Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“Your message demonstrates clearly that you have complete contempt for those academics who do not adhere to the dominant, leftist ideology on university campus, describing us contemptuously as ‘disgruntled nonconformists. That is not an environment that can possibly lead to a vibrant Center for Intellectual Freedom.” — Richard Lowery, chairman of the Center for Intellectual Freedom advisory council’s executive committee, in an email to the Iowa Board of Regents president before resigning with 10 other board members.
Eleven of the 26 advisory council members for the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa have resigned this week. Panelists speaking Dec. 6, 2025, at the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, from left, are center Interim Director Luciano de Castro, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker, state Rep. Taylor Collins, state Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen and Regent Christine Hensley. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Nearly half of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa’s advisory council membership have resigned from their roles after issues were voiced about the Iowa Board of Regents’ dismissal of their concerns relating to control of the center and finding its permanent leader.
The Iowa Board of Regents Tuesday stated in a news release that it accepted the resignation of 11 members of the advisory council, including executive committee chair Richard Lowery and other professors and academics from universities across the U.S.
The Office of Consumer Advocate is asking the Iowa Utilities Commission to require additional information before approving a certificate for a gas peaker plant. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
The Office of Consumer Advocate is asking the Iowa Utilities Commission to require additional information and a hearing for an Iowa gas peaker plant planned for Cerro Gordo County.
Interstate Power and Light Company, an Iowa branch of Alliant Energy, applied for a certificate of public convenience, use and necessity with IUC for its Riverhawk Energy Center project, a 1,200-megawatt natural gas turbine plant.
A former Charles City police officer is now suing the city, alleging he was unfairly fired amid allegations he had falsified payroll records at his second job.
An advanced registered nurse practitioner is suing a central Iowa medical clinic for allegedly firing her after she complained of patients being put at risk.
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand said he would support classifying prison employees as public safety workers to give them access to more bargaining rights under Iowa law.
The University of Northern Iowa has taken the top spot in the U.S. News & World Report’s rankings of public regional universities in the Midwest, joined by other public and private Iowa institutions who saw their rankings in the 2027 report climb.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship confirmed a case of the highly pathogenic avian influenza in Boone County, marking the state’s seventh detection of the bird flu in 2026.
Iowa Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott criticized Congress and the U.S. Department of Justice for not taking action to investigate the crimes of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and related parties as she visited a “reading room” traveling exhibit on the “Epstein files.”
President Donald Trump faces a “big decision” to make a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the country, he told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday.
Federal officials charged a Utah letter carrier Tuesday with throwing 300 primary ballots in a church parking lot dumpster, an incident that a top U.S. Justice Department official said made the case for stricter regulations of voting.
U.S. Senate Democrats believe they could pick up as many as six seats following this November’s midterm elections, despite Republicans having better fundraising numbers and break-even polling in several states.
A New Hampshire federal judge seemed skeptical during a Tuesday hearing that a civil rights group could continue with a challenge to block President Donald Trump’s second attempt to redefine the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, suggesting that a new lawsuit might be needed.
The Trump administration’s top wildlife official has issued a directive that says individuals and industries may kill endangered animals in the course of logging projects, developments and other activities — so long as the activity’s purpose isn’t killing species, Stateline reports.
Education experts and advocates on Tuesday urged Congress to repeal an incoming national school voucher program over concerns that it will divert critical funds away from public schools to private institutions.
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