Two more Republican candidates, Joe Mitchell and Christian Schlaefer, have declared their campaigns for congressional seats in Iowa. The GOP primary race for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District opened up last week when incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson entered the 2026 U.S. Senate race after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst announced she would not seek reelection. Following Hinson’s announcement, several Republicans expressed […]
Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
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‘Stay tuned!’: Republicans tease 2nd District campaign announcements after Hinson’s jump to Senate race
Following incumbent U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson’s Senate campaign launch, some Republicans, including former U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, have hinted they are planning to run for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District in 2026. Hinson, who has represented the northeast Iowa district for three terms, announced Tuesday she would run for Senate, shortly after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst […]
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Iowa Democrats celebrate as Catelin Drey wins special election, breaking GOP supermajority
Iowa Republicans’ supermajority in the state Senate was broken Tuesday as Democrat Catelin Drey won the special election for Iowa Senate District 1. Drey faced off against Republican Christopher Prosch in the election, which was called to fill the seat after Sen. Rocky De Witt, R-Lawton, passed away due to pancreatic cancer in June. According […]
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‘I’m the guy getting sued by the Satanists’: Adam Steen announces GOP campaign for governor
Republican Adam Steen, former director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services, announced his campaign for governor Tuesday, labeling himself as a “faith guy” in the race to succeed Gov. Kim Reynolds. Steen held a campaign kickoff event Tuesday at Berean Church in Pleasant Hill, starting with a musical performance from Nathan Thomas and the […]
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Iowa National Guard soldiers deployed to assist ICE
Iowa National Guard soldiers will deploy to provide support for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in September, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Tuesday. The deployment, set to begin Sept. 8, will involve 20 National Guard soldiers providing “administrative and logistical support” to ICE officials based in Iowa who are enforcing immigration laws, according to […]
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Iowa AG leads letter questioning legality of net-zero, saying it’s part of a ‘radical green scheme’
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird led a multistate letter Friday questioning whether a new net-zero carbon emissions standard for businesses is illegal under state and federal law. The letter was sent to David Kennedy, CEO of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a group that recently released its Financial Institutions Net-Zero standard. This standard is meant […]
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State worker groups oppose suggested IPERS cuts, performance-based teacher pay model
As Iowa’s DOGE task force considers recommending cuts to public employee compensation and tying school staff pay to student achievement, public workers organizations are rallying for Iowans to speak out against these proposals. The DOGE task force members met Wednesday to discuss some of the recommendations they plan to include in the report submitted to […]
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Le Mars school district bars religious groups from holding events on school grounds
A northwest Iowa school district has agreed to prohibit religious organizations from holding events at schools after receiving a complaint about a Christian group holding National Day of Prayer celebrations on school grounds. The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a nonprofit organization advocating for the separation of church and state and for nonreligious people, sent […]
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Sen. Joni Ernst speaks in support of cuts to USAID, public broadcasting
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst praised the cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) included in the bill passed in the early hours of Thursday to cancel $9 billion in federal funding for foreign aid efforts and public broadcasting. Ernst spoke in support of the cuts made through the rescissions bill, requested by President […]
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Democrat Kathy Dolter launches bid for 2nd Congressional District; Rep. Lindsay James mulls a run
Democratic hopefuls are launching — or moving toward — bids to compete for the party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District for the 2026 election. State Rep. Lindsay James, D-Dubuque, said Tuesday she is considering a run for the 2nd District. The 44-year-old Presbyterian pastor, currently serving her fourth term in the Iowa House, said […]
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Bill requiring Iowa schools show material from anti-abortion groups depicting ‘humanity of the unborn child’ at fertilization heads to governor’s desk
Iowa schools would have to show ultrasound videos and computer-generated graphics on fetal development in Iowa classrooms under legislation sent to the governor’s desk Monday. SF 175, approved 33-16, would require human growth and development classes for Iowa students in grades 5-12 to include ultrasound video and computer-generated renderings or animations depicting “the humanity of the […]
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Proposed constitutional amendment would require supermajority to raise income tax
A Senate subcommittee moved forward with the second step in amending the state constitution Wednesday to require a two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature for income tax increases. SSB 1221 is a follow-up from HJR 2006, passed in 2024 with the same language. To amend the Iowa Constitution, lawmakers must pass the amendment language in […]
