State and Regional News

State Representative Megan Jones (R-Sioux Rapids) announced her decision to seek re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives. Jones will run to represent the new House District 6, which includes Southern Clay County and most of Buena Vista County...

Iowa voters went to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in local elections: city councils, school boards and other county-level business. But Tuesday also marked a major milestone in the march toward the 2022 election, which could have significant consequences for the balance of the U.S. House and Senate...

As labor shortages plague the trucking industry and supply chain issues continue to impact Americans across the country, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are calling for more Americans to be eligible to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL) and operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Ernst and Grassley are urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to lower the age of eligibility from 21 to 18...

The state of Iowa has joined a lawsuit against the federal government, arguing that a requirement for federal employees to get vaccinated is “unconstitutional, unlawful, and unwise.” President Joe Biden in early September signed an executive order that requires federal employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 with no opt-out. The rule is scheduled to take effect on Dec. 8...

There is no evidence that livestock confinements are a threat to public health or unduly pollute the air, according to an attorney for the Iowa Pork Producers Association. “If producers believed that their buildings were making anyone sick or were a health hazard, they’d be the first to say we need to do something different,” attorney Eldon McAfee told Iowa Capital Dispatch. ...

A first-of-its-kind study of rural Iowa creeks and rivers found traces of synthetic chemicals that are toxic and persist in the environment indefinitely at sites across the state. “They’re all over the place,” said Dana Kolpin, a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey who led the study, the results of which published this month...

An Ankeny resident and Iowa State University student has become the first woman enlisted infantry soldier in the Iowa National Guard. Pfc. Taylor Patterson returned from basic training at Fort Benning in Georgia last month and is with Company C, 168th Infantry, the Guard said. There are approximately 9,000 service members in the Iowa National Guard...

Future teachers studying teaching English to students of other languages (TESOL) at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) have a new opportunity for their field experience: working with emergent bilingual students in the Storm Lake Community School District (SLCSD)...

Spencer, Sioux Rapids, Spirit Lake, Okoboji, Ida Grove among those to be tested

Iowa politicians rallied around Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn on Tuesday after he received a series of racist, threatening messages from an anonymous sender. “At some point, we have to say enough is enough,” Wilburn told reporters Tuesday. “My hope is that my coming forward and making this report will get others to step forward and say this is unacceptable. This is not our state, this is not our country.”...

The pumpkin patch at Jones Nursery in Storm Lake served as a seasonal backdrop for a family photo, complete with the prerequisite waving to capture the little ones’ attention. / Pilot photo by Dana Larsen

Iowa Latinx groups called for state leaders to be more welcoming toward refugees in the wake of a Republican emphasis on border security, which they said was politically motivated. “Let’s get over this fear-mongering,” said League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) of Iowa Political Director Joe Henry. “They’re doing the work, so let’s welcome more of them. We certainly need more workers.”...

The court process for two suspects accused in the murder of a Lake Park woman might split into two trials if a judge approves a motion filed late last month. Attorney Ed Bjornstad currently represents both suspects — 26-year-old Allison Decker and 24-year-old Justice Berntson. ...

Christina Ramirez drove five hours to Des Moines looking for one thing: hope. “Our country is just slipping away little by little,” she said. “I want to know if there’s any hope for us, for anybody, for this country.” Ramirez was one of thousands to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday. The outdoor event drew Trump fans from across the Midwest and beyond...

The statewide COVID-19 infection rate continues to decline since its recent peak in mid-September, but certain counties in rural Iowa — where vaccination rates lag behind the state average — have new daily cases comparable to their pandemic peak last year...

Iowa schools can keep their mask mandates in place after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction against a state law which prohibited schools from requiring face covers. Parents of children with disabilities sued the state in early September, arguing that the state’s prohibition on mask mandates was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. ...

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with other congressional Republicans, objected Thursday to Justice Department plan to investigate violent threats made against local school board members and teachers, arguing that the federal agency is “policing the speech of citizens and concerned parents.”...

Iowa State University recently dedicated its new Student Innovation Center, a highly flexible, technology-rich campus hub for project-based learning, entrepreneurship and multidisciplinary collaboration. The facility provides space for students, faculty and staff to share ideas, experiment and create new products...

Rep. Cindy Axne told reporters Monday that her comments were “completely misconstrued” in an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight. In a segment of the show last week, host Tucker Carlson criticized a recording of Axne speaking at a Zoom event. In the clip Carlson aired, Axne spoke about “anti-vaxxer crazies” responding to mask mandates at schools before speaking briefly about “the Christian Right.”...

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and several other GOP governors met in Texas on Wednesday to discuss immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border and call for changes to federal immigration policy. “Joe Biden has done absolutely nothing to confront this self-inflicted crisis,” Reynolds told Texas reporters, referring to rising rates of illegal border crossings...

Lizard Lake Wildlife Area’s resurgence began 10 years ago, when the 270-acre shallow lake was drained to rid itself of an unwanted carp population and to get vegetation established as a way to improve its poor water quality. “Our driver is water quality and as far as that project is concerned, it has been hugely successful,” said Clint Maddix, wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. ...

