Here First

A state subcommittee that has proposed eliminating more than a quarter of Iowa’s boards and commissions heard more than two hours of public testimony. A Des Moines city councilmember who hasn’t attended meetings or work sessions since March has resigned. Plus, we learn about a backlog of more than 6,000 cases of alleged child abuse and neglect in St. Louis.

Former President Donald Trump plans to attend Saturday’s football game between Iowa State University and the University of Iowa. A top executive with Summit Carbon Solutions took to the witness stand in Fort Dodge Tuesday in the hearing that will decide if its carbon pipeline project is approved by the Iowa Utilities Board. Plus, new large-scale solar project regulations got their first approval by the Linn County Board of Supervisors.

A northwest Iowa school superintendent who worried his district might lose students to private schools didn’t see any changes in enrollment due to the state’s new education savings accounts. Many Iowans suffer from long COVID symptoms but experts say it’s still unclear why some people develop persistent symptoms. Plus, a Des Moines man who survived the Nazi holocaust during World War Two has died.

The latest Iowa Drought Monitor shows drought conditions have worsened across Iowa. Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources has maintained an E. coli advisory for 11 lakes across the state through Labor Day weekend. Plus, the pressure is on for Congress to pass a new Farm Bill or file an extension before it expires at the end of the month.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will not reinstate COVID-19 restrictions as hospitalizations across the state increase. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird has filed an appeal to a recent court ruling clarifying that some voting materials can be printed in languages other than English. Plus, residents of a Muscatine apartment building have been evacuated and the building's owner is waiting for a structural engineer's report.

Test scores from last spring show Iowa students made some improvement overall in math proficiency but there was little change in reading. Democrat Kimberly Sheets won a special election for auditor in Warren County last night. Plus, the city of Cedar Rapids has received 1.8 million dollars in workforce housing tax credits to help revitalize one of its most historically diverse neighborhoods.

Voters in Warren County in central Iowa will decide in a special election to retain their current interim county auditor. A new study has found a correlation between reproductive issues and tear gas used by police in the protests following the 2020 death of George Floyd. Plus, Republican Congressman Zach Nunn says his race for a second term in the U.S. House will get national attention.

The second week of hearings opens Tuesday in Fort Dodge as the Iowa Utilities Board takes public comments on the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. A trial is beginning this week for the first of two teens charged with murder in a shooting at a Des Moines alternative school that left two students dead and the program’s founder injured. Plus, a look at one Iowa community emphasizing diversity on its police force.

Classes at Iowa State University are going online after a fire at the university’s power plant caused an outage of the main cooling system. As heat index levels hit more than 100-degrees this week, emergency rooms in the region have seen higher than usual numbers of heat-related illnesses. Plus, a look at how farmworkers are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures.

Iowa continues to see excessive heat warnings and near triple digit temperatures. An excessive heat warning greeted students starting new school years across Iowa on Wednesday. Plus, we visit a drag competition aimed at giving queer Latinos a safe space to perform.