Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“We’re going to get infested. There’s no doubt about it.” — Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller on expectations that the New World screwworm, a parasite, will move into the United States, likely affecting meat prices and livestock markets.
A pinned specimen of a full-grown New World screwworm fly is shown in this image. Federal and state officials are preparing for a potential invasion from the flesh-eating parasite that could disrupt livestock markets. (Photo courtesy of Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)
Southern states are bracing for a potential invasion of the New World screwworm that could disrupt livestock markets and raise already high meat prices, Stateline reports.
So far, the parasite has yet to land in the United States, but it has been spreading across Mexico and Central America. Previously eradicated from the United States in the 1960s, the fly can infest livestock, pets, wildlife and in rare cases, humans.
Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines. (Photo via Google Earth)
An Iowa nursing home worker fired after being accused of repeatedly neglecting residents’ needs is entitled to unemployment benefits, a judge has ruled.
State records indicate certified nurse aide Abigail Kromah worked for Pine Acres Rehabilitation and Care Center in West Des Moines from May 2024 through December 2025, when she was fired. She subsequently applied for unemployment benefits, which led to a recent hearing before an administrative law judge.
Though Iowa’s 4th Congressional District is considered a longtime Republican stronghold, three Democrats are competing in the June 2 primary to become the candidate competing for the open seat in the 2026 election.
A central Iowa attorney has been disciplined for having incorporated false case citations in a court brief authored with the help of artificial intelligence.
Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI) will host more than 60 farmer-led field day events across the Midwest from June to November, showcasing farms of all sizes, production practices and first-hand insights from farmers.
A federal judge on Thursday declined to block President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail, finding that it was too early to challenge the directive.
A pair of U.S. senators reached a bipartisan agreement on a sweeping bill aimed at tackling many of the biggest issues surrounding how to compensate players in college sports.
Some of the nation’s biggest megachurches are getting into the college business, prioritizing job training and church culture over traditional liberal arts, Stateline reports.
A group of U.S. Senate Democrats has sent a letter to the head of the Congressional Budget Office, asking him to include outside projections for the cost of the Iran war in the agency’s official cost estimate.
Following a dismissal of criminal charges the Trump administration lodged against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the wrongly deported Maryland resident Thursday pressed a federal judge to prevent his removal to any country that is not Costa Rica, which has agreed to accept him as a refugee.
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