(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – With Iowa’s community college system set to celebrate 60 years of serving students, its leaders are getting ready to work with the Iowa Legislature to potentially implement new degree programs and curriculum.

Community Colleges for Iowa Executive Director Emily Shields said she agrees with lawmakers that community colleges are “one of Iowa’s best kept secrets,” and she hopes community colleges can receive the additional funding and program support to expand affordability and access for high school, college-age and adult learners.

Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, and Sen. Lynn Evans, R-Aurelia — chairs of the Iowa House Higher Education Committee and the Iowa Senate Education Committee, respectively — have said that community colleges will be a focus of the upcoming legislative session. Evans called community colleges one of Iowa’s “hidden gems” that the state needs to do a better job of promoting.

The Iowa Legislature created the statewide community college system 60 years ago this year, Shields said, and it has been a “national model” ever since. Community colleges will be asking for a $12 million increase in state funding for the next fiscal year, Shields said, mainly to keep up with increasing costs of goods and services and to keep pay and benefits competitive. Like the previous year, when community colleges implemented a funding formula designed and approved by college presidents to level out the institutions receiving more or less per-student funding, this additional funding will also further that process.

Some of those funds would also go toward implementing bachelor’s degree programs at community colleges, Shields said — if the Legislature decides to turn that potential into a reality. Community Colleges for Iowa released a report in October 2025 exploring other states’ efforts to incorporate baccalaureate degrees into their academic offerings and what would be needed for Iowa to do the same, after prompting from Iowa lawmakers in the previous legislative session. Collins said implementing new community college degree programs will be a priority this session, but Shields said the usual state funding request won’t cover the costs entirely.

In addition to general state aid, Shields said Community Colleges for Iowa plans to request a $20 million fund for the creation of baccalaureate degrees at community colleges. The money will act as startup funding for these programs. Shields said introducing new kinds of degrees to community colleges wouldn’t change their collective mission so much as build upon it. The system’s mission is focused on workforce, credentials and degrees, as well as meeting unmet needs in local areas.

Community colleges are also hoping to make changes to the Last-Dollar Scholarship Program, a scholarship fund which Shields said has been underspent, especially as the list of career fields included in the scholarship has been limited. The Last-Dollar Scholarship Program provides eligible students attending a community college with enough money to fill any gaps left between their financial aid and the cost of tuition and fees.

The Iowa Workforce Development Board voted in spring 2025 to limit the number of job fields that students must enroll in a program related to in order to receive Last-Dollar Scholarship funding, a decision that eliminated careers in law enforcement, medical and dental assisting, wastewater and more. Shields said the program has been underspent the last couple of years, due to an income cap implemented a few years ago and what jobs were eligible for the program, and the new limitations on eligible job fields will “constrict” the money that’s supposed to be going to students even more.

One bill has already been filed ahead of the Jan. 12 start of the session, which would make changes to requirements for career academy courses, the articulation agreement between community colleges and state universities and programming aimed at helping high school students afford a concurrent education. The proposed legislation, if adopted, would require career academies to offer at least two units of secondary education, one of which must meet requirements of a “district-to-community college sharing or concurrent enrollment program,” the bill explanation stated.

Shields said conversations around career and technical education credit transfers, as well as establishing more dedicated funding for high school students hoping to earn those credits, have been ongoing for a couple of years as concurrent enrollment has grown.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – Polk County is facing more lawsuits brought by individuals detained in the county jail by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Polk, Woodbury, Muscatine and other Iowa counties have been sued by numerous jail inmates in recent months, each alleging they’ve been unlawfully detained in county jails by ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

An exact count of all the lawsuits against Iowa jails is difficult to calculate given the fact that Iowa’s county jails typically don’t disclose the names of inmates who are being held at the direction of ICE. In addition, public access to the federal court records related to those detentions is tightly restricted. However, the available records show Polk County, ICE and DHS are named as defendants in at least three additional cases recently filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

Lt. Mark Chance of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that 68 of the 993 inmates now housed at the Polk County Jail are detainees of DHS or ICE. Nationally and in Iowa, many of the lawsuits surrounding ICE detainees involve the Trump administration’s six-month-old effort to expand its “mandatory detention” policy. Under that policy, ICE is holding people in jail indefinitely as their immigration cases proceed, while arguing those individuals are not entitled to a hearing where they can argue for their release on bond.