The state of Iowa has taken emergency action in immediately suspending the license of a mental health counselor who allegedly purchased alcohol for, and smoked marijuana with, an underage client. The Iowa Board of Behavioral Science alleges that mental health counselor Michelle Banks, 48, of Spirit Lake made suggestive, lewd, lascivious or improper remarks or advances to a client, and that she also has a mental or physical inability to practice in a safe and competent manner. ...

The Biden administration on Monday unveiled a proposed new rule that would strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to protect undocumented people in the program from legal challenges. The proposed rule, announced by the Department of Homeland Security, would “preserve and fortify” the DACA program, an Obama administration-era initiative that protects from deportation about 600,000 undocumented people who came to the U.S. as children...

Iowa’s COVID-19 cases have declined from a mid-September peak, but infections and hospitalizations remain significantly higher than earlier this year. COVID-19 infections reached the highest level of 2021 last week, with an average of 1,811 news cases per day. Iowa had one of the highest per-capita rates in the U.S., with an average of 55 new daily cases per 100,000 residents...

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and potential 2024 presidential candidate Nikki Haley has thrown her support behind a 2022 reelection bid for western Iowa congressman Randy Feensta. In a formal endorsement, Haley, formerly governor of South Carolina, called freshman Rep. Feenstra “a champion of conservative values for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District.”...

The Iowa Court of Appeals has upheld a child endangerment conviction in a case involving a 6-year-old boy who was subjected to a literal, physical tug of war between his divorced parents. The ruling stems from the appeal of Charles Tewes of Milford, who claims there was insufficient evidence to support his 2020 conviction on the child endangerment charge...

At Monday’s Cherokee School Board meeting, a pre-cooked 3-2 vote killed a motion to remove coaches’ contracts from the consent agenda and bring them into the open for further public discussion. The result of Board member Brian Freed’s motion that was seconded by Patty Brown, was a quick 3-2 no vote, with members Jodi Thomas, Angie Anderson, and Laura Jones nixing Freed’s proposal without hesitation...

A ransomware attack by the BlackMatter gang forced New Cooperative, an association of Iowa corn and soy farmers, to take their systems offline but it said it created workarounds to receive grain and distribute feed, a person close to the business said...

The U.S. Senate parliamentarian has turned down a plan to include a pathway to citizenship for millions of undocumented people in the $3.5 trillion reconciliation package, a blow for Democrats and immigration advocacy groups when the decision was disclosed late Sunday...

Three weeks after the last U.S. troops withdrew from Afghanistan, over two-thirds of Iowans said they disapproved of the way President Joe Biden handled the situation, according to a new Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll. Iowa’s lawmakers in D.C., many of whom have been critical of Biden’s approach from the onset, are turning their attention toward creating memorials for veterans of the Global War on Terrorism...

Iowa’s COVID-19 cases continued to rise Monday, with daily average cases surpassing the most recent peak in January 2021, before vaccines were widely available. Iowa’s daily average of COVID-19 cases was 1,867 on Sunday, according to New York Times data. That number represents the average number of new cases every day over the last week...

Enrollment fell at Iowa’s three public colleges this fall, continuing a years-long decline complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern all reported smaller 2021 enrollment as classes began last month. ...

The 2020 redistricting process has been abnormal from the start, and we’re just getting to the good stuff. This week, the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency will propose a new set of state legislative and congressional maps, setting off Iowa’s redistricting process months after it would usually happen...

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today announced that Harrison Swift, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps and resident of Ankeny, will work as the new veterans fellow based in his Des Moines office. Dave Allen, who has worked as Grassley’s veterans fellow since 2015, is retiring...

Mutton Bustin’ is a popular part of the rodeo during Fonda’s Labor Day celebration - with an especially enthusiastic turnout this year for the town’s Sesquicentennial party. This youngster hangs on for dear life.

A national environmental group has developed a clickable map that describes some of Iowa’s most pressing pollution problems in fine detail. The Environmental Working Group’s “water atlas” shows what Iowans have long known in a broad sense — the state is awash in manure and commercial fertilizers...

The House Science, Space, and Technology Committee was scheduled Thursday to hold a markup on the $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill. Iowa 4th District Rep. Randy Feenstra called the legislation “a Socialist Spending Spree” that he suggests will worsen inflation and add trillions more to our national debt...

The last privately owned stretch of undeveloped land along East Okoboji Lake will become a wildlife sanctuary and low-impact public park after a $8.2 million fundraising effort wrapped up with a day to spare. The nonprofit Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation will retain ownership of the 50 acres just north of Elinor Bedell State Park, and will work to connect the two areas with trails. The property, sold by businessman Tom Bedell, has just over 2,000 feet of shoreline...

Meatpacking workers and farm workers who were severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic will be eligible to get grants of up to $600 per person as part of a new $700 million aid program the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday. Officials said the grants are meant to defray some of the costs workers bore as many of them bought their own protective equipment or took unpaid leave as the virus tore through their industries even as they were required to keep showing up for work...

On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the State Historical Society of Iowa will honor the attacks’ first responders and commemorate its victims with a bell-ringing ceremony outside the State Capitol in Des Moines. The program will begin at 8:45 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at the Liberty Bell east of the statehouse...

Iowa City’s Tyler Sullivan was last in Clay County a little more than two years ago in August 2019, making a quick tour of some of the rural communities. He plans on sharing the experience in an upcoming book. Sullivan, now 33, has been running since he was a teen...