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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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New poll finds Sen. Joni Ernst struggling against Democratic challengers

A new poll by Public Policy Polling (PPP) finds Sen. Joni Ernst struggling against the four Democrats running for Senate in head-to-head matchups. The North Carolina-based polling firm surveyed 572 Iowa voters from Aug. 18 to Aug. 19. Sixty-nine percent of respondents were surveyed via texted questions, while the remaining 31 percent responded to questions […]

Posted inArts & Entertainment

‘Waitress,’ ‘Witch’ and ‘The SpongeBob Musical’ rack up honors at the Cloris Awards in Des Moines

Creepy, bubbly, romantic, epic — the past year of Des Moines theater productions offered something for every mood. On Sunday, some of the actors, behind-the-scenes crew and theater companies that brought these shows to life were honored with glass plaques at the 2025 Cloris Awards ceremony. Hoyt Sherman Place hosted the 10th annual local theater […]

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Iowa conservation group sues Trump administration over frozen AmeriCorps funding 

Bur Oak Land Trust, an Iowa City-based nonprofit, joined more than a dozen groups from across the country in a lawsuit against the Trump administration for continuing to withhold funding for AmeriCorps programs.  Bur Oak and 13 additional nonprofits won a preliminary injunction in July from a lawsuit in response to Department of Government Efficiency […]

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Rally planned in Iowa City to protest closure of State Historical Society research center by Reynolds administration

As the Trump administration continues its attempts to erase and rewrite history — on Tuesday, President Trump said he had “instructed my attorneys to go through the [Smithsonian] Museums” to ensure the Smithsonian is focused on “Success” and “Brightness” instead of “how bad Slavery was” — Iowans will rally on Saturday to demand the state protect […]

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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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