Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“I think what’s not certain is how much more are Iowans going to have to pay when they start shopping for coverage.” — Natasha Murphy, director of health policy at the Center for American Progress, on proposed premium increases for Affordable Care Act customers.
Downstream of the low-head dam along the Cedar River at Palisades-Kepler State Park. (Photo courtesy of Nate Hoogeveen/DNR)
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources is seeking public input as it explores remediation of a low-head dam in Linn County’s Palisades-Kepler State Park.
Decisions to remove or modify the dam will have to take into account a significant sturgeon spawning site nearby and recreation habits along the river.
Voters say the cost of healthcare will be a major factor in how they vote in this year’s midterm elections. (Photo via Getty Images)
Iowa health insurance companies are proposing premium increases for Affordable Care Act customers in 2027, affecting thousands of Iowans. The proposal comes after insurers increased premiums for ACA-marketplace customers in 2026 by an average of 15.3% in Iowa.
The proposed premium increases come as enhanced tax credits, money from the federal government paid directly to insurers to lower health care costs for ACA consumers, are scaled back.
Researchers at Iowa State University have earned national recognition for their work connecting the impact of space on astronauts to potential treatments for muscle loss here on Earth.
A priest from Nigeria, now working for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, is suing the federal government over alleged inaction on his residency status.
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has sanctioned a hospital pharmacy for failing to adequately monitor its supply of controlled substances.
A former eastern Iowa pharmacist has been sanctioned by state regulators for a 2022 conviction for sexual exploitation of a minor.
A Des Moines attorney has been publicly reprimanded for his second drunken-driving arrest.
Out of 22 incidents of federal immigration agents shooting at people during President Donald Trump’s second term, 19 involved Department of Homeland Security officers shooting at people in their vehicles during traffic stops, according to a States Newsroom review of news reports and documents.
The nation’s election infrastructure is vulnerable to cyberattacks by foreign actors, President Donald Trump said during a primetime address Thursday night, citing a batch of documents he declassified — but providing no proof broad interference actually occurred or affected an election outcome.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatened on Friday to prosecute election officials in states that don’t “participate in securing the elections” ahead of the November midterms.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that public health officials have linked the ongoing outbreak of cyclosporiasis in five states to shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants.
COMMENTARY
Big-name headliners rallied the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration and the conservative Family Leadership Summit over the past week.
Iowa Republicans are heading down the same road as the GOP in Missouri, which is asking people to approve a constitutional amendment next month to eliminate the state income tax and authorize an expansion of the sales tax to make up for the lost revenue, guest columnist Ed Tibbetts writes.
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.