Good morning from Iowa Capital Dispatch.
““Iowa Republicans know they can’t win on ideas, so they are resorting to their favorite tactic: suppressing voter choice. When a third party gathers a record number of signatures and earns its place on the ballot, the answer is to debate them, not to bully them, bribe them, or sue them off the ballot.” - Evan McMahon, chair of the national Libertarian Party, on challenges filed by Republicans to three Iowa Libertarian candidates’ place on the 2026 general election ballot.
President Donald Trump pointed to a supporter as he went to begin his speech on affordability at the Horizon Events Center in Clive Jan. 27, 2026. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday that Iowa GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn was “much more Trump” than U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, whom he endorsed before Iowa’s June 2 primary.
Answering questions from reporters Thursday, Trump answered questions on his endorsement of Feenstra while pointing out that Feenstra was “only one out of hundreds of races” where he endorsed a candidate in the Republican primary. The president said Thursday he believed he would have supported Lahn if given more information about the election.
(Photo courtesy of the Iowa Board of Nursing)
Eight months ago, a state licensing board charged an Iowa nurse with multiple regulatory violations, including soliciting or accepting money from a patient. This week, for the first time, the Iowa Board of Nursing publicly disclosed those charges.
The records show the board has charged Abbriel Rae Mitchell, 44, of Roland with five separate regulatory violations: violating patient confidentiality or privacy rights; soliciting, borrowing, or misappropriating money or property from a patient; committing an act that causes physical, emotional or financial injury to a patient; participating in or attempting to initiate a sexual, social or business relationship with a patient; and engaging in behavior that is contradictory to professional decorum.
Iowa Republicans are challenging three Libertarian candidates’ place on the 2026 general election ballot based on paperwork errors, taking these challenges to the Iowa State Objections Panel next week.
The Iowa Dental Board has suspended the license of a dentist accused of incompetence in a patient’s death.
Grinnell College has pledged a quarter-million dollars to a new elementary school project in its community, a move its leaders say will serve both the community and the campus.
The Iowa Board of Pharmacy has charged CRE8 Pharmacy Group of Coral Springs, Florida, with failing to ensure preparations compounded pursuant to federal legal requirements are prepared in accordance with the standards outlined in federal regulations for both sterile and nonsterile compounds.
Trump has spent more than a week baselessly alleging malfeasance in California’s June 2 primary election, in which votes were still being counted as of June 11, offering a window into how he may approach the November midterm elections.
The Trump administration has failed to refund more than $145 billion in tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unlawful, a pair of U.S. Senate Democrats said in a Wednesday letter to the administration’s chief of customs.
A federal judge denied a temporary restraining order Wednesday on Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, saying the issue is moot after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week the administration is “not moving forward” with the controversial plan.
Trump announced Thursday that administration officials were close to brokering an end to the hostilities with Iran and predicted there could be a signing ceremony in Europe as soon as this weekend.
Democrats’ prospects in a trio of key U.S. Senate races are improving, an influential elections forecaster said Thursday, though Republicans are still favored to retain control of the chamber after the midterm elections.
Advertisements for Polymarket and Bud Light lined an eight-sided cage on the White House grounds Thursday ahead of a series of mixed martial arts fights scheduled for Sunday, Trump’s 80th birthday, and billed as a celebration of America’s 250th birthday.
A group of 16 U.S. Senate Democrats is calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to tighten its regulation of prediction markets, citing concerns over insider trading and other consumer harms as betting on future events grows in popularity.
The head of the Social Security Administration testified before Congress on Wednesday that customer service has drastically improved during the last year, though he declined to offer ways to address the program’s dire financial situation.
A federal bill that would make it easier for prosecutors to convict people of carjackings could result in many young adults, especially Black men, spending decades in prison, advocates and Democratic legislators warned.
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