumes, as did organizers in some other cities. But the rally in downtown […]
Paul Brennan
Trump is coming to the Iowa State Fair — but not bringing the ‘Great American State Fair’ he promised in 2023
Donald Trump is coming to the opening day at the Iowa State Fair, CBS News reported on Friday, citing sources in the White House “familiar with the plan.” This year’s fair is scheduled to start on Thursday, Aug. 7 and run through Sunday, Aug. 17. “Mr. Trump’s visit, marked on the White House calendar for […]
‘Spitting in the face of landowners’: Iowa House Republicans denounce Reynolds’ veto of eminent domain bill, call for special session to override it
Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have rarely publicly disagreed with Gov. Kim Reynolds during her eight years in office. Even when they didn’t support her position on an issue, they would downplay any differences. That all changed on Wednesday, when Gov. Reynolds vetoed HF 639, a bill that would have added new requirements on projects […]
Zach Wahls is running for U.S. Senate with plans to ‘challenge the establishment’ in both parties
Iowa Sen. Zach Wahls entered the race for Joni Ernst’s U.S. Senate seat on Wednesday. Wahls, who is in his second term in the Iowa Senate representing Coralville, North Liberty and other parts of Johnson County, is one of the state’s better-known Democrats and has often been mentioned as a potential candidate for U.S. House, […]
As Trump holds a military parade on Saturday, Iowans in more than 30 cities will rally for No Kings Day
On Saturday, tanks will roll through the streets of Washington D.C. as the Army stages a parade. Ostensibly, the parade is to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Army’s creation in 1775. But the parade was not the Army’s idea; it planned a more modest celebration on the National Mall. There would have been a […]
Jim Carlin, hardcore Trump supporter and 2022 Grassley challenger, announces run against Ernst: ‘Joni has joined The Swamp’
Jim Carlin is running for the Senate again. The Sergeant Bluff Republican ran against Sen. Chuck Grassley three years ago. Grassley defeated Carlin in the 2022 Republican primary, winning 73 percent of the vote and carrying all 99 of Iowa’s counties. This time, Carlin is challenging Sen. Joni Ernst. “Joni Ernst said she would go […]
ACLU of Iowa warns five cities that their anti-drag ordinances are unconstitutional
The ACLU of Iowa has sent letters to city councils in five communities, asking councilmembers to update their city codes and remove language classifying performances by male and female impersonators as “adult entertainment” banned or restricted by local law. ACLU of Iowa staff attorney Shefali Aurora said during an online news conference on Wednesday that the […]
Street closures for Iowa Arts Festival start early Friday morning
Streets in downtown Iowa City will be closed to traffic starting at 6 a.m. on Friday morning as crews begin to set up this year’s Iowa Arts Festival. The three-day fest kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday and runs through Sunday afternoon. It’s the first weekend-long event of Iowa City’s annual Summer of the […]
Text scam tries to get people to turn over banking info to settle phony traffic fines
A phishing scam using phony texts that tell recipients they are facing penalties, even prosecution, due to unpaid traffic fines has reached Iowa, according to a news release from the Iowa Department of Transportation. “Fraudulent text messages appearing to come from the Iowa DOT or ‘DMV’ are targeting recipients with false claims of unpaid traffic […]
Western Iowa Democrat J.D. Scholten is running for U.S. Senate
“Here’s my pitch,” J.D. Scholten said in a video posted online Monday, in which he announced he’s running for U.S. Senate. “I’m a baseball-playing, monopoly-busting, beer-drinking, Bible-reading, working-class proud prairie populist, who is sixth-generation Iowan from right here in Sioux City. And I fundamentally believe that we deserve more than a GoFundMe broken healthcare system, […]
Sen. Ernst mocks critics of her ‘Well, we all are going to die’ remark, suggests they seek Jesus
After capturing national headlines on Friday for her response of, “Well, we all are going to die,” to an Iowan worried cuts to Medicaid in the Republican budget bill will cause untimely death, Sen. Joni Ernst decided to respond to critics of her dismissive response by mocking them in a passive-aggressive video posted as two […]
Federal court dismisses Iowa company’s attempt to overturn 40-year-old wetlands protection law
On Thursday, a federal judge in Cedar Rapids rejected an attempt by the owner of a farm in Delaware County to overturn a 40-year-old law protecting wetlands. Judge C.J. Williams, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, issued a summary judgment in the case after determining the company […]

