KHOI's Capitol Week

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks each shared a favorite quote from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., then got right to it, discussing key points from Governor Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address, some topics Reynolds didn't mention, Democratic reaction, why the governor wants to eliminate elections for some county offices, and Laura's viral moment when the governor's staffer prevented her fr...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Congress: Zach Nunn votes to extend health insurance subsidies, Mariannette Miller-Meeks votes to override Trump's vetoes, pesticide immunity dropped from a government funding bill, Ashley Hinson defends ICE, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst stick with the president on Venezuela. They covered the Iowa legislature's return from many angles: political...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Iowa political reaction to the U.S. attack in Venezuela and whether this could become a 2026 campaign issue. On the campaign front, they discussed the first TV ad aired in Iowa's U.S. Senate race, a Republican rival's challenge to GOP front-runner Ashley Hinson, and takeaways from the special election in Iowa Senate district 16 (another big Democratic overp...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with some news from the Republican primary campaign for governor and a quick preview of the December 30 special election in Iowa Senate district 16. The rest of the show recapped major Iowa politics stories from 2025: news from the Iowa legislature, from campaigns for state and federal offices, from the Iowa delegation in Congress, and from the courts. They also...

Laura Belin and Dennis Hart cover the week in Iowa politics, starting with the latest news about the Iowa National Guard members recently killed or wounded in Syria. They discussed U.S. House maneuverings on health insurance and several stories related to Senator Chuck Grassley, along with updates on several U.S. House or Senate candidates. Other topics covered: J.D. Scholten retires from professi...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the tragedy in Syria, where two Iowa National Guard members were killed and three wounded in an ambush over the weekend. As the deadline to enroll in the Affordable Care Act was closing, they covered rising premiums for Iowans who buy through the ACA exchange, votes on competing U.S. Senate plans, the different health care positions staked out by Mariannett...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks covered a wide range of stories, starting with what last week's special U.S. House election in Tennessee could mean for Iowa's second Congressional district. They discussed the Iowa delegation's recent comments about extending health insurance subsidies, boat strikes off the coast of Venezuela, and Pete Hegseth, and Laura's exclusive reporting about taxpayer-funded ad...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks review a (surprisingly not slow) week in Iowa politics. They discussed a forum featuring every GOP candidate for governor except the front-runner, how Randy Feenstra has been campaigning, two contenders competing to be the top enemy of Satanists, a dark money group's TV ad praising State Auditor Rob Sand, and another notable endorsement for Joe Mitchell in IA-02. Othe...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Iowa's delegation in Congress: the Epstein files votes, Zach Nunn on health care reform, Mariannette Miller-Meeks on a stock trading ban, a House vote on "socialism," and Chuck Grassley donating his shutdown pay. They also covered lots of 2026 campaign news: Mike Bousselot bowing out of the governor's race, Adam Steen attacking "Satanists," high-p...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the end of the federal government shutdown: when SNAP benefits resumed in Iowa, whether the Iowans in Congress have been paid lately, Laura's reporting on the Iowa earmarks in the federal funding bill, where things stand on health insurance premium subsidies, and a last-minute provision that could force most consumable hemp products off the market. They dis...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news related to the imminent end of the federal government shutdown and resumption of SNAP benefit payments. Two Democratic candidates for U.S. Senate are calling for Chuck Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader, and several Democrats running for Congress also criticized the deal. They discussed notable results from Iowa's local and school board ele...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news related to the federal government shutdown: federal food assistance (SNAP benefits) delayed, responses from Governor Kim Reynolds and leading Democratic politicians, rising costs for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, and potential disruption for five small Iowa airports. They discussed several stories related to trade and Donald Trump's t...

Laura Belin and original co-host Dennis Hart were together for the 250th edition of "KHOI's Capitol Week." They began with Iowa's 2026 governor's race: Democrat Rob Sand's 100 town halls, Democrat Julie Stauch's "interview sessions," Republican Randy Feenstra's comments on eminent domain, and recent TV interviews featuring the other three GOP candidates (Eddie Andrews, Brad Sherman, and Adam Steen...

