Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“If we don’t have beef, we don’t have freedom. If we continue to offshore our American food production, we lose the American experiment — full stop. I think we’re teetering on the edge of that in some ways with some of the offshoring that’s happening, some of the big ag consolidation that’s happening.” — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, defending President Donald Trump’s decision to cut tariffs on certain beef imports.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, center, speaks at a Sept. 1, 2026, press conference about the risks associated with kratom. (Photo by Clark Kauffman/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Gov. Kim Reynolds joined state law enforcement and public health officials Tuesday in warning Iowans of the risks associated with kratom and its newer, synthetic variants.
Kratom is typically marketed as a natural or herbal supplement for pain and anxiety, and is commonly sold in liquid, capsule and powdered form at gas stations and convenience stories.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins spoke Sept. 1, 2026 at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said Tuesday that a U.S. decision to lower certain tariffs on ground beef imports has highlighted the importance of working to bring more U.S. food production on-shore.
While at the Farm Progress Show in Iowa, Rollins announced a U.S. Department of Agriculture data modernization program and spoke about the Trump administration’s commitment to growing the nation’s beef herd and advancing biofuels.
Members of the executive committee advising the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa expressed concern Tuesday about potential limitations on director decisions and the intricacies of establishing required civics curriculum.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins spoke to producers Tuesday at Iowa’s Farm Progress Show and announced plans to “modernize” agricultural data reporting with the goal of making it more accurate and less burdensome for farmers.
The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from 22 states, including Iowa, are suing Amazon, claiming the online retail company used artificial bids to inflate costs for advertisers, bringing in tens of billions of dollars, Stateline reports.
State regulators have sanctioned Iowa two nurses for working more than a year without valid licenses and two nurses for patient-care issues.
Graceland University is partnering with a Missouri health sciences institution to provide its students with an easier pathway to furthering their chiropractic education.
The U.S. Postal Service rushed the development of electronic tools to comply with a Trump administration policy placing new restrictions on mail-in voting, and defied a court order to stop work on the system, according to an explosive whistleblower complaint published Tuesday by Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
The U.S. House approved a short-term government funding bill Tuesday that would avoid a shutdown this fall once President Donald Trump signs it.
As public opinion of the U.S. Supreme Court flags amid decisions that have roiled the nation, Democrats renewed calls ahead of the midterms to expand the high court, while House Republicans are considering a constitutional amendment this week that proposes to cap the number at nine.
More than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant youth remain at risk of losing their legal representation, one month after the Trump administration ended a federal contract with an organization that provided legal services to migrant children, advocates and attorneys said Tuesday.
A summer of food recalls has focused attention on the Trump administration’s decision to cut funding and staff at several public health agencies, and prompted questions about whether those changes have made consumers more vulnerable, Stateline reports.
A federal judge in Texas has paused a lawsuit seeking to revoke nationwide approval of the abortion drug mifepristone, saying the case won’t be heard until at least Dec. 1 and granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s request for a stay to continue its safety review of the drug, Stateline reports.
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