Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“On Friday, the Legislature will return to the Iowa State Capitol to advance the most consequential economic development opportunity ever for our state. With reasonable and limited updates to an already-existing economic development program, we will accelerate major capital investment into our state, strengthen our economic trajectory, and shape the future of our state and region for generations.” — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in a statement calling for a special session to provide incentives for a $15 billion steel mill.
Jacob Oleson, an associate professor at the University of Iowa College of Public Health, shared details from a report compiled by UI researchers and the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services about the key factors driving Iowa’s cancer rates at a news conference in Des Moines Sep. 29, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
After concluding year one of research into why Iowa has higher instances of cancer than other states, Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the University of Iowa College of Public Health officials said their analysis found 76% of Iowa’s higher rates of five common types of cancer could be attributed to demographic and behavioral risk factors.
In 2025, Iowa lawmakers approved Gov. Kim Reynolds’ request to provide $1 million in funding for a year-long cancer research projected conducted by HHS and UI researchers to identify the key factors driving Iowa’s high cancer rates. Iowa has been one of the only states in the country where rates are rising for new instances of cancer. In 2026, the state had the second highest rate of cancer incidences in the country, and was one of only three states with a rising rate.
The Iowa State Capitol as seen Jan. 9, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has called for special legislative session to take place Friday, Oct. 2, to amend the state’s Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program and provide incentives for a steel mill project in Lee County.
Tuesday’s announcement comes one day after Reynolds and other Iowa Republican leaders joined President Donald Trump in the Oval Office as he announced plans for the company Mesabi Metallics to build a $15 billion steel mill in Iowa.
Former special counsel Jack Smith on Tuesday defended before a U.S. Senate panel his past investigations of President Donald Trump’s possession of classified documents and alleged role in attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
An Iowa high school teacher has been fired for offering students extra credit in return for cash donations to her personal GoFundMe account.
Several Iowa nursing home workers have been fired in recent months due to allegations of patient abuse and other forms of workplace misconduct.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday granted, for now, the Trump administration’s request to continue rapid third-country deportation of immigrants to countries not their own.
The Trump administration must spend the $810 million that it said last week it planned to cancel, according to a report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office.
Most judges on a federal appeals court seemed inclined during oral arguments Tuesday to allow a federal judge to continue investigating Trump officials for possible criminal contempt-of-court charges for defying a judicial order by sending more than 100 Venezuelan men to a brutal Salvadoran prison last year.
The three news organizations that President Donald Trump barred from entering the White House grounds earlier this month have asked a federal judge to ensure their reporters continue to have access after a temporary restraining order expires in early October.
President Donald Trump is tapping $20 million in Homeland Security funding to pay for TV ads that heavily feature him ahead of the midterm elections, Democrats said Tuesday as the promos critics call propaganda come under bipartisan attack.
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