Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“Iowans really lean into being able to vote in the mail. We have a very high percentage of that. We’ve done it right in the state. And I caution the White House and anybody who wants to listen to us in D.C. (to) come out and look at us in Iowa.” — Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, speaking at the Iowa State Fair, in opposition to the Trump administration’s approach to voting by mail. Iowans could begin requesting absentee ballots Tuesday.
A server room in a data center. (Photo by Getty Images)
Citizen, environmental and economic groups have launched community tool kits, initiatives and outreach to help communities respond to data center proposals, which spark concerns around resource usage, disruption and pollution.
The study found that data centers already in operation have an economic impact of $1.6 billion in value added annually, and more than 9,000 jobs. If all of the planned centers became operational, the study estimates the annual value added would top $3.2 billion and account for more than 18,000 jobs.
Zach Lahn, who helped launch a private school in Wichita, Kansas, and is now the Republican nominee for governor in Iowa, speaks in the rain to a crowd on Aug. 14, 2026, at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
In Iowa, gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn eagerly champions the unconventional, hands-on private school he helped launch in Kansas as the best model for reinventing schools.
But Lahn’s campaign narrative about delivering cutting-edge academic leadership at the school called Wonder doesn’t mention its precarious finances, Kansas Reflector reports.
A potential class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of employees of UnityPoint Health alleges the hospital chain has violated wage-and-hour laws by rounding down workers’ actual hours.
Iowans were able to begin requesting absentee ballots for the 2026 general election on Tuesday, even as the Trump administration continues to fight in court for changes in the process of voting by mail.
An Iowa dentist has been fined $1,000 for allegedly violating the privacy of patients who posted online critiques of his care.
Farmers in the Greater Des Moines Watershed and parts of the Middle Cedar Watershed can participate in a free nitrogen soil sampling project that could help refine fertilizer application rates and contribute to water quality improvements.
A new master’s program at the University of Dubuque aims to equip students with the training and education to lead in their future workplace and make it better through study and action, university officials say.
Northeast Iowa Community College has created a new certificate program to help fill necessary roles in ensuring the health and safety of patients undergoing surgery.
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a procedural victory to President Donald Trump on an executive order to curb mail-in voting, but the administration is still fighting a separate ruling that limits a portion of the order and remains in effect — complicating the administration’s temporary win.
A federal court ruling out of Idaho has potential implications for exceptions in abortion bans nationwide and could eventually end up before the U.S. Supreme Court to decide, Stateline reports.
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