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Iowa Capital Dispatch
Guns: Where do Trump and Harris stand?
WASHINGTON — A mass shooting at a Georgia high school in September thrust the issue of gun violence to the forefront of the presidential race. Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump agree that gun violence is a major problem, but they offer strikingly different views on how to address it. Two 14-year-old […]
Big old house provides a lesson in economics
There was a big old house located at 502 South St. in Toledo, Iowa. The dwelling has a living room, dining room, kitchen, den, and bath on the first floor, four bedrooms on the second. The basement is divided, with a gray painted cement floor, into a laundry room and the other half has a […]
Corn and soybean associations study: Farmers would suffer from trade wars
The National Corn Growers Association and the American Soybean Association found a tariff-induced trade war with China would “hurt” U.S. farmers, based on a jointly released study that pulled from 2018 tariffs data and GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s economic plans. Worst-case scenario figures in the study show that soybean exports to China would have […]
Polk County ballots contain spelling error on constitutional amendment
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office is determining whether a spelling error in the wording of a proposed constitutional amendment on Polk County ballots would create any problems in counting those votes. As early voting began Wednesday, some ballots in Polk County contained a typo in its section on the constitutional amendment related to the […]
Invasive, ash-tree killing insect now present in all Iowa counties
The emerald ash borer, a non-native, wood boring insect that affects ash trees, has been detected in all Iowa counties, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship announced Thursday. The metallic-looking green beetle was first discovered in Iowa in 2010 and has made its way westward throughout the state through the inadvertent movement by […]
City: Police had no constitutional duty to protect murder victim
Lawyers for the City of Bellevue are arguing in court that the police department shouldn’t be held liable for failing to enforce a no-contact order and arrest warrant for a man who subsequently murdered his estranged wife. Quoting from past state and federal court decisions, the city argues police officers have no constitutional duty to […]
Speaker Mike Johnson to rally with U.S. Reps. Miller-Meeks, Nunn in Iowa
House Speaker Mike Johnson is traveling to Iowa Friday to hold events with incumbent U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Republicans seeking reelection in competitive districts. Miller-Meeks, representing Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, faces Democrat Christina Bohannan in the Nov. 5 general election. Nunn faces Democrat Lanon Baccam in the 3rd District. Both races are […]
Consider the ‘origin story’ of our food supply
I recently spent a few days at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s plantation from 1768 to 1826. Fortunately, a lot has changed since that time — most importantly, there is no longer sanctioned slavery in the U.S. But it is fascinating to me that, as they say, “the more things change, the more things stay the same.” […]
Hinson, Corkery discuss economic vision and tax policy with business group
U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democratic candidate Sarah Corkery each told business leaders Wednesday at the Greater Des Moines Partnership that their economic policies would best benefit Iowa’s business community. The 2nd Congressional District candidates each emphasized their commitment to helping small businesses but differed on the best economic policies to help Iowa families and […]
Morningside University receives alumni support for new business building
Gifts from Morningside University alumni will help bring the Sioux City private college’s new business building to life, with the addition of an entrepreneurship center. Half of a $2 million gift from alumni Jim and Sharon Walker will go to a new building that will house Morningside’s school of business, according to a news release, […]
Second wrongful-death lawsuit filed against Iowa nursing home
A Pleasant Hill nursing home that has been repeatedly cited for insufficient staffing is now facing a second wrongful-death lawsuit. The family of Kerry Morris of Madrid, who died in 2022 at the age of 58, just five days after his admission to the Parkridge Specialty Care nursing home, is suing the home, two of […]
Iowans line up to cast ballots on first day of early voting
As early voting began in Iowa Wednesday, candidates and voters expressed enthusiasm about polls opening for the general election and encouraged others to make plans to vote. Iowans were lined up all the way down the block waiting to enter the Polk County election office in Des Moines just before 8 a.m. Wednesday, the first […]
Harris campaign stresses ‘the threat that Donald Trump is to Latino communities’
WASHINGTON —Top advisers to the Kamala Harris presidential campaign held a Wednesday press conference including children who were separated from their parents under the highly criticized Trump administration immigration policy, as a warning of what a second term under the former president could bring for the Latino community. The press conference in Doral, Florida, came […]
Judge: Group home worker slept on the job, falsified patient records
An Iowa woman was recently fired from a group home for brain-injured individuals after being accused of sleeping on the job and falsifying patient records. State records indicate Patricia Cherkas worked as a life skills trainer for Neurorestorative Iowa, a company that operates group homes for people with brain injuries, from May 2023 through August […]
Early voting begins in Iowa: Here’s what to know in 2024
Early voting has officially begun in Iowa, as of Wednesday, Oct. 16 for the 2024 general election. Iowans will have an early chance to weigh in on their choice for president and U.S. representative, in addition to a number of state legislative and local races and two constitutional amendments in the Nov. 5 election. Iowa […]
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Democrat Christina Bohannan face off in Iowa’s 1st District
U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has won elections in Iowa’s southeastern congressional district encompassing areas including Iowa City, Davenport and eastern Des Moines suburbs, for two cycles. But Democrat Christina Bohannan and national watchers see abortion and pushback against “divisive” Republican rhetoric as strategies that could win back the seat in 2024. Iowa’s 1st Congressional District […]
Hinson looks to presidential politics in 2nd District race against Sarah Corkery
As U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson defends her seat in northeastern Iowa in the upcoming election against Democratic challenger Sarah Corkery, the candidate has spent time on the campaign trail linking her candidacy with former President Donald Trump’s 2024 run. The race for Iowa’s 2nd District is expected to be less competitive than other congressional seats […]
Democrat Lanon Baccam challenges U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn for 3rd District seat
Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District has long been targeted as a potential pick-up for Democrats in the 2024 election – but U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and Republicans are hoping that a campaign on the incumbent Republican’s moderate track record will help him retain control of the seat. Nunn faces Democrat Lanon Baccam in the upcoming Nov. […]
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra takes on rematch against Democrat Ryan Melton in 4th District
Iowa’s 4th congressional district has long been a Republican stronghold in the state. Though election forecasters predict the GOP incumbent, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, will easily hold onto the seat in the 2024 election, there’s one issue that could sway some conservative and independent voters to support his Democratic challenger Ryan Melton – the use […]
Republican attorneys general seek to block rule providing health insurance for DACA recipients
Three Republican attorneys general argued in a federal courtroom in North Dakota on Tuesday that a federal rule allowing some undocumented immigrants to receive subsidized health insurance should be stopped – or at the very least, delayed. The attorneys general for Kansas, North Dakota and South Dakota led the hearing on behalf of 19 states […]
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