Here First

An explosion and fire at an agricultural plant in eastern Iowa has caused injuries and an evacuation of people near the operation. Advisory panels in the Iowa Department of Human Rights are planning to recommend reforms to the juvenile detention system. Plus, scientists are grappling with what the future of derechos could look like.

The Adair County Board of Supervisors approved an ordinance that would regulate hazardous liquid pipelines. An Italian company is acquiring the Iowa-based maker of Blue Bunny ice cream. Plus, how Republicans plan to approach the 2024 presidential nominating calendar with Iowa remaining first even as Democrats are kicking the state out of the lineup.

The top Democrat in the Iowa Senate says the new Republican super-majority means all Republicans will have to be in agreement to confirm the governor’s appointments to state agencies and commissions. A suspended Des Moines Public Schools student was arrested with a loaded gun at a middle school. Plus, a new federal licensure designation could be a lifeline for rural hospitals at risk of closing but some are concerned about how it could affect rural healthcare.

The Polk County Auditor has decided Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver’s voter registration is valid. Representatives of Wolf Carbon Solutions are be hearing from and answering the questions of eastern Iowans in Linn, Cedar, Clinton and Scott counties this week about its proposed carbon capture pipeline. Plus, UnityPoint Health is asking patients to reserve a time slot online instead of walking in for care at its urgent care centers.

National Democrats have removed Iowa from the early window of states to pick presidential nominees. A Muscatine nonprofit will use pandemic relief funds to offer affordable housing to local teachers. Plus, new data show for the first time ever, more than one in five rural residents is over the age of 65.

President Joe Biden has proposed removing Iowa from the early window of the Democrats’ presidential nominating process. State officials have certified most of Iowa’s midterm election results. Plus, we hear how this year’s drought could be nothing compared to the droughts scientists anticipate.

Governor Kim Reynolds is among 21 Republican governors who are asking congress to repeal the COVID vaccine mandate for America's soldiers. The Polk County Auditor heard arguments in a hearing challenging Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver’s voter registration. Plus, how this year’s drought has changed life across the Midwest and Great Plains.

Democrats gathering to consider shaking up the order of their 2024 presidential primary are waiting on President Joe Biden. An immigrant-led activist group is organizing Congolese residents to pressure Johnson County to reopen its Direct Assistance Program. Plus, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is agreeing to consider changes to levees along the Missouri River in an effort to avoid a repeat of recent major floods.

The Spirit Lake Community School District voted to finalize plans to allow ten non-teaching staff members to be armed in schools. The USDA is predicting the average corn yield in Iowa that’s just a couple of bushels short of last year's record. Plus, members of the DNC meet later this week to decide the 2024 presidential nominating calendar and it might not include Iowa.

The federal government says a deadline is coming up for people who want to apply for health insurance through the ACA. Advocates for improving child care say they hope Iowa lawmakers put state money into improving child care affordability and quality next year. Plus, a working group at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics wants to study how psychedelics could help patients addicted to alcohol.