🗣️ It’s Friday the 13th. Time for Only in Iowa, this week’s pet photo, Positively Iowa, and news you can use.

Two waffles topped with spicy fried chicken and garnished with fresh herbs. (Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar)

In the name of feeling as comforted as possible during winter and early spring, we’re honing in on comfort food.

Check out these 10 soul-filling restaurants that’ll warm you right up.

Local news is essential for democracy.

Our reporting cuts through false narratives, documents what’s actually happening in our communities, and provides voters with the clear, factual information they need—especially when the stakes are high.

📚 Goodbye, Norma Jean: When Norma Jean Warner of Des Moines died at the age of 85, she requested no obituary be written. But her legacy looms large for the state’s libraries, cancer and Alzheimer’s research, food banks, and more.

🍕 Pizza Hut time machine: There’s no organized rebranding of Pizza Huts back to their classic era—the tablecloths, the lamps, and more. So one journalist took it upon himself to catalog the Pizza Hut Classics around the US—and there are seven in Iowa.

📷 Flock off: Several months of continuous outcry at city council meetings has paid off, as the city of Coralville agreed to terminate its contract with Flock—a company that provides law enforcement with detailed information without warrants and has shared information with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

One Iowa eatery is doing more than simply serving food. Discover how the state’s only pay-it-forward cafe is creating a community—and keeping it fed.

This week’s must-read Iowa worker news and upcoming layoffs for Mar. 12, 2026.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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