News
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Shutdown means no pay for 10K Iowa workers
The ongoing federal government shutdown is resulting in lots of Iowans not being paid—and it’s not just federal workers. There are more than 10,000 Iowans who are federal workers, according to the Iowa Federation of Labor. “Working people are already struggling to pay our bills, and the Trump administration is offering no relief,” the group…
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Gwen Frisbie-Fulton: Local elections lead to practical solutions in Iowa
My neighbor Tamara is tired of politics; she tells me this all the time. She says she doesn’t watch the news except for the weather, and would rather read a good book instead. I get it, I tell her, as I drop off a paperback I just finished. But Tamara is also pretty fed up…
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Renee Hardman chosen as Iowa Democrats’ nominee to replace Claire Celsi
Iowa Democrats have chosen West Des Moines City Council Member Renee Hardman as the party’s nominee for a coming special election for an Iowa legislative seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Claire Celsi. Hardman defeated four other candidates at an Oct. 21 special nominating convention to win the Democratic nomination. She promised to…
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A new car vs. health insurance? Average family job-based coverage hits $27K
With the federal shutdown entering its fourth week, spurred by a stalemate over the cost of health insurance for 22 million Americans on Affordable Care Act plans, a new report shows that over 154 million people with coverage through an employer also face steep price hikes — and that the situation is likely to get…
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Clara Reynen wants to AI-proof Iowa City
The Iowa City City Council candidate wants to bring her library background into city government. When Clara Reynen turned 18, she asked her parents if it would be OK for her to skip school that day because she had something important she wanted to do: Register to vote. “So there’s this great picture of me…
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Miller-Meeks campaign says payment was ‘mistakenly’ made to son
A $3,500 payment from US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ campaign to her son was a mistake, her campaign says—money that should have come from her personal account, not from campaign donors. US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks paid her son $3,500 from her campaign account for “consulting,” according to the most recent quarter’s campaign finance report. Twenty-two days…
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Iowa Worker’s Almanac: Layoffs and news, Oct. 16, 2025
News about and for the Iowa working class. ‘No Kings’ is back: The Indivisible-organized protests against President Donald Trump’s authoritarianism, which first took place in June, are back this Saturday, Oct. 18—and there’s likely one near you. The federal government shutdown continues: As the shutdown, which began Oct. 1, drags on, furloughed federal workers can’t pay their bills, Trump…
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AI has wiped out a third of entry-level jobs, affecting young Iowans
Another young college graduate from Iowa can’t find any sort of entry-level job, she told me last week. And AI may be to blame. Meghan Holloran just graduated from Drake University this May with a multimedia journalism degree. She did a year-long apprenticeship with Better Homes and Gardens magazine, was on the school newspaper for…
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Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate warns of texts impersonating officials, candidates
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch October 15, 2025 Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate issued a warning for Iowans Wednesday about reported mass texts impersonating elected officials and candidates. The state elections official said fraudulent messages were reported in Franklin, Johnson, and Madison counties. According to a news release, the mass texts from “an…
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We set out to understand Iowa’s cancer crisis. Here’s what we learned
ISL’s series The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa comes to an end, but one big question remains: What are we going to do about this crisis?
