Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

Feenstra is one of four Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in Iowa’s 2026 open-seat election for governor.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is calling for a federal investigation into refineries she says may be exploiting renewable fuel exemptions, while thousands of Iowa seniors are being urged to review their Medicare coverage amid plan cancellations and new drug pricing rules taking effect next year.

Trump filed the lawsuits over a 2024 presidential election poll that showed him trailing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in Iowa by 4 percentage points.

Republican Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks has introduced legislation to fund federal food assistance that is scheduled to dry up next month if the government shutdown continues.

Following the arrest of former Des Moines superintendent Ian Roberts, State Auditor Rob Sand will review how Iowa licenses educators after receiving a qualifying legislative request from a Des Moines lawmaker.

State Rep. Aime Wichtendahl, Iowa’s first openly transgender legislator, is running for re-election in 2026 to a second term. The Hiawatha Democrat cited work on firefighter cancer coverage and pledged to recruit more allies to “solve real problems,” not “culture wars” in the Iowa Legislature.

Also in Notebook: Eight more land reclamation projects near former coal mines in southeast Iowa are underway.

Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann has been chosen by President Trump and RNC Chair Joe Gruters to lead the committee that will decide whether the state party keeps its first-in-the-nation caucus status in 2028. Meanwhile, Gov. Kim Reynolds unveiled $5 million in new state grants to expand collaborations between child care providers and preschool programs, part of an effort to help working families access full-day of care that meets their need.

Guy Morgan, a 33-year-old Boone hotel manager and first-time Democratic candidate, is running for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District — despite living outside it. He says his campaign, born from personal tragedy and a desire to combat extremism, will focus on clean water, fair wages and workers’ rights.

Former Congressman Rod Blum suspends his campaign for Iowa’s open 2nd District U.S. House seat, while new attack ads target Iowa Republicans over wind energy tax credits, health care costs and the federal shutdown.

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Thursday set a special election date for Tuesday, Dec. 30, to fill the Iowa Senate seat vacated with former Sen. Claire Celsi’s death.

Iowa Senate Republicans called for an audit of Des Moines Public Schools after the arrest of former superintendent Ian Roberts — prompting pushback from State Auditor Rob Sand. Also in this week’s Capitol Notebook: Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird joins a multistate coalition backing Trump’s National Guard deployments.

Leif Olson and David Waterman were confirmed by the Senate to serve as U.S. Attorneys in Iowa

A pollster that has served President Donald Trump’s campaigns and a former political director of U.S. House Republicans’ campaign arm are among the hires by Iowa 2nd Congressional District candidate Joe Mitchell, his campaign announced this week.

Democrat Mark Campbell has chaired the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission since 2021