Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“It is genuinely frightening to think that an adult can step in to help a child, with good intentions, and ultimately find themselves facing criminal allegations.” — Ashley Delaney, a North Polk school district teacher who was tried and acquitted on assault charges for what she described as tugging on a teen-age student’s sleeve during a track meet.
Newton YMCA CEO George Sorensen. left, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks speak at a press conference at the Newton YMCA on Aug. 17, 2026. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in Iowa Monday schools discourage students from physical activity and are poisoning them with unhealthy food — issues he said federal and state policies are working to address with the reinstatement of the Presidential Physical Fitness Test.
Kennedy visited the Newton YMCA with U.S. Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and other officials to conduct a roundtable discussing the importance of youth activity and reinstating the Presidential Physical Fitness Test.
Politics at the Iowa State Fair
U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posed for photos at a Nunn campaign event held at JR’s Southpork Ranch at the Iowa State Fair Aug. 17, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told Iowa State Fairgoers Monday he honored the Iowa soldiers killed in Kuwait, while saying the U.S.-Iran conflict was necessary to keep Americans safe.
Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ashley Hinson said Monday she supports providing the U.S. Department of Defense funding that allows the nation to have a strong military presence during their war with Iran.
Chris McGowan, the Republican running for Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, said Monday he believes the federal government needs to be “extremely prudent” in deciding when to enter wars — though he declined to comment specifically on if the decision for the U.S. to enter into conflict with Iran met this definition.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said Monday his office is unlikely to issue guidance in the upcoming election for county auditors to challenge the ballots of people identified as as potential noncitizens, a situation that happened in 2024.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said Monday at the Iowa State Fair that the state should do everything it can to prevent illegal voting, including turning over voter data to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Zach Nunn, the Republican representing Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District, said conflict in the Middle East and Strait of Hormuz trade complications could cause mass famine if farmers around the world don’t get access to necessary fertilizers.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, speaking at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox Monday, said he and his opponent have “fundamentally different” views of the office.
More Iowa and national news
An Iowa teacher acquitted of assaulting a teenager after tugging on his sleeve says “the growing culture of entitlement surrounding parenting and children” may have contributed to her arrest and prosecution.
The Iowa Board of Nursing has suspended, for at least one year, the license of a Davenport nurse who has pleaded guilty to criminal charges of stealing patient medications at a surgical center.
Iowa Valley Community College District will use a multimillion-dollar federal grant to expand manufacturing training and assistance to companies across its service area.
Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions, Stateline reports.
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