On Feb. 23, the Des Moines City Council voted 5-2 to extend its contract with the controversial towing outfit Crow Tow, which has had the city’s towing contract since 2019. This reignited the public debate on local and state towing laws, which are among the loosest in the nation. Crow Tow has been accused of […]
Community/News
Posted inCommunity/News
The fourth Coralville Asian Festival brought together singers, dancers, drummers and dragons
The temperature in S.T. Morrison Park was already hitting 80 degrees when the sound of drumming started just after 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The heat, however, didn’t stop hundreds from turning out for the opening of the fourth annual Coralville Asian Festival (CAF). This year’s festival kicked off with a performance by the Soten […]
Posted inCommunity/News
State Sen. Catelin Drey knows Iowa’s in a cancer crisis. She’s living it.
In January, state Sen. Catelin Drey stood at a podium on the Senate floor in front of her colleagues representing all corners of Iowa. She told them that she was about to speak candidly on a topic both “personal and political.” Behind her, legislators and staffers appeared to be half-listening, looking at their laptops and […]
Posted inCommunity/News
‘Honestly, it’s disgraceful’: Turek, Wahls spar over voting records on abortion in Dem Senate candidate forum
Candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls sparred Thursday during the second U.S. Senate Democratic primary debate on issues like reproductive healthcare and how to best achieve their policy goals if elected. One of the notable disputes during the KCCI and Gray Media debate centered on reproductive healthcare. Wahls, a state senator from Coralville, said “reproductive […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Report: Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn flies to Kansas every six days, on average
Republican Zach Lahn has been spending a lot of time in Kansas, where he has a home, over the last seven months as he campaigns for governor as the “Iowa First” candidate, the Des Moines Register reported on Thursday. “I’m in Iowa the majority of the time, a tremendous amount of time,” Lahn told the […]
Posted inElection Coverage
Early voting has begun in the June 2 primary. Here’s where and when to cast a ballot
Early voting in the June 2 primary election started on Wednesday. County auditors’ offices have started mailing out absentee ballots requested by voters and are opening their doors for early in-person voting. Early in-person voting will run through Monday, June 1, the day before the primary election, and all mail-in absentee ballots must be received […]
Posted inStatewide
State will pay $125,000 to settle lawsuit filed by employee fired for social media post about Charlie Kirk
The state of Iowa will pay $125,000 to settle a lawsuit by an attorney in the State Public Defender’s Office who was fired because of a social media post following the killing of rightwing activist and media figure Charlie Kirk. The payment was approved last week by the State Appeals Board as part of a […]
Posted inCommunity/News
How bald eagles came back from the brink to dominate Iowa’s skies
Ask anyone how long the bald eagle has been the official bird of the United States, and the answer is likely to be 200 years or more. In reality, the bald eagle has been the official bird for less than two years. In December 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law a bill designating the […]
Posted inCommunity/News
Iowa’s most important water monitoring network still has no state funding
Advocates of the state’s widest-spread and fastest-with-data water quality monitoring system are feeling frustrated by a lack of state support, and say appropriations that did make it through the legislative process won’t help every Iowan. The Iowa Legislature went back and forth on funding for water quality during the final days and hours of its […]
Posted inCommunity/News
New poll shows AG Brenna Bird just 2 points ahead of Democratic challenger Nate Willems
On Wednesday, the Democratic Attorney Generals Association (DAGA) endorsed Nate Willems, the Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Iowa AG Brenna Bird in this year’s election. The endorsement isn’t a surprise since Willems is the only Democrat in the AG’s race. But what was more noteworthy were the results of a new poll that DAGA published along […]
Posted inCommunity/News
A ‘skyscraper of risk factors’ are giving Iowans cancer
For the third year in a row, Iowa has the second-highest rate of new cancers in the country, according to the annual report from the Iowa Cancer Register (ICR) published in March. It’s also one of only three states where the rate of new cancers is rising, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. […]
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In Des Moines, JD Vance calls Iran war a ‘little blip in the Middle East,’ Zach Nunn compares pain at the pump to sacrifice of Gold Star families
“My friends, this is not a normal election,” Vice President JD Vance said near the end of his speech at a campaign rally in Des Moines Tuesday. “This is not a normal political environment.” Vance then demonstrated a major reason why this is not a normal political environment. Republicans who follow the lead of Donald […]
