Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“We’re not talking about closing an entire state park because a beach has an advisory. We’re just talking about a sign up at the beach, letting people know. And I don’t think that’s too much to ask, if the standard is exceeded, to put a sign up at the beach.” — Colleen Fowle, water program director with Iowa Environmental Council, saying swimmers at public beaches should be informed of high E. coli levels in individual tests.
Sunset on Easter Lake in Des Moines. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
There were 27 instances this summer when a single sample test for E. coli at a state beach came back above the state standard, but state regulators did not issue a swim advisory for the beach.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources tests lake water at state park beaches for E. coli and cyanobacteria toxins from green-blue algae, weekly from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. The department issues swim advisories when the tested samples are above a certain threshold — except in certain cases.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley spoke at a Westside Conservative Club meeting Oct. 14, 2026 in Urbandale, Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, 93, does not plan to resign before Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds leaves office, to allow her, instead of Democratic Gov.-elect Rob Sand, to appoint someone to fill his seat, a spokesperson said Thursday.
There is no immediate need for Grassley, an Iowa Republican who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1981, to vacate his position before the end of his term in 2028. But the senator would be 95 years old when his current term ends, and some Iowans have raised questions about who would be appointed to replace him if he resigned or died in office.
Despite the blue wave that swept the nation on Tuesday, most voters were more cautious about making sweeping changes to their taxes, Stateline reports. Iowa was an exception.
The state of Iowa has proposed revoking the license of an emergency medical services provider criminally charged with grooming minors.
After being convicted of stealing the medication of multiple nursing home residents, a nurse from Preston has agreed to surrender her license.
In states where Republicans targeted Democratic seats for gerrymandering, the party made no net gains, according to a Wednesday memo from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.
As the monumental midterm victories set in, Democrats began to talk strategy on how to deliver what voters want: lower prices, attainable health care and an end to a stagnant and expensive conflict in the Middle East.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to establish the Oval Office and White House Cabinet Room as a national monument in order to prevent any major renovations to those spaces that are not approved by Congress.
In local elections across the country, Americans voted overwhelmingly to restrict the buildout of data centers in their communities, Stateline reports.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Thanks for reading Daily Dispatch. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.