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  • Show your work: Inside this week’s mailbag

    Plus: How to vote in Iowa—from Australia Share with a friend   Special Edition Reader Mailbag: Show Your Work Two town halls, two very different answers to the same basic question—plus everything you asked me this week.   I have a theory about public officials, and it’s not a complicated one: If you want to…


  • Best fall hikes in NE Iowa

    Plus: Only in Iowa and the photo of the week! Share with a friend 🗣️ It’s Friday and many of us get a three-day weekend coming up (thanks to the workers who fought for it). Get thee to an Iowa Labor Day picnic or parade here. Time for Only in Iowa, this week’s photo, Positively Iowa,…


  • How Iowa’s gubernatorial candidates stand on the issues

    Plus: Your letters and this week’s most-talked-about post Share with a friend Amie here. I HAVE A COMPUTER AGAIN! I don’t know if you all have had to work exclusively on a mobile device (I switched between an old iPad and my phone), but boy am I glad to be typing this on a laptop…


  • Following the money in Iowa’s Senate race

    What voters should know heading into September Share with a friend   Special Edition: Reporter’s Notebook A closer look at the people, records, and political histories shaping Iowa’s 2026 races.   Last week in our Reporter’s Notebook series, you met Zach and got a closer look at the issues at the center of Iowa’s election…


  • 11 fun (and free!) Labor Day weekend activities

    Plus: Only in Iowa and the photo of the week! Share with a friend 🗣️ It’s Friday and the last weekend in August. Summer’s flown by, but before it’s over, scroll for 11 fun and free things to do next weekend! Time for Only in Iowa, the photo of the week, and quick news you…


  • Why did this Iowa official cover for a child molester?

    Plus: Reader soundoff Share with a friend Amie here. It’s late summer, but yesterday I walked by my neighbor’s house, which was ALL decked out for fall.   When’s the best time to decorate for fall/Halloween? Reply and tell me.   In this issue: This week’s most talked–about post and reader soundoff. Amie Rivers Newsletter…


  • Iowans are asking Hinson the hard questions

    Tell us: What do you want to know before Election Day? Share with a friend   Special Edition: Reporter’s Notebook A closer look at the people, records, and political histories shaping Iowa’s 2026 races.   Three weeks ago, I published a story that started, like a lot of these things do, with a spreadsheet. I’d…


  • We taste-tested the Iowa State Fair’s best new foods

    Plus: Only in Iowa and your news roundup Share with a friend 🗣️ It’s Friday.  Time for three quick briefs, Only in Iowa, and news you can use. People really do not like Flock cameras (including Iowans). The Smithsonian needed a butter cow. Iowa’s Sarah Pratt got the call. Is there a data center proposed…


  • Been meaning to explore more of Iowa? Start here

    Plus: Reader soundoff and a moose sighting Share with a friend Amie here. I just got back from my first-ever trip to Alaska, where I finally fulfilled my dream of seeing a moose! It’s hard to follow a week of crisp mountain air, hiking, and getting up close to a glacier, but I’m jumping right…


  • 80 days to go. Get closer to our Iowa election coverage

    Tell us: What do you want to know before Election Day? Share with a friend   Special Edition: Reporter’s Notebook A closer look at the people, records, and political histories shaping Iowa’s 2026 races.   Most people have never talked to a local reporter. In fact, just 23% of Americans say they ever have. At…