by Kevin Hardy ǀ Stateline, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 5, 2025 Anna Pesek saw a federal program supporting local food purchases as much more than a boost to her Iowa pork and poultry farm. The U.S. Department of Agriculture grant program that allowed schools and food banks to buy fresh products from small farms helped […]
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch April 4, 2025 In light of Wednesday’s tariff announcement by President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley introduced legislation this week requiring more congressional oversight of such decisions. The president announced he was setting a baseline 10% levy on all international imports Wednesday, effective April 5, with higher tariffs […]
by Tik Root, Grist, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 30, 2025 This story was produced by Grist and co-published with States Newsroom Rows of dead batteries stretch across some 30 acres of high desert, organized in piles and boxes that are covered to shield them from the western Nevada sun. This vast field is where Redwood Materials stores […]
by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 22, 2025 WASHINGTON — Americans living in rural communities throughout the country could see their access to health care diminish if Congress changes eligibility for Medicaid or significantly reduces its federal funding. While rural residents who depend on the state-federal program for lower income people would experience the most […]
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 21, 2025 Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have introduced legislation they say will help lower drug costs. U.S. Congress has largely not met this week, with most of the attention in national politics centering on President Donald Trump’s moves to close the U.S. Department of Education and militarize […]
by Ashley Murray, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 20, 2025 WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is gearing up to militarize a stretch of the southern border, according to a Washington Post report Thursday, raising concerns from experts that the move would put U.S. military members in direct contact with migrants, a possible violation of federal law. […]
by Shauneen Miranda, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 20, 2025 WASHINGTON — In a sweeping executive order signed Thursday, President Donald Trump called on Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the U.S. Education Department. Trump signed the order at a major White House ceremony, flanked by children seated at desks. […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced new legislation designed to lower prescription drug costs and limit the influence of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) in the commercial insurance market. The bill, known as the DRUG Act, has garnered bipartisan support and praise from various patient advocacy and healthcare organizations. The DRUG Act, which […]
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (R-IA) today introduced the Delinking Revenue from Unfair Gouging (DRUG) Act, bipartisan legislation that would implement de-linking policies to rein in Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) in the commercial insurance market. Reps. Nannette Barragan (D-CA), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Rick Allen (R-GA), and Donald Norcross (D-NJ) […]
by Jennifer Shutt, Iowa Capital Dispatch March 14, 2025 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate cleared a stopgap spending bill Friday that will fund the government through the end of September, sending the legislation to President Donald Trump. The White House said on Saturday afternoon that Trump had signed the measure, avoiding a partial government shutdown. […]
