Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“When the president of the United States says he’s going to be disappointed if something doesn’t happen, that’s a pretty good indication that it (could) happen.” — U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, questioning acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s assertion that a $1.8 million “anti-weaponization” fund would not move forward.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, left, Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn and U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson, the GOP candidate for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in 2026, waved to the crowd at the Iowa Republican State Convention at Horizon Events Center in Clive June 13, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Republican leaders emphasized party unity Saturday at the Iowa Republican State Convention – especially emphasizing the need to rally behind Zach Lahn as the GOP nominee for Iowa governor.
As delegates gathered at the Horizon Events Center in Clive Saturday, Iowa GOP chair Jeff Kaufmann told convention attendees that Lahn’s victory shows that the Iowa Republican Party reflects the choice of the “grassroots,” not national interests.
Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer, lieutenant governor candidate left, and State Auditor Rob Sand, gubernatorial candidate take questions from media members after their speeches at the Iowa Democratic Party state convention, June 13, 2026, Roosevelt High School, Des Moines. (Photo by Kadin Luhmann/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer was officially nominated and approved Saturday at the Iowa Democratic Party state convention as State Auditor Rob Sand’s running mate for the 2026 Iowa gubernatorial campaign.
Muhlbauer, a fifth-generation farmer, said Iowans are upset with the state’s direction, and that the state is “potentially looking” at a farm crisis, citing tariffs and a six-year high in farm bankruptcies.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig announced Friday that 11 of the state’s dairy farms and businesses have received funding from the Choose Iowa Dairy Innovation Grant Program administered by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
The city attorney for Norwalk has been reprimanded by the state’s Attorney Disciplinary Board for neglecting a probate case that allegedly languished for almost six years.
The USDA is loaning $27.5 million to the Floyd County Medical Center in Charles City to help the hospital expand and renovate its facilities.
The Iowa Dental Board has fined a Bettendorf dentist $5,000 for allegedly practicing in an unsafe manner.
The Trump administration still needs to determine how it will remove nuclear materials from Iran after officials from both countries sign documents to end the war, a senior official said Friday.
A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia issued a preliminary injunction Friday halting the Trump administration’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for one week, giving the government time to sign a “clear, unambiguous” agreement that the fund is dead.
There were fewer homeless people in the United States on a single night in January 2025 than in January 2024, but homelessness increased in 28 states, according to the latest federal count, Stateline reports.
The racial wealth gap is widening as many workers of color go without retirement savings, Stateline reports.
An Indiana congressman is pursuing changes to the nation’s Amber Alert notification system after a 17-year-old girl from his home state went missing and was later found dead.
COMMENTARY
Both of the major-party candidates for Iowa governor now have running mates, while some Libertarian candidates are fighting challenges to their qualifications for the general-election ballot. Dave Price and Laura Belin discuss (Kathie Obradovich was on vacation this week).
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