Stories written by Freelance Writer

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 2, 2025 While Iowa’s federal delegation has spent the week taking action on issues like fentanyl and Air Force facilities in Washington, D.C., some of Iowa’s U.S. representatives have also weighed in on an issue in their home state — the upcoming governor’s race. After Gov. Kim Reynolds […]
May 3 2025 | Posted in
State News |
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by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 30, 2025 Starting in the 2025-2026 school year, public Iowa K-12 school districts will be required to set policies that, at minimum, ban the use of cellphones during class time under a law signed by Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday. The ban on cellphones during instructional periods was one […]
May 1 2025 | Posted in
State News |
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by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 29, 2025 A lawsuit over a Des Moines Register poll that showed Kamala Harris leading Donald Trump in Iowa during the final days of the 2024 campaign has been moved to federal court. The lawsuit, one of two related to the poll, is a potential class-action case filed […]

by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 29, 2025 WARREN COUNTY — Tom Vilsack, former Iowa governor and the U.S. secretary of agriculture during the Obama and Biden administrations, spoke Tuesday with farmers and rural Iowans about his ideas to grow rural communities. In the pine-paneled Middleswart Lodge, looking out over Lake Ahquabi State Park, […]

by Kathie Obradovich, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 28, 2025 Gov. Kim Reynolds’ lawsuit against the Des Moines Register is both unusual and dangerous for open government in Iowa. Reynolds announced last week that she was filing suit seeking to stop the Register “from demanding production of the documents protected by executive privilege.” That’s strange and […]
Apr 30 2025 | Posted in
Editorial |
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by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 28, 2025 While Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Senate Republicans said Monday they have reached a “budget compromise” on how to fund the state heading into the 2026 fiscal year, House Republicans are asking for more money in some areas. Passing the state budget through a series of […]
Apr 30 2025 | Posted in
State News |
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by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 28, 2025 The Iowa Senate passed a bill setting new standards for pharmacy benefit managers that lawmakers said will help keep rural pharmacies in business and lower the cost of prescription drugs. Senate File 383, passed 36-14, is the legislation passed through the committee process earlier this year […]
Apr 30 2025 | Posted in
State News |
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by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 25, 2025 Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig is considering a run for governor in 2026, but said he is still talking over the possibility with his family and close supporters. Naig was a guest Friday on the Iowa PBS show “Iowa Press,” where he also discussed the […]

by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 27, 2025 U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins issued memorandums to state agencies urging them to enforce federal guidelines around work requirements and citizenship status when issuing food assistance. Food security advocates in Iowa say the measures do not change much for the agencies administering the Supplemental Nutrition […]

by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 25, 2025 Gov. Kim Reynolds has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register that seeks to keep confidential some of the written communications among her senior advisors. In court papers filed Friday by Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, Reynolds asks for an injunction to stop the Register […]