Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“In general, you don’t want to be changing things right before the election. So in a lot of ways, it is already too late. Part of the rule relates to the absentee ballot envelopes themselves. And … almost universally, those have already been designed and printed.” — Katy Owens Hubler, director of elections at the National Conference of State Legislatures, on some of the reasons states might be unable to comply with the Trump administration’s order changing rules for voting by mail before the 2026 elections.
An Iowa man is taking Nintendo and Pokémon Company International to federal court for allegedly refusing to grant him “Pokémon Professor” status. (Letter courtesy of the U.S. District Court system; main photo by Getty Images)
A federal judge has dismissed an Iowa man’s lawsuit over the denial of his status as a “Professor of Pokémon,” calling the case a “completely frivolous waste of the court’s time and resources.”
In May, 34-year-old Kyle Owens of Laurens sued Nintendo of America and its affiliate, Pokémon Company International, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, alleging federal antitrust actions that violate the Sherman Act.
A Utah County election worker picks up mailed ballots from the United States Postal Service office on Oct. 26, 2020 in Provo, Utah. (Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump’s executive order placing new restrictions on mail-in voting would assign state officials a Herculean task to reach compliance before the crucial midterm elections.
The order directed the U.S. Postal Service to strictly regulate the envelope design of mail-in ballots and to collect voter data from each state through an online portal, among other things.
A mental health worker who was fired after being criminally charged with sexual enticement of a minor is entitled to collect unemployment benefits, a judge has ruled.
Rob Sand, current state auditor and Democratic candidate for governor, said simplifying inspections and cutting red tape that stands in the way of building new housing will help improve affordability.
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