Stories written by Freelance Writer
by Allison Winter, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 23, 2024 WASHINGTON — Democrats and Republicans on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee clashed late into the evening Thursday over funding for food and nutrition programs as part of Republicans’ sweeping proposal for the new five-year farm bill. The committee’s $1.5 trillion omnibus farm bill would set policy […]
May 24 2024 | Posted in
National News |
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by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 22, 2024 Gov. Kim Reynolds, touring what she called “horrific” damage in Greenfield from Tuesday’s tornadoes, emphasized the resiliency of the Iowa communities and appreciation for the support received in the day since the storm. As severe weather impacted areas across Iowa, Greenfield was hit by a major […]

by Jane Norman, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 22, 2024 WASHINGTON — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, on a call with reporters Wednesday, strongly criticized a farm bill draft written by U.S. House Republicans, saying it would damage the coalition that traditionally has united behind farm bills and “raises the real possibility of being unable to get […]

by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 20, 2024 The pace of corn and soybean planting accelerated last week amid a rainfall reprieve for much of the state, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers planted more than a fifth of the overall expected acres for each crop that week and edged closer to […]
May 21 2024 | Posted in
State News |
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by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 17, 2024 Gov. Kim Reynolds on Friday signed the final slate of bills remaining from the 2024 legislative session, including new laws related to the regulation of hemp-derived product and changes to the state’s boards and commissions. The signing of 20 bills marked the end of action on […]
May 18 2024 | Posted in
State News |
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by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 9, 2024 For the first time in nearly two years, no part of Iowa has extreme drought — the second-worst dryness classification of the U.S. Drought Monitor. A new report on Thursday that takes into account the significant rainfall of last week and early this week shows the […]
May 10 2024 | Posted in
State News |
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by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 8, 2024 WASHINGTON — The commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said at a congressional hearing Wednesday the agency is preparing for the possibility the strain of avian influenza affecting dairy cattle could jump to humans, though he cautioned the probability is low. Robert Califf told […]
May 9 2024 | Posted in
National News |
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by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 8, 2024 When Yi-Yu Wang pictures the future, she hopes for a day when someone can just pop an empty water bottle in their car’s tank when running low on gas in order to deliver the energy it needs to keep driving. A graduate research assistant in the […]

by Jacob Fischler, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 7, 2024 TikTok and its Chinese parent company on Tuesday challenged a recently enacted federal law banning the short-form video platform from the United States if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner. TikTok Inc., the U.S. company that operates the popular social media service, and ByteDance, […]
May 9 2024 | Posted in
National News |
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by Zach Spindler-Krage, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 4, 2024 When Kevin Hosbond was teaching English and coaching speech in the rural southeast Iowa school district of Fairfield, his position was on the chopping block three separate times. Each time, students and parents convinced the school board to save his position. Kevin Hosbond, an English teacher […]
May 6 2024 | Posted in
State News |
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