OSKALOOSA — A new state law that prohibits nearly all handheld use of cell phones and other electronic devices while driving is now in effect across Iowa. Law enforcement agencies, including the Mahaska County Sheriff’s Office, have pushed for stricter distracted driving measures for years to address the growing number of crashes linked to phones. […]
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 […]
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. […]
Did Oskaloosa, Iowa, Elect The First Woman To Political Office? OSKALOOSA, Iowa — In one of the most unusual and little-known moments in local political history, a woman named Nancy Smith was elected mayor of Oskaloosa during a municipal election in 1862—but declined to serve. The event, while initially treated as a joke, remains one […]
by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 11, 2025 Gov. Kim Reynolds Wednesday vetoed a controversial bill pertaining to eminent domain and carbon sequestration pipelines in Iowa. House Republican leaders initiated an effort to reconvene the Legislature to override the veto, but Senate GOP leaders indicated that was unlikely. House File 639 would have increased […]
DES MOINES, Iowa (June 9, 2025) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this […]
by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 7, 2025 ANKENY — Iowa Farmers Union members met Saturday with U.S. Federal Trade Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya and explained how consolidation in the agriculture industry has crippled their farming operations and rural communities. Bedoya, who visited with Iowa farmers three years prior, said it was important to come […]
by Cami Koons, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 4, 2025 Despite an ongoing trade war and low profitability the past two years, pork industry leaders and producers at the World Pork Expo in Des Moines said Wednesday they are optimistic about the year. Lee Schulz, chief economist for Ever.Ag, said 2025 could be the “quickest turnaround in […]
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch June 2, 2025 Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed two bills related to Iowa’s election laws Monday, making changes to the state’s citizenship verification for voting and election recount processes. Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, alongside several county auditors and some of the lawmakers who worked on the bills […]
DES MOINES, Iowa (June 2, 2025) – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition Report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly April through November. Additionally, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship provides a weather summary each week during this […]
