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Iowa crop conditions overall good following hot, wet week

Soybeans growing in a western Iowa field in August 2023. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 28, 2025 Corn rated nearly 90% good to excellent during the reporting period from July 21 through July 27, while wet conditions limited farmers’ activities in the field, according to the latest crop progress and condition report. Iowa crops continue to progress slightly ahead of schedule while above-average […]

Iowa GOP incumbents outraise challengers in latest campaign finance reports

U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn and Mariannette Miller-Meeks, incumbent Republicans, raised more than their Democratic challengers in the most recent FEC reporting period. (Photos by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch; photo illustration via Canva)

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 16, 2025 Several of Iowa’s congressional races are expected to be competitive in 2026 — but incumbent Republicans kept their fundraising leads in most races, according to the latest Federal Election Commission reports. U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn, Republicans representing Iowa’s 1st and 3rd districts respectively, […]

Hunters in 2024 saw Iowa’s second-highest pheasant harvest since 2007

Pheasant harvests in 2024 were slightly down from the previous year, but still one of the highest seasons in nearly two decades. (Image courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 11, 2025 Pheasant hunters in Iowa saw high-bag years in both 2023 and 2024. Harvest data for the fall season released by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources shows an estimated 460,000 roosters were bagged in the 2024 season, making it the second-best pheasant season in nearly two […]

Midwest farm economies suffered while some Sun Belt states kept rolling in early 2025

Machinery harvests corn in Scotts Bluff County, Neb., last year. Low prices for row crops and high costs for fertilizer are squeezing Midwest row-crop farmers while the Southeast is still on an economic winning streak, according to a Stateline analysis of federal economic data for the first quarter. (Photo by Gary Stone, Nebraska Extension/Courtesy of University of Nebraska-Lincoln)

by Tim Henderson ǀ Stateline, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 14, 2025 Global clashes and trade wars hammered Midwestern states’ agricultural economies early this year, while a continuing boom in Southeastern states’ housing and tech jobs kept their economies humming along. Some Southeastern states were seeing a strong agricultural economy because of still-rising poultry and egg […]

US Senate Republicans advance bill stripping funds from NPR, PBS, foreign aid

White House budget director Russ Vought speaks with reporters inside the U.S. Capitol building on July 15, 2025. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 15, 2025 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday night moved one step closer to canceling $9 billion in previously approved funding for several foreign aid programs and public broadcasting after GOP leaders addressed some objections. Nearly all the chamber’s Republicans voted to begin debate on the bill, […]

New national school voucher program included in ‘big, beautiful’ law, with no cap on cost

In this year’s battle for control of Congress, Republicans aim to increase their slim majority in the House of Representatives and flip the Senate, while Democrats are hoping to hang onto their majority in the upper chamber and regain control of the House. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)

by Shauneen Miranda, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 11, 2025 WASHINGTON — A national private school voucher program is now law, though the school choice initiative comes with a huge caveat. States also choose — whether or not to participate. It’s a setback for advocates who hoped to see the program — baked into the mega […]

Federal judge to pause Trump’s birthright citizenship order

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, joined demonstrators outside the U.S. Supreme Court on May 15, 2025, to protest the Trump administration’s effort to strip birthright citizenship from the Constitution. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

by Ariana Figueroa, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 10, 2025 WASHINGTON — A federal judge in New Hampshire Thursday issued a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order that would rewrite the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, and granted a class certification to infants who would be affected by the order. The ruling from U.S. District […]

Ag fertilizer runoff likely will force more drinking water restrictions

The Raccoon River weaves past downtown Des Moines, Iowa, in June. One of the primary drinking water sources for the region, the river has high nitrate levels that have led to water restrictions for some 600,000 customers. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Kevin Hardy ǀ Stateline, Iowa Capital Dispatch July 10, 2025 For nearly a month, hundreds of thousands of Iowans have not been allowed to water their lawns — even though there’s no drought. Local authorities previously asked the public to refrain from washing cars and filling pools. And some cities turned off splash pads […]

Iowa corn beginning to silk, soybeans blooming ahead of normal

Corn growing near West Des Moines on June 22, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 23, 2025 Across the state of Iowa, approximately 2% of planted corn acres are beginning to silk, and 13% of soybean acres are blooming, which is five days ahead of the five-year average, according to the crop progress and condition report. The report, put out weekly by the […]

UI researcher finds faster decline in cognitive ability for those living without healthy food

University of Iowa assistant professor Boeun Kim led a study into cognitive decline among older adults living in urban unhealthy food environments. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 23, 2025 When University of Iowa researcher and assistant professor Boeun Kim worked as a nurse, some of the older adults she treated would have problems that no health care professional can solve — low income, a small or nonexistent support network and less access to healthy food. […]

               

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