State Government

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.

The federal government shutdown hasn’t affected food aid yet, but Iowa’s contingency funding for WIC could run out if the standoff in Washington drags on.

Gov. Kim Reynolds on Wednesday ordered all state agencies to use E-Verify and SAVE to confirm employment and immigration eligibility for new hires and professional licenses. The move follows the arrest of former Des Moines schools superintendent Ian Roberts, which exposed verification gaps and reignited debate over whether Iowa should mandate E-Verify statewide.

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

Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas said she is ready to translate her horse roping and riding skills to reining in taxpayer dollars and property taxes as state auditor.

Democratic Iowa state Sen. Claire Celsi, of West Des Moines, died Monday, after spending weeks in hospice care, her daughter confirmed in a social media post.

The state has agreed to pay a Le Claire mother $50,000 to settle her 2022 lawsuit accusing University of Iowa Health Care providers of perforating her bowel and charring her rectum during a 2020 cervical cancer surgery — leaving her permanently impaired and limiting her ability to parent her two sons.

Iowa State Patrolman and state Rep. Joshua Meggers sustained “non-life-threatening” injuries after his patrol car was hit head-on at the end of a 90-minute high-speed chase last week.

Despite a lawsuit fighting the State Historical Society of Iowa's unexpected and "haphazard" closure of its Iowa City research facility and archives — and a court hearing scheduled in the dispute next week — the state on Monday began moving some of the historical documents with help from prison inmates.

General fund revenue for the Iowa state budget year that ended in June was nearly $200 million less than projected by a nonpartisan state panel in March, according to final numbers published this week.

Amid government funding cuts and hyper partisan politics, Iowa leaders in nonprofit and social service organizations say they must remain true to their missions. They made those comments during panel discussions that were part of The Gazette’s annual Iowa Ideas conference on Thursday.

Iowa’s Medicaid program is projected to face tens of millions in deficits in coming years. State Auditor Rob Sand accused Republican leaders of irresponsible budgeting, while GOP lawmakers argue the state’s reserves can cover rising costs.