Maya Marchel Hoff, Gazette-Lee Des Moines Bureau

Iowa Republican incumbents have outpaced their Democratic challengers in fundraising, according to recent campaign finance reports, as they gear up for competitive races and push to protect their narrow U.S. House majority.

The 2026 elections were top of mind during the annual Family Leadership Summit Friday as speakers and conservative lawmakers stressed the importance of electing pro-life candidates to office and commending President Donald Trump for his actions during the first few months of his second term.

“While the encouragement and momentum have been phenomenal, the fundraising simply hasn’t reached the level necessary to run a competitive campaign at this time.”

Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he is committed to investigating the members of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who served during the Biden administration over indictments against President Donald Trump.

President Donald Trump in Iowa on Thursday promised to keep the state a central part of the nation’s 250th birthday celebration, celebrated Congressional approval of his sweeping tax and spending legislation, and snuck in a few of his greatest campaign-style rally hits.

Here’s what it would look like for Iowa if those policies become law as part of reconciliation bill in Congress

Under a new law, all government officials in Iowa elected or appointed after July 1 — with a few exceptions — must undergo training on public meetings and open records

President Donald Trump, Iowa U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and a former state lawmaker refiled a lawsuit in state court against Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register on Monday.

Transgender and nonbinary Iowans will see their legal protections weakened this week when a law removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act goes into effect.

Iowa State Auditor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand rebuked party labels and fielded questions during a town hall Wednesday in Waukee. It was the first stop of 100 that Sand will make across the state this summer and fall. He’s slated to visit all of Iowa’s 99 counties, including two stops in Lee County, to its two county seats.

The executive director of anti-abortion advocacy group Pulse Life Advocates said anti-abortion activists still have more work left to do.

Iowa will receive $37.8 million in opioid settlement funds after the state signed onto a settlement agreement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma and its owners, the Sackler Family, on Monday, resolving thousands of opioid lawsuits nationwide.

Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed legislation last week that would have allowed doctors to prescribe synthetic psilocybin — the active component of "magic mushrooms" — in Iowa if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the substance.

During this year’s legislative session, the Iowa House of Representatives and the governor’s office used an Iowa-based AI-native program to help streamline the legislative process for evaluating and tracking bills, a first for the state.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds approved the full state standings budget, Senate File 659, Wednesday after emergency response systems officials asked her to veto a provision over concerns it would lead to budget uncertainty for local 911 boards.