Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“High diesel prices ARE KILLING FARMERS INCOME.” — U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in the first of a series of social media posts calling on President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports to help bring down soaring prices.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, is urging President Donald Trump to embargo diesel fuel exports as rising costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state. Grassley is shown at a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on July 23, 2026. (Screenshot from committee webcast)
Diesel prices hit a record average of $6.51 a gallon Monday, and some in President Donald Trump’s own party are breaking their support for the ongoing war in Iran that has driven fuel prices to staggering levels in the United States and across the globe.
Longtime Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley urged Trump throughout the weekend to embargo diesel fuel exports as costs impact farmers in his largely agricultural state.
Iowa State University professor Guowen Song shows the system for burning contaminants and studying the smoke. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa State University researchers and partners are working to learn about how modern fires impact firefighters’ health due to toxic contaminants on their gear and to find practical solutions to keep them safe.
Guowen Song, an ISU professor of apparel, events and hospitality and director of the NextGen Personal Protective Technology Program, and his research team are burning materials to generate the invisible residue the fire and smoke leave on firefighters’ gear in order to study how it hangs on after the fire is put out.
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek said Monday he was happy to see Iowa Republicans, including his opponent, Republican Ashley Hinson, join his call to take steps to lower diesel costs.
Iowa corn and soybean crops are slightly behind typical harvest and maturity schedules as farmers had less than two days suitable for field work due to rainy conditions over the past week.
Des Moines University is now accepting outside applications for the state’s first Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree, and the University of Iowa will soon be joining the ranks with its own program.
The three news organizations that President Donald Trump has barred from entering the White House filed a lawsuit against the administration on Monday.
Medicaid enrollees from five states and leading medical organizations have filed a lawsuit challenging new Medicaid work requirements, Stateline reports.
A growing number of states are making an equal split between parents the default child custody option in divorce cases, Stateline reports.
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