Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“More and more burden falls on family caregivers to fill in the gaps, and that leads to unsustainable economic situations for families. Once your job situation falls apart, your savings are gone, you’re faced with this ugly choice: I believe strongly in my son’s civil right to stay in his community, but I can’t keep a roof over his head.” — Jeneva Stone, Maryland mother of a disabled adult, on cuts to home-based services that could push more people into forced institutionalization.
Researchers at Iowa State University and Novonesis are developing classroom bioreactor kits to help boost interest in the burgeoning biomanufacturing field. Pictured is a commercial scale bioreactor. (Photo by Lance Cheung/USDA)
Researchers at Iowa State University are working to increase interest in biomanufacturing with bioreactor kits that can be used at community colleges or high schools.
Nigel Reuel, an associate professor and the Stanley chair in interdisciplinary engineering at ISU, said students and parents understand more traditional career paths, like nursing or teaching, but usually are unfamiliar with the field of biomanufacturing.
The Iowa Board of Medicine regulates the state’s medical profession as part of the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing. (Photo by Getty Images, board seal courtesy the State of Iowa)
The Iowa Board of Medicine has dismissed disciplinary charges against a physician who argued Iowa’s “stand your ground” law protected him from sanctions for physically striking a handcuffed, combative patient.
In July 2025, the Board of Medicine charged Dr. Curtis Waite with one count of unprofessional conduct in connection with an incident in November 2023 at Mary Greeley Hospital in Ames. Waite then sought a dismissal of the charge, arguing Iowa’s “stand your ground” law allows individuals to use reasonable force against others to defend themselves against the use of unlawful force.
The Libertarian Party of Iowa will nominate new candidates to run for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District and as lieutenant governor at a meeting Wednesday, party leaders said Sunday.
A former Iowa nursing home administrator is accused of elder abuse in civil court filings alleging she improperly took more than $32,000 from a relative who resides at the home.
A central Iowa nurse with a history of disciplinary sanctions related to alleged sexual misconduct and the misappropriation of drugs is again facing charges from state regulators.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has appointed Martin Noven, the former executive director of the Maryland State Retirement and Pension System, to oversee the Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS), she announced Friday.
The U.S. Senate adjourned for its summer recess early Saturday after approving a stopgap spending bill but declining to advance legislation that would require photo ID for voting.
After a lengthy battle over the status of President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, Todd Blanche was confirmed as attorney general by the U.S. Senate early Saturday.
A federal judge has ordered the Department of Defense to lift its blockade of wind energy projects and resume the permitting process that has ground to a halt during President Donald Trump’s second term, Stateline reports.
Disability advocates around the country are fighting a surge of federal and state actions that have eroded protections meant to keep people with disabilities living and working in their communities, rather than in institutions, Stateline reports.
The Trump administration appears poised to gut the central policies that shape Head Start, a popular and long-established early childhood education program that serves the country’s neediest children.
Whatever the exact level of spending ultimately flows to military installations and defense contractors, some states will likely benefit far more than others, a States Newsroom analysis of federal defense data shows.
The U.S. Senate on Friday approved Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, giving the agency its first administrator since President Donald Trump took office last year.
A Ohio child endangerment case has recharged a national conversation around child marriage, which is defined by the United Nations as any marriage involving someone under age 18, Stateline reports.
President Donald Trump said Friday the federal government will fund $180 million in grants for mining schools across the county as part of his administration’s goal of rebuilding the U.S. coal industry.
Even before Haitian immigrants in Ohio officially lost their Temporary Protected Status, the Department of Homeland Security required dozens of them to report to immigration appointments and accept ankle monitors, according to their attorneys and local advocates.
COMMENTARY
A look at the horse race with a new poll in the Iowa governor and U.S. Senate races, plus new discussion about the Medicaid Fraud Task Force chaired by Attorney General Brenna Bird.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
COMMENTARY
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