Laura Belin and Dennis Hart (filling in for Spencer Dirks) began with the end of Jackie Norris' campaign for U.S. Senate, and a review of third-quarter fundraising for the remaining Democrats and Republicans running for Senate. They discussed highlights and a few surprises from fundraising reports for candidates in the four U.S. House districts. Also covered: most Iowa Democrats running for Congre...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with more fallout from ICE detaining the superintendent of Iowa's largest school district: Governor Kim Reynolds ordered the use of E-Verify across state government, why past legislation on E-Verify stalled in the Iowa House, reporting on the former superintendent steering contracts to a firm where he had a consulting gig, and internal polls gauging the controve...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent the first half of the show on news related to former Des Moines Public Schools superintendent Ian Roberts: his resignation, deficiencies in the vetting process, new criminal charges, questions surrounding his academic credentials, the school district's lawsuit against the consulting firm that recruited him, more political reaction, a DOJ investigation of the dis...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks devoted about half of this show to a local story that has gained national attention: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Dr. Ian Roberts, the superintendent of Iowa's largest school district. Laura shared the latest news from a special Des Moines School Board meeting (which wrapped up minutes before air time), and they discussed several legal angles, una...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks cover news from the week in Iowa politics, starting with the sad news that Democratic State Senator Claire Celsi has entered hospice care. They talked about Republican Jack Whitver's decision to step down as Iowa Senate majority leader, his lasting impact on the Senate, and possible candidates to replace him. Other topics covered: an Iowa House Republican resigns for...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Iowa news related to Charlie Kirk's assassination: controversy over social media posts by some educators, a Johnson County official's decision not to lower flags to honor Kirk's memory, and calls to name a center at the University of Iowa after the conservative movement leader. They also discussed State Senator Catelin Drey's swearing in and her potential i...

Laura Belin and George A. Clark (filling in for Spencer Dirks) dug into Iowa's latest political reshuffle: Joni Ernst's exit and Ashley Hinson's Senate campaign launch, Hinson's competition for the GOP nomination, and the Republicans lining up to run for Hinson's seat in Congress. Other topics covered: another Democrat running for Senate, new endorsements for Josh Turek, another Republican running...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with reporting that Senator Joni Ernst won't seek re-election in 2026, other potential GOP candidates for U.S. Senate, and the first "principled conservative" endorsement for Jim Carlin in that race. They dug into a Democrat's convincing victory in an Iowa Senate district that voted for Donald Trump, and a Republican county supervisor's epic Facebook rant blamin...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with more new candidate announcements: another Republican running for governor and two more Democrats running for Congress. They discussed news from several 2026 races, an internal poll suggesting Senator Joni Ernst is vulnerable, and Chuck Grassley dodging a question about his 2028 plans. Other topics covered: the Iowa Democratic Party's survey about the future...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with State Representative Josh Turek, the fifth Iowa Democrat to announce for U.S. Senate; less than a week later, State Representative J.D. Scholten left that race and endorsed Turek. They discussed other news related to the Senate race, then highlights from the Iowa Democratic Wing Ding, including pitches from all of the Senate contenders, both Democrats runni...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Iowa's U.S. Senate race: Jackie Norris became the fourth Democrat in the field, and Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona came to boost Iowa Dems. Other topics covered: a third Democrat running in Iowa's third Congressional district, Rob Sand's latest comments on Iowa's water quality problems, the Iowa DOGE task force's proposals to change the state's...

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the Fox News "undercover" video that sparked an investigation into the University of Iowa's DEI practices, a spat between President Trump and Senator Chuck Grassley, some partisan Senate confirmation votes, and Senator Joni Ernst opposing a ban on individual stock trading by members of Congress. Other topics covered: a forum featuring three Republicans runn...