Amid pending litigation, displaced collections and a public fight to maintain the Iowa City arm of the State Historical Society, officials on Friday announced a new collaboration to maintain public access to the historical collections at the University of Iowa.
State agencies are pre-filing bills ahead of the 2026 Iowa legislative session, signaling debates over kratom regulation, prison safety, election ads and a renewed fight over the future of Iowa’s historical archives in Iowa City.
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.
A Johnson County district judge Friday ordered the state to stop removing historic material from the 168-year-old State Historical Society’s Iowa City research facility that it unexpectedly decided to close without warning or public discussion.
Historians, archivists, donors, and community members suing to prevent closure of the State Historical Society’s Iowa City research facility — and order the state to return materials already removed — now are seeking a “special master” to protect the “uniquely sensitive and irreplaceable” collections.
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and archives — and a court hearing scheduled in the dispute next week — the state on Monday began moving some of the historical documents with help from prison inmates.
Seventeen historians, archivists, professors, authors, and donors with decades of public service are suing the State Historical Society of Iowa for haphazardly and without public input closing its Iowa City research facility and archives.
The Johnson County Board of Supervisors is joining a growing group of Iowans opposing the state’s decision to close the State Historical Society of Iowa building in Iowa City.
The announcement to close the building by June 2026, community members say, was poorly handled while the state argues necessary budgetary action
One firefighter was injured responding to a fire on the roof of the State Historical Society building in Iowa City Thursday night. The fire was brought under control before it could do any damage to the interior of the building, which is home to thousands of historical records.
The building on Iowa Avenue, which opened in 1956, is home to books, newspapers, vital records, photographs and more artifacts, which are available to the general public for research.
These four scientists studied Iowa’s flora, preserved prairie, and drafted legislation to establish Iowa’s state park system.
Both Iowa and U.S. lawmakers have considered establishing permanent daylight saving time, while sleep experts have pushed for permanent standard time. What will it take to stop changing our clocks?
Also, Iowa Republican legislative leaders set spending targets for the next state budget
Also, State Historical Building fully reopens Oct. 14
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