Iowa, welcome to one of the largest bond cycles in state history.

The good news? It’s one thing voters can control.

The bad news? You’ll need to do a little extra reading at the polls. There are 55 separate bond measures on the ballot for the Nov. 4 election, totaling $1.6 million in new debt. Of those, 41 are from school districts that need improvements and renovations they can’t get funded with the state’s education budget.

The success of a bond measure depends on local community support—not the party in power at the state legislature.

✏️: Salina Heller

In case you missed it: Iowa's city and school elections are on Nov. 4.

The government shutdown is holding up food assistance. Health care subsidies threaten to make the Affordable Care Act unaffordable for many Iowans. State Senate hopeful Renee Hardman of West Des Moines says she is running to protect the supports many Iowans depend on.

Hardman is running in a Dec. 30 special election for Iowa Senate District 16, a seat left vacant following the death of Sen. Claire Celsi.

Iowa's DOGE task force recommended changes to the public employee pension system.

Renee Hardman of West Des Moines is a Democrat running in the December special election to fill a state Senate seat. The vacancy was left following the death of Democrat state Sen. Claire Celsi. The special election is December 30.

It's no secret that many industries lean on undocumented workers to meet their needs. In an era of mass deportations, wage theft is still occurring and some employers are counting on workers being too scared to come forward.