Commentary
-
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate warns of texts impersonating officials, candidates
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch October 15, 2025 Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a warning for Iowans Wednesday about reported mass texts impersonating elected officials and candidates. The state elections official said fraudulent messages were reported in Franklin, Johnson, and Madison counties. According to a news release, the mass texts from “an…
-
Reynolds vetoes bill protecting landowners from eminent domain
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed a bill restricting private pipelines’ use of eminent domain, against the wishes of Iowa landowners and farmers.
-
Mouse droppings, ants, expired food found at these Iowa restaurants
by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch May 21, 2025 Mouse droppings, ants and expired food found after Iowa restaurant inspections. State, city and county inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations during the past five weeks, including offenses related to rodents, expired food and operating without a license. The findings…
-
Iowa Starting Line: 10 years of doing things differently. What you can learn.
We’ve built up an important community that has stood up for Iowans. What a world. Amidst all the stupidity and suffering so far in 2025, our team has had one small reason to celebrate: Iowa Starting Line turned 10 years old earlier this year. It’s a minor miracle that Starting Line has survived this long—launching…
-
Guest post: If we want to fix education, fully fund public schools
Let’s get back to funding and supporting it at a level that reflects how important it is for all of us.
-
‘Some people work their butts off and other people get rich’: Gwen Frisbie-Fulton’s view from rural America
My dad raised us to work hard and do good for our families, but he was also going to make damn sure we didn’t step on anyone else along the way.
-
Guest post: Congress needs to stop the handouts to the rich
Paula A. Martinez: Iowans work hard and deserve a government that works for them, not one that rigs the system in favor of the rich and powerful.
-
Guest post: Don’t give Bayer a free pass when Iowa has high rate of cancer
When the state of Iowa has the second-highest cancer incidence rate and fastest growing rate of new cancer, we have no business handing agrichemical corporations a “get out of jail free” card for the dangerous products they put on the market.
-
Guest post: Stand against pipeline to protect Iowa’s natural resources
Iowa towns, farmland, and natural resources shouldn’t be a playground for corporate power.
-
Guest post: Forget Project 2025. We need a better Farm Bill
When it comes to farm policy in 2025, we don’t need Project 2025. We need a new Farm Bill that acknowledges the challenges we face, tackles them head on, and puts our rural communities before corporate profits. Reading about the recent round of layoffs at John Deere’s Ottumwa plant got me thinking about the future…
