Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“It’s supposed to be a civic duty where people are deciding what candidate they actually think is best for a leadership position, not what candidate can make them the most money if they bet the right way.” — Benjamin Schiffrin, director of securities policy at Better Markets, on concerns about wagering on elections through prediction markets.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, left, spoke with Albert Marasco, CEO of Summit Products on a tour of the Summit Products manufacturing facility in Altoona Oct. 11, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said Sunday in Iowa that the federal agency is processing “updates” on Iowa’s list of impaired waterways amid a lawsuit challenging the decision to delist seven waterways that had been added due to nitrate impairment.
Speaking with reporters, Zeldin said the EPA was taking steps to address Iowans’ concerns about water quality — specifically about nitrate levels and potential environmental factors that may be contributing to the state’s high and rising cancer rates — by partnering with local businesses, farmers and the state government.
Some Iowa 4-H clubs will be able to expand or start robotics programs thanks to a partnership with Starlink that will increase internet connectivity. (Photo by Christophe Paul/USDA)
A partnership between Starlink, the space satellite internet company from Elon Musk, and National 4-H Council is bringing broadband connectivity to rural communities, including several in Iowa.
Alexa Groff, the 4-H STEM education specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, said reliable internet access in rural Iowa will help 4-H students participate in robotics programming and other science and technology focused activities that students in other parts of the state may already have access to.
U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna told Iowa Democrats Sunday he believed Iowa Rep. Josh Turek could help bring a “moral renewal to America” if he is elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Department is bringing a national initiative to the county jail aimed at providing incarcerated people with the resources and education to strengthen their first steps back into their communities.
The University of Northern Iowa’s fundraising campaign garnered a record amount of donations that put it more than $90 million ahead of its original goal.
A growing number of state officials fear online prediction markets are opening the door to a new era of gambling on elections — a practice many states have long prohibited.
A perfect storm of harsh immigration enforcement, aging journeymen and a building boom for data centers is wreaking havoc on the nation’s supply of skilled trade workers, Stateline reports.
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to leave open the possibility that the federal government won’t livestream a military execution planned for December that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said would be public.
President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member.
COMMENTARY
Laura Belin and Kathie Obradovich discuss debates in the races for governor, U.S. Senate and Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District, plus shifting political forecasts and polls that don’t line up.
“… (T)he impact of a decision by our voters will weigh heavily on the form and function of the very future of our government,” guest columnist Dave Nagle writes.
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