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New management, but red ink continues at Davenport-based Lee Enterprises, Inc.

on Sun, 05/10/2026 - 01:50   by news

Davenport-based Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the QC Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus – has a new CEO, a new chief financial officer, several new board members and a new majority owner.

The initial financial results, however, look very much the same: declining revenues and negative earnings.

The company's second quarter results – a loss of $2.2 million – were an improvement from a year ago – a loss of $12.6 million.

U.S. EPA begins review of four Superfund clean-ups including Arconic (Alcoa) site in Riverdale

on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 02:21   by Anonymous

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday (5/4/26) it will conduct comprehensive reviews of cleanup work beginning this spring at four Superfund sites, including the Arconic (formerly Alcoa) Davenport Plant site in Riverdale and the Mississippi River Pool 15.

The sites undergo a review every five years to ensure ongoing or completed remediation efforts continue to protect human health and the environment, according to the EPA news release. "Upon completion of the review, EPA will make a Five-Year Review Report available on the Superfund Site Profile page," the EPA stated.

Iowa Legislature passes state education appropriations budget

on Sat, 05/02/2026 - 01:46   by Anonymous

by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 30, 2026

Both chambers of the Iowa Legislature have approved education appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2027, with Democrats decrying what they called straying priorities and a lack of will to fully support Iowa’s students.

House File 2783, as amended in the House to reflect agreement with the Senate, would allocate more than $1 billion to Iowa’s education systems, representing a 1% increase in the budget but keeping funding for the Iowa Board of Regents and Iowa Tuition Grant program flat for the upcoming fiscal year.

Sen. Mike Zimmer, D-DeWitt, thanked his predecessors for investing in public education when he was in high school, as it was the only reason he was able to go to college. He’s paid that investment back several times over, he said, through living, working and raising a family here.

“We didn’t view this as an expense, we viewed it as an economic development to keep people in Iowa,” Zimmer said. “And when I look at the funding that’s in here now, it’s certainly not indicative of looking at Iowans as an investment, it looks at, more as, Iowans as an expense.”

Judge clears ICE’s path to deport asylum-seeker from Iowa to Congo

on Wed, 04/29/2026 - 21:09   by Clark Kauffman

Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 28, 2026

A federal judge has cleared the way for ICE officials to deport a Bolivian asylum-seeker from Iowa to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Noting that José Yugar-Cruz is part of a class of people for whom the Supreme Court has twice issued orders lifting injunctions that prohibited such deportations, U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled this week that he had “little choice” but to deny Yugar-Cruz’s motion to have the court block his removal from the United States.

Iowa Senate sends SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin to governor

on Tue, 04/28/2026 - 19:36   by news

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 27, 2026

The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” legislation to her desk Monday, a package that includes SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin and several school health and nutrition policies.

House File 2676, passed 30-16, seeks to make permanent the state’s currently implemented waivers restricting the purchase of unhealthy foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the the federal Summer EBT program. The bill does this by requiring the state to “continuously request” approval of these waivers.

How Iowa Republicans are 'rigging the system' to use public funds for private schools

on Sun, 04/19/2026 - 02:50   by Anonymous

by Sen. Janice Weiner, Democrat, Iowa City, District 45

Earlier this year, Republican lawmakers passed an insultingly low amount of school funding for the 2026-27 school year. The measly two percent increase ensures that Iowa’s public schools will remain underfunded and school districts around the state will be forced into steep budget cuts, teacher lay-offs, and service reductions.

At the same time, costs for the state’s unaccountable private school voucher program once again exceeded expectations, putting taxpayers on the hook for millions in higher costs.

The majority party called it “choice.”

Now those same Republican lawmakers would put their fingers on the scale again and shift more money and resources away from public schools – where over 90% of Iowa kids are educated – to support charter school expansion.

Fire chief billed taxpayers for personal expenses, Eldridge officials claim

on Sat, 04/18/2026 - 19:11   by Clark Kauffman

by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 17, 2026

The fire chief for the City of Eldridge, fired last year from his job as a city mechanic for the misuse of public funds, is not entitled to unemployment benefits, a judge has ruled.

State records indicate Keith Schneckloth worked for the City of Eldridge for 11 years, from December 2014 until his firing in December 2025, most recently as a city mechanic who reported to Public Works Director Tony Rupe.

In addition, Schneckloth served as the chief of the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department until his resignation from that post in December 2025. In recent weeks, Schneckloth rejoined the department as its chief, Mayor Scott Campbell said Friday.

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