Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“The state’s daily IT operations will continue to be supported by Iowans, for Iowans, as it is now.” - Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, on jobs at Cognizant Government Solutions after the state transfers IT system management and oversight to the New Jersey-based company alongside contracting with Amazon Web Services for storing executive branch data, a move that resulted in 200 layoffs for state government workers.
(Photo courtesy of the Des Moines Fire Department)
The City of Des Moines is suing more than two dozen companies that sell life-saving apparatus such as fire trucks, alleging they have engaged in illegal and “parasitic” pricing schemes to “reap extraordinary profits” from taxpayers.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, names as defendants REV Group, 14 of its alleged affiliates and 11 other companies that produce firefighting trucks, parts and equipment. The lawsuit challenges what it calls the defendants’ multi-year, anti-competitive scheme to consolidate and “roll up” markets for critical lifesaving apparatus — fire trucks and the chassis on which they are built — and to impose exclusionary restraints in the market for replacement parts.
Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks with reporters outside of Terrace Hill in Des Moines Nov. 25, 2025. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Wednesday the state is committed to maintaining an Iowa-based workforce after contracting with private companies to manage state government data, servers and websites — a move that will result in the layoff of 200 state employees.
Reynolds announced Tuesday the state would contract with Amazon Web Services and Cognizant Government Solutions to oversee, power and modernize its information technology system, which is currently run by physical servers and multiple data centers.
A central Iowa woman who argued that she had a First Amendment right to operate an unlicensed cosmetology school has been fined and sanctioned by the state.
Drake University is bringing its education leadership doctorate program to Singapore with a private partnership and government approval, the next step in the university’s efforts to create global education opportunities.
The Iowa Supreme Court has reinstated the law license of a lawyer who was convicted of dealing marijuana while serving as an attorney for the City of Council Bluffs.
The City of New Hampton is being sued by one of its largest employers for defamation, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Coe College is working to meet workforce needs with three new academic concentrations within certain degree programs, all offered in a hybrid format.
This year, Connecticut enacted what may be the strongest law in the country addressing transparency and accountability for private equity-owned nursing homes — the latest in a string of states stepping into a regulatory vacuum created by limited federal laws and a presidential administration that’s proven friendly to private equity while showing little appetite for scrutinizing private equity’s role in the healthcare industry.
President Donald Trump significantly bolstered funding for immigration enforcement Wednesday when he signed into law a nearly $70 billion package that will keep key federal agencies operating without any new restrictions.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday blamed the Biden administration’s “open-border policies” for the six confirmed cases of the New World screwworm that have reached the United States, repeating a theme among Republicans.
A measure passed by the U.S. House Wednesday would require the U.S. Department of Education to set up an identity fraud detection system for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, better known as FAFSA.
Democrats in the U.S. House on Wednesday called for greater protections for transgender and diverse students, criticizing congressional Republican and Trump administration efforts to dissolve diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators promoted their legislation Wednesday to set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, calling the compromise bill the best available option.
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