KHOI's Capitol Week

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 blaming his own party leaders for the outcome. Other topics covered: another Democrat running in IA-04, a recap of who's running in all of Iowa's federal and statewide races, a labor union endorsement for Rob Sand, Ashley Hinson's new way of talking about the budget reconciliation bill, Nate Boulton's planned political comeback, Trump still tangling with Chuck Grassley over "blue slips," and Laura's tour of the new federal courthouse in Des Moines.

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 of the caucuses, a viral social media post by Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a taxpayer funded TV ad for Zach Nunn, another Iowa visit by Bernie Sanders, the high cost of school vouchers, and a preview of the August 26 special election in an Iowa Senate district covering part of Sioux City.

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 running for governor, and five candidates for Congress. Other topics covered: reaction to President Donald Trump's attack on voting by mail; Rob Sand's promises on Medicaid and school vouchers; political notes from the Iowa State Fair; legislative leaders ruling out big changes to the state's largest pension program; and Governor Kim Reynolds deploying the Iowa National Guard to assist immigration enforcement.

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 main public pension system and establish merit pay for teachers, a separate proposal to privatize health care in Iowa prisons, federal funding cuts for healthy food access and education, new USDA investments in rural development, Senator Chuck Grassley's hold on some Treasury Department nominees, Grassley's silence about President Donald Trump's purge of inspectors general, and his latest comments about the dust-up with Trump over Judiciary Committee "blue slips." 

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 running for governor (but not Randy Feenstra), more candidates likely to run for governor or U.S. Senate, a sporting event disrupted by Iowa's dirty water, a new Iowa House majority leader, early enforcement of Iowa's new hands-free driving law, corporate lobbying for a pesticide immunity bill, a new job for a former GOP legislator, and the one-year anniversary of the state's near-total abortion ban.

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Washington, DC: the Trump administration's retreat on freezing K-12 education funds, U.S. House turmoil over the Epstein files, and work that may cut into the Senate's long summer break. They discussed two new Congressional candidates in IA-04 and one in IA-02; Senate campaign news related to Joni Ernst, Zach Wahls, Josh Turek, and Nathan Sage; gubernatorial campaign news related to Randy Feenstra, Brad Sherman, CO2 pipeline politics, Rob Sand, and Julie Stauch. Other topics covered: the first ad for the Iowa Senate district 1 special election, Governor Kim Reynolds' low approval rating, and Laura's deep dive on why Iowa finally enacted an anti-SLAPP law.

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Congress: the bill cutting $9 billion in spending, the potential impact on Iowa public radio and television, frozen federal education funds, Senator Chuck Grassley's handling of the Emil Bove nomination, Grassley's work to help Grinnell College avoid a tax hike, and House votes on the Jeffrey Epstein files, with comments from Representative Ashley Hinson. Other topics covered: new Congressional candidates Kathy Dolter (D, IA-02) and Kyle Larsen (R, IA-04), Kevin Virgil ruling out a second campaign in IA-04, and second quarter fundraising for all of Iowa's candidates for U.S. Senate and House. Finally, they discussed Iowa AG Brenna Bird dropping a lawsuit against the Winneshiek County sheriff.

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Zach Nunn's bizarre trial balloon, followed by his retreat after speaking to President Donald Trump. They also discussed speculation about Joni Ernst's future plans, Ashley Hinson as a possible Senate candidate, GOP primary challenger Jim Carlin's first digital ad, a slew of endorsements for Randy Feenstra for governor, Mike Bousselot's hint about the governor's race, a prominent Republican's warning about Rob Sand, two Democrats launching campaigns for Congress and two more considering it, and each party's nominee for a special Iowa Senate election coming up in Sioux City.

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks covered that monumental budget reconciliation bill from many angles, with a focus on the Iowa impact and role in Iowa's 2026 campaigns: taxes and the federal debt, Medicaid cuts and rural health care, defunding Planned Parenthood, cuts to food assistance, clean energy tax credits, more money for immigration enforcement, and new caps on student loans. They also discussed President Donald Trump's big rally in Des Moines and notable comments from speakers, Republican Matt Windschitl confirming he'll run for Congress, and Brenna Bird confirming she won't run for governor. Finally, Laura shared the latest news on Trump's lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its longtime pollster, Ann Selzer.

Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Iowa angles on the big budget reconciliation bill, including how cuts to food assistance could cost the state tens of millions of dollars, and concerns Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn expressed over Senate language on Medicaid. Campaign stories covered include the death of an Iowa state senator and the coming special election to replace him, new Republicans running for Congress and state auditor, a Democrat ending his campaign in IA-02, a digital ad for Senate candidate Zach Wahls, and Rob Sand's first town halls as a candidate for governor. Laura previewed Donald Trump's appearance in Des Moines (his first in Iowa since the 2024 caucuses). Finally, they discussed how three major U.S. Supreme Court decisions could affect Iowans.