Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

National Democrats are adding the Iowa House and Senate to their 2026 target map, citing recent over-performance in special elections and new opportunities to cut into GOP control in Des Moines.

New numbers show Iowa’s jobless rate fell slightly in September, though more Iowans remain unemployed than a year ago. State officials are also seeking proposals for a federally backed effort to boost rural health care access.

Tiffin Democrat Travis Terrell calls for a $20-an-hour federal minimum wage and tougher corporate accountability in his campaign for Congress, and Iowa Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner seeks another term after helping Democrats break GOP super majority.

Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Turning Point USA, endorsed Mitchell, who was described as a longtime friend of Kirk’s

An Iowa-led coalition is urging a federal court to halt an IRS rule requiring nonprofits to submit donor lists, citing privacy risks and past data breaches. Plus: USDA unveils updates to crop insurance, Iowans are asked to weigh in on lake restoration plans and Iowa’s public pension system’s funded ratio topped 92 percent.

New Iowa House Minority Leader Brian Meyer is endorsing Trone Garriott instead of previous House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst

The Iowa Insurance Division is warning of scam calls from individuals claiming to be representatives of Medicare plans, requesting Social Security numbers over the phone.

Iowa Democratic congressional candidate Taylor Wettach outlines a sweeping rural economic plan, former Sen. Jackie Smith backs Zach Wahls for U.S. Senate and MAHA Action endorses Republican Zach Lahn in the Iowa governor’s race.

National women’s PACs are jumping into Iowa’s 2026 races, with EMILYs List backing Dubuque Democrat Lindsay James and conservative PACs lining up behind Peosta Republican Shannon Lundgren in the race for northeast Iowa’s U.S. House seat.

Also in the almanac, two insulator union groups endorse different candidates in Iowa’s Democratic U.S. Senate primary

A special investigation by the Iowa State Auditor’s Office found Crossroads Behavioral Health Services mishandled or misused more than $180,000 in federal and opioid settlement funds. Meanwhile, a state partnership with Ancestry.com has digitized over 1 million Iowa historical records at no taxpayer cost.

Muscatine Democrat Taylor Wettach is touting an aggressive ethics and campaign-finance overhaul in Iowa’s 1st District race, arguing plans from rivals Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Christina Bohannan don’t go far enough to curb the influence of money in politics.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is rolling out new victim assistance tools and has joined a multi-state push to scrutinize a major rail merger. Plus, Iowa lands $82 million for cleaner transit vehicles, and state economic officials approve new business aid and community projects.

Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Democratic challenger Christina Bohannan are backing ethics measures that would ban congressional lawmakers from trading stocks.

Republican Iowa AG Brenna Bird on Wednesday celebrated that a California climate reporting law was paused by a U.S. appeals court after she filed a brief alongside 24 other GOP-led states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay on the law.