Here First

House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke at a conservative Christian event in Iowa. The 1619 Freedom School hosted its annual Read-In event to protest book bans. And it could be a warmer and drier winter.

Dubuque County leaders are considering an outright ban on data centers. Scientists say they’re finding concerning levels of pesticides in U.S. rivers. And Iowa’s largest utility is warning people to be wary of online scam artists posing as customer service workers.

A data center company wants to build a huge facility near Clinton in eastern Iowa. The state’s new Medicaid fraud task force has met for the first time. And Iowa is looking for the rightful owner of a baseball signed by superstar Pete Rose.

A data center company building near Cedar Rapids is injecting $5 million into workforce development, while the Palo City Council voted to advance their data center ordinance this week. An Iowa woman is the first known patient in the U.S. to receive a quadruple organ transplant with re-transplanted lungs. And U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says he's monitoring a proposed merger between two railways.

Some school districts are delaying or changing projects in connection to changes in state property tax laws. Another Iowa county has put a pause on data center development. And a conversation with Iowa Public Radio's retiring CEO.

Pete Buttigieg rallied with Iowa Democrats last night. President Trump has endorsed Republican Zach Lahn for Iowa governor. And a Midwestern couple is trying to set up government support for Alzheimer's early detection.

A hospital in Council Bluffs is set to close its labor and delivery unit. Des Moines residents are sharing their thoughts about the city's expected budget shortfall. And the education center at Springbrook State Park will be demolished.

Iowa has its first confirmed measles case of the year. The city of Decorah is considering an ordinance that would end its cooperation with ICE agents. And an Iowan shares her story of leaving the corporate world to start her own bakery.

The Democrat running in Iowa's Third Congressional District shares her plans on public health insurance. Undeveloped industrial land in the Cedar Valley region has made a national ranking. And a story of Indigenous resistance in Iowa.

Democrat Josh Turek, who is running for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat, says he would push to break up agriculture industry monopolies. The Iowa Bee Atlas is training Iowans to help conserve native bees. And an artist's value of environmentalism shows up in her art.

Zach Lahn, the republican nominee for governor, has responded to criticism for having a second home in Kansas. Severe weather over the weekend has displaced about 400 Des Moines residents. And this week on Here First we have personal stories from Next Gen Journalism.

There will be more medical residency training slots at Iowa's teaching hospitals. Residents in the Des Moines area are allowed to water their lawns again. And Iowa's Bosnian community has been showing up for their home country's team during the World Cup.

A new state law taking effect today changes how Iowans access medication abortions. The Planned Parenthood clinic in Iowa City is closing. And an environmental advocacy group is suing the EPA for records about a nitrate health study.

The speed limit on some Iowa highways is set to go up. Iowa schools will be required to have policies to identify and support gifted students. And how will SNAP payment error rates affect funding for the federal food assistance program?

Iowa is gripped by the first heat wave of the summer, big cuts for the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice, and a popular lake in northwest Iowa reopens as part of a state program marking its 20th year.

The U.S. Supreme Court sided with the maker of Roundup over cancer warnings on pesticide labels, a new facility could support more conservation on farms across the state, and some farms are growing something you might find in your own backyard, serviceberries.

A termination letter shows why a former IPERS official was fired. Libertarians running for Iowa governor and lieutenant governor are suing to be put on the ballot. And a museum in Waterloo is bracing for funding cuts.

Iowa's SNAP restrictions have been blocked by a federal court. Woodbury County has passed a moratorium on data center projects. And U.S. senators are still working on a new farm bill.

There are fewer Iowans enrolled in SNAP since a federal law change. The governor has appointed a new director of the state's largest agency. And Des Moines area residents are still under a lawn watering ban.

A program at the University of Iowa will study how environmental exposures affect human health. Gov. Kim Reynolds shares her thoughts on a gas tax. And year-round sale of E15 could hurt the soybean market.

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says Congress needs to know the terms of an initial deal to end the war with Iran. Council Bluffs council members voted down a moratorium on data center projects. And there's a new coalition in central Iowa trying to address cancer rates.

A state auditor's report shows how much the state has spent on the ESA program in its first year. City council members in Des Moines are considering cutting back services to fill in an expected budget gap. And where is Iowa's trash going to go as the state's landfills fill up?

Another community is pushing back on data center development. There has to be an investigation into the water quality of Bloody Run Creek under a court ruling. And the state's public universities will offer a three year degree program.

A few Libertarian candidates have been kicked off the November ballot. Cedar Falls is building a gas power plant. And there's a new healthcare job board to recruit more healthcare workers to the state.

Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn rallied party activists at the GOP state convention Saturday. A new report shows two of Iowa's rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closure, and the City of Ames is rolling out its first curbside recycling program this July.