Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“A lot of those swing voters, many of them just want change. They want things to be different. So in 2016 and in 2024, he represented that change. In 2026, he represents the status quo. And so if people want change, he’s not the person you want there.” - Christopher Stout, a political science professor at Oregon State University, speaking about how some voters who may have supported President Donald Trump in previous elections may vote against candidates aligned with the president in 2026.
Environmental groups are suing USDA over changes to a popular Rural Development program that supported solar energy projects. (Photo by Evan Houk/Maine Morning Star)
Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Agriculture on behalf of several farmers, farm groups and solar agencies for changes to a renewable energy program that impacts solar projects.
The lawsuit alleges that USDA changes made to the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, during the Trump administration have made “almost all solar projects ineligible” for funding under the program. Further, the lawsuit alleges, the rule changes were retroactively applied to solar projects that had already been selected for funding and had invested in and begun building the solar projects before they were told their project was no longer eligible for the funding.
(Main photo by simpson33 via iStock/Getty Images Plus; seal courtesy State of Iowa)
A north-central Iowa attorney has been sentenced to six months in federal prison for healthcare fraud in attempting to assist a client in qualifying for Medicaid.
U.S. District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand imposed the prison sentence against Timothy Anderson, 67, of Garner, last month, calling the lawyer’s actions “obviously fraudulent and illegal.” Strand also fined Anderson $25,000, and ordered him to pay $184,274 in restitution to Iowa Medicaid.
Iowa State University President David Cook outlined his “moonshot” plans for the land grant university’s future Thursday during the ceremony officially installing him as its leader.
Iowa Rep. Lindsay James, a Dubuque Democrat, and Republican Joe Mitchell traded barbs about one another’s backgrounds and positions in a Thursday debate.
In the first 4th Congressional District of Iowa debate, candidates offered their own solutions to lower gas prices but also expressed concern about cuts to the federal gas tax.
An eastern Iowa nurse who has worked for the state is facing animal neglect charges after police allegedly found two emaciated dogs, one already dead, on her property.
President Donald Trump is scheduled to kick off a month-long blitz of campaign stops with a Thursday rally in deep-red Oklahoma before heading to other states with strong Republican leanings.
U.S. senators departed Capitol Hill on Wednesday night for their campaign break, leaving numerous policy disputes unresolved.
The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Keith Sonderling as secretary of Labor on Wednesday, marking one of the few Trump administration picks to get through the upper chamber recently after a North Dakota senator put a hold on “any and all” nominees.
A D.C. Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors cannot, for a second time, charge former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.
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