Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“Playing the game is awesome, because it’s like painting the fence and waxing the floor — you’re building this skill set, you’re not doing it in a threatening environment, but then all of a sudden you have it and you can bring it to the game, to the match.” — Mihailis Diamantis, a University of Iowa law professor who is incorporating a fantasy game into his business law class.
A University of Iowa professor will use "Magic: The Gathering" to teach law students about interpreting complex text and other important skills. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Using the skills and knowledge he’s gathered over the years playing tabletop games, a University of Iowa professor will employ a popular fantasy game to add more cards to future lawyers’ decks and help them take their legal interpretation to a higher level.
Students in the Mihailis Diamantis’ new business law course will learn how to play “Magic: The Gathering” — a complex fantasy game with expansive and nuanced rules — alongside lectures and lessons on principles, interpretation and building their skills.
The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing oversees restaurant inspections in Iowa. (Photo via Getty Images; DIAL logo courtesy of Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing)
State, city and county inspectors have cited Iowa restaurants and stores for hundreds of food-safety violations during the past several weeks, including unsanitary kitchens, food contaminated with rodent droppings and shrimp left sitting in stagnant water.
At two different locations, inspectors reported fluid leaking from cooler condensers onto uncovered food, risking contamination.
THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES
A University of Iowa Health Care researcher is suing the U.S. State Department over visa delays that he says have left him “stranded” in Germany, separated from his family and his employer.
As the June 2 primary approaches, new fundraising reports show Zach Lahn, a businessman and farmer, raised the most among Republican gubernatorial candidates in the most recent period, outpacing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, the previous top earner.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in Iowa Wednesday, announced a surgeon general’s advisory on the harms of screen time for children.
On World Bee Day, experts say an unusually early North American bee swarm season, which began 17 days earlier than last year following record heatwaves in 2026, could reshape bee populations, pollination patterns, honey production and the timing of seasonal ecosystems.
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed 13 bills into law Tuesday — including several that could impact Iowans’ access to reproductive healthcare.
As Republicans running for Iowa governor took the stage for another debate, the candidates honed in on policy differences regarding issues like legal immigration and addressing Iowa’s high cancer rates.
An Iowa man is taking Nintendo and Pokémon Company International to federal court for allegedly refusing to grant him “Pokémon Professor” status.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law May 18 a measure she and supporters say will lower property tax costs for Iowans — an issue Republicans said was their top priority for the 2026 session.
A federal lawsuit has been filed seeking to force the owners of Des Moines’ Calvin Community nursing home and assisted living center to sell the nonprofit facility to a group of New York investors.
Citing a missed deadline in the filing of court records, a judge has dismissed felony criminal charges against an Iowa nursing home worker accused of stealing residents’ painkillers.
Iowa’s community colleges are bracing for less revenue from property taxes and shorter-term partnerships with area businesses as legislation passed just a few weeks ago awaits the governor’s signature.
Iowa farmers this growing season are changing practices as they feel the pressure of a declining farm economy.
NEWS FROM THE MIDWEST AND IOWA'S NEIGHBORS
‘We will be left out and left behind’: Senate GOP urges action on school choice bills | Capitol News Illinois
Next 2 weeks could sway chances of Chicago Bears picking Indiana stadium site | Indiana Capital Chronicle
Judge halts Kansas ban on gender-affirming care for minors, questions credibility of state witnesses | Kansas Reflector
The government gave these Minnesota immigrants permission to live and work here — then detained them | Minnesota Reformer
Charter-school fight sinks Missouri education package in final days of session | Missouri Independent
State tourism grants boost international volleyball event eyeing Omaha, Lewis & Clark visitor center | Nebraska Examiner
Burgum touts AI data centers, calls Iran war ‘gift to the world’ in speech to oil industry | North Dakota Monitor
Ohio Republicans trying to get voter photo ID on the ballot, enshrined in state constitution | Ohio Capital Journal
Woman killed by bison in South Dakota’s Custer State Park, weeks after another visitor was injured | South Dakota Searchlight
Advocates, elected officials urge hospitals to resume gender-affirming care for youth | Wisconsin Examiner
FEDERAL FALLOUT
States Newsroom relentlessly reports on how changes at the federal level are affecting people at the state level — and how state governments are responding in this volatile political climate. We post new stories each day; here are just a few:
Ferguson opens the door to redistricting, slightly, in wake of Supreme Court ruling | Maryland Matters
Senate vote shows a new SC congressional map can’t become law before early voting starts | South Carolina Daily Gazette
Trump’s firing of immigration judge delays Maine resident’s asylum decision by years | Maine Morning Star
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