Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
“University of Iowa administrators have used their influence over the Board of Regents to hinder the Center’s operations at nearly every stage of its development.” — Luciano de Castro, interim director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at University of Iowa, in a report to lawmakers and the state board of regents.
A male Australian shepherd with significant dental health issues was photographed by USDA inspectors in 2021 at Steve Kruse’s Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, Iowa. (USDA photo courtesy of Bailing Out Benji)
Less than two weeks after the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency was stepping up enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act, the USDA’s lawyers are arguing in court that it’s not required to enforce that law.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed a lawsuit against the USDA in September 2024, challenging its past decisions to license three Iowa dog breeders — Steve Kruse, Brian Lichirie and Wuanita Swedlund.
Panelists speaking Dec. 6, 2025, at the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, from left, are center Interim Director Luciano de Castro, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education David Barker, state Rep. Taylor Collins, state Sen. Kerry Gruenhagen and Regent Christine Hensley. De Castro in his annual report to the General Assembly outlined actions by board and university officials that he believes undermined the center's efforts. (Photo by Brooklyn Draisey/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
The interim director of the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa alleged in a report to lawmakers that university and Iowa Board of Regents officials broke the law in attempts to obstruct the center’s development.
The 409-page report details more than a year of tug-of-war between center staff and advisors and the Iowa Board of Regents and university for control of its operations and offerings.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ husband, Kevin Reynolds, is recovering from a surgery to remove a brain tumor after being diagnosed with a recurrence of cancer, the governor’s office announced Monday.
State regulators have revoked the license of a nurse who allegedly confessed to a drug addiction after leaving a bag full of used needles at the nursing home where she worked.
Rob Sand, the Democratic nominee for governor, has withdrawn from a debate scheduled for Wednesday with Republican candidate Zach Lahn following the death of his brother-in-law.
Corn and soybean harvest in Iowa is about 20 percentage points behind the five-year average pace, but is progressing after a wet September that stalled field work. Officials urged farmers Monday to fit voting into their busy harvest-season schedules.
Democrats have used President Donald Trump’s unpopularity to expand the midterm map, and analysts project the party carries momentum heading into the final two weeks of the election cycle.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday establishing a Women’s Health Division within the National Institutes of Health.
Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend.
In many states, including Iowa, the rosters of public defenders have been shrinking at an alarming rate, often leaving defendants in jail for days, weeks or months without access to an attorney, Stateline reports.
COMMENTARY
A pair of laws passed during Iowa’s 2026 legislative session will change how public school enrollment is calculated, with the likely effect of squeezing districts’ budgeting and per-pupil funding from the state, guest columnist Jeff Morrison writes.
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COMMENTARY
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