Iowa announced on Monday that it will return to a federal summer food assistance program. The announcement came on the same day a report made available to The Gazette showed Iowa’s program in 2025 fell well short of reaching the number of children that the federal program would have.
This week, the On Iowa Politics podcast looks back at the year that was. And what a year it was.
Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, 29, of Marshalltown; and Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, 25, of Grimes were killed Saturday during what Iowa National Guard leaders described as an ambush
One of two Iowa National Guard soldiers killed in an attack Saturday in central Syria has been publicly identified by family members, while the Iowa National Guard has not yet officially released the names of the fallen service members.
Two members of the Iowa National Guard were killed Saturday in an attack in central Syria that U.S. officials have blamed on the Islamic State group, marking the deadliest attack on U.S. forces in the country in more than a year and coming on the 389th birthday of the National Guard.
The longest-serving governor in U.S. history and former U.S. ambassador to China was presented with the Iowa Award, the state’s top civilian honor
But legislators are ruling out any immediate changes to IPERS.
“The governor is here, legislators are here, regents are here, but the president and the provost — always the provost — haven’t graced us with their presence tonight,” Christopher Rufo said. “Why is that? What's more important than the beginning of an academic research institution that was commissioned by the Legislature that has the highest aspiration of the university at its core — to unlock the freedom of thinking and to reorient the university toward the highest good?”
The CEO of Iowa’s public pension system said he does not object to a review of the retirement program for public employees, but cautioned against potential consequences of a voluntary contribution option — one of the recommendations from a citizen task force appointed by Gov. Kim Reynolds.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a disaster proclamation Tuesday after a case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a commercial turkey flock in Hamilton County -- the state’s ninth detection of the H5N1 bird flu in domestic Iowa flocks in 2025.
New policy wins — including $150 million for residency expansion and new prior-authorization rules — are giving Iowa physicians hope, but health leaders warns real improvements will take years.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said the state is in a “good place” to receive nearly $157 million in federal education funding by block grant rather than through the U.S. Department of Education, arguing that it will help eliminate “bureaucracy.”
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds pardoned two turkeys, Tailfeather and Wingding, during the annual turkey pardoning ceremony Tuesday at the governor’s mansion at Terrace Hill in Des Moines. The turkeys, who were raised in Iowa, will be spared from the Thanksgiving table and live on an Eastern Iowa farm.
State officials have denied a request by the Satanic Temple of Iowa to hold a holiday event in the state capitol rotunda after rejecting a similar request last year.
Current Gov. Kim Reynolds will present the Iowa Award to the former governor and U.S. ambassador next month at the Iowa Capitol in Des Moines.
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