by Kadin Luhmann, Iowa Capital Dispatch
July 27, 2026

FORT DODGE — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand discussed plans to combat Iowa’s water quality issues and advocated for more mental health funding Monday at a town hall in Fort Dodge.

Sand, who currently serves as state auditor, said he is “not satisfied” with Iowa’s efforts to address water quality. He  advocated for a data-driven approach to tackle the issue, and more wetlands that would improve soil health, water quality, biodiversity and recreational activities.

“I want us to have the single biggest expansion of wetlands and grazing land that we have ever seen in the state of Iowa,” Sand said. “You can fish, you can photograph, all kinds of fun stuff that you can do in wetlands. We want our kids to take part.”

by Mónica Cordero, Iowa Capital Dispatch
July 24, 2026

Iowa’s official database of animal feeding operations, which serves as the state’s primary regulatory inventory of livestock facilities, does not include thousands of facilities that researchers say contribute to the state’s growing manure burden and potential water pollution. 

After spending about a year reviewing aerial photographs, satellite imagery and state records, researchers with the Environmental Working Group (EWG), an environmental advocacy organization, identified 15,309 livestock facilities across Iowa using data current through July 2025, more than 4,000 additional operations beyond the roughly 11,000 listed in the Iowa Department of Natural Resources database. 

Bettendorf's incoming interim superintendent has been operating a side business that sells consulting services to school districts, even while serving as second-in-command of the Iowa Department of Education overseeing all public schools.

John Elkin is founder and co-owner of PremierEdLeader.com, a company that conducts training seminars for educators both within and outside Iowa. The firm charges each seminar participant $300.

Asked in an email about the potential conflict of interest by Bettendorf.com, Iowa Department of Education General Counsel Thomas Mayes stated: "there is no evidence to suggest that Mr. Elkin or his consulting organization obtained any 'advantage or pecuniary benefit' from his organization's identification of him as a leader in the Department."

Mr. Elkin did not respond to voicemails asking him for direct comment on his business operations.

by Ed Tibbetts, Iowa Capital Dispatch
July 18, 2026

If Iowans want a glimpse of their future, they might just look to the south. To Missouri.

Republicans there are asking people to approve a constitutional amendment next month to eliminate the state income tax and authorize an expansion of the sales tax to make up for the lost revenue.

This would be a big change — and not a good one.

Bettendorf's school board paid Supt. Michelle Morse $720,000 to get her to resign.

The same day that settlement was made public, the board signed off on a contract to pay her one-year interim replacement $218,000.

The huge pay-out agreement – held secret by Board President Paul Castro for nearly two weeks – indicates the board had no reason to seek to terminate the superintendent for cause, and was willing to pay Morse three year's of her salary in exchange for her resignation.

Morse had served as superintendent for the district for the past six years and had two years remaining on her contract with the district.

Nearly two weeks after the Bettendorf School Board agreed behind closed doors to a settlement to obtain Supt. Michelle Morse's resignation, Board President Paul Castro has yet to turn over the agreement for public dissemination.

"I'm waiting for (Paul) Castro to give it to me," Communications Director Celeste Miller said Tuesday afternoon when asked about the settlement document by Bettendorf.com."I don't have a copy of it yet."

Iowa Capital Dispatch
July 8, 2026

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by an Iowa immigration detainee who suffered “horrific abuse” in Sudan before being jailed in the United States for two years by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa by Mutasim Ibrahim Abdoulrahman Nour against ICE and the Muscatine County sheriff, sought Nour’s immediate release from the county jail.

In dismissing the case, Chief Judge Stephanie Rose of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, ruled recently that while she “laments the horrific abuse he suffered in Sudan,” federal law and ICE policies cited by Nour do not offer him the legal refuge he now seeks.

by Ed Tibbetts, Iowa Capital Dispatch
June 26, 2026

Iowa is one of the most obese states in the nation.

We’re a leader in high cancer rates.

Our waterways are polluted.

We also drink too much, even as the state controls the sale of $400 million worth of booze a year. And takes a healthy cut of that money for itself.

Yet, Iowa leaders believe our population will be healthier if we make it harder for poor people to buy soda pop. Meanwhile, they shrug at the fact others guzzle it by the gallon.

Iowa Capital Dispatch
June 25, 2026

The federal government is taking an Iowa dog breeder to court, seeking a court order that will allow inspectors onto the property for the first time since 2024.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is suing Wuanita Swedlund of Farmington for allegedly barring federal officials from conducting unannounced inspections of her dog-breeding operations.

According to the USDA’s lawsuit, licensed breeders are required, during business hours, to allow inspectors to enter their place of business to inspect and photograph the property, the animals and business records. The lawsuit alleges Swedlund has failed to provide the USDA’s APHIS inspectors with access to her facility the last five times they have visited the Farmington operation, all of which fell between November 2025 and May 2026.