Politico recently reported that more than 300 federal judges, including appointees of every president since Ronald Reagan, have rejected the administration’s “mandatory detention” theory in more than 1,600 cases. The courts’ near-universal rejection of the administration’s position has not prevented the U.S. Department of Justice from continuing to use that rationale to jail people indefinitely. In fact, the DOJ recently appealed one judge’s ruling against ICE after it resulted in a woman’s release from the Muscatine County Jail.

(IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – The Iowa Supreme Court says Iowans who are given court-appointed attorneys should not have to pay legal fees if the criminal charges against them are dismissed.

Friday’s ruling by the court stems from a case involving Ronald Pagliai, who was facing criminal charges related to allegations of shoplifting when he requested and was granted a court-appointed attorney. Two of the charges were later dropped after Pagliai agreed to plead guilty in two separate cases. He later argued that he shouldn’t have to reimburse the state of the cost of his defense in the cases that were dropped by prosecutors.

As part of Pagliai’s plea deal, the state had agreed to dismiss the two charges with the understanding that Pagliai would pay the costs in the dismissed cases, which included $329.85 to reimburse the state’s indigent defense fund, plus $160 in filing fees. Pagliai then challenged the district court’s authority to assess costs against a defendant for charges the court had agreed to dismiss.

In its ruling, the Iowa Supreme Court found that the district court had no statutory authority to dispose of the cases by ordering Pagliai to pay defense costs in dismissed cases. It then remanded the matter to district court, giving the state two options as to how the case can proceed: The state can vacate only the order assessing fees and costs to Pagliai, or it can vacate the entire plea bargain, the resulting convictions, the sentences, and the order for payment.

The justices noted that if the state opts to reinstate the charges that had been dismissed as part of a previously agreed-to plea deal, if can then file “any additional charges supported by the available evidence.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa was among the public-interest groups that filed an amicus brief in the case, arguing that defendants shouldn’t foot the bill for legal fees when the state agrees to dismiss charges.

Alex Kornya, director of litigation for the Legal Aid Justice Center and cooperating attorney for the ACLU of Iowa in the case, said that while the court’s decision provides relief for Iowans moving forward, it also creates a dilemma for Iowans who may open themselves to additional charges by challenging the validity of their own court-ordered payments.

“That basic problem is that thousands of Iowans already, collectively, owe millions of dollars in cases, even though they were convicted of no crime,” he said. “It could present a difficult choice regarding the risk of the prosecution being able to refile charges. Realistically, that may prevent many people who have had debt assessed in the past from being able to take advantage of the court’s decision today.”

(Iowa DNR News) – The final deer seasons are the two January antlerless deer only seasons – the Population Management January Antlerless Season and the Excess Tag January Antlerless Season. Both seasons run from Jan. 11-25, but there are differences between the two.

The Population Management January Antlerless Season is available only in Allamakee, Appanoose, Decatur, Lucas, Monroe, Wayne and Winneshiek counties if there are more than 100 antlerless tags available in that county on Dec. 22. Since all seven counties met that requirement, all seven will be open. Hunters participating in the population management January antlerless season may use bows, muzzleloaders, handguns, shotguns, crossbows, or rifles .223 caliber and larger, as a method of take.

The Excess Tag January Antlerless-deer-only season will be available in all counties with unsold county antlerless tags at midnight on January 11.

Currently, counties with unsold antlerless tags include Adair, Allamakee, Appanoose, Clarke, Clayton, Dallas, Davis, Decatur, Fayette, Guthrie, Jefferson, Lee, Lucas, Madison, Monroe, Taylor, Union, Van Buren, Wapello, Warren, Wayne, and Winneshiek.

County specific license quota information is available in real time online and can be found here: (select 5 – Resident Antlerless Deer By County) https://gooutdoorsiowa.com/RealTimeQuotas.aspx?_gl=1*t0k6x8*_gcl_au*ODkwNTQ1MjUxLjE3MzQzNzEzMjA.

Licenses will be available beginning January 11 until quotas are filled. The season is open through January 25, 2026. Due to the compressed timeline, these licenses will not be available online. Only antlerless deer may be taken during the Excess Tag January Antlerless-only season. Hunters participating in the excess tag January antlerless season may only use rifles from .223 caliber to .500 caliber as a method of take.

Hunters are reminded that their 2025 licenses expire on January 10. Hunters will need a valid 2026 license and habitat fee to hunt beginning January 11.

If a county meets the qualifying criteria for a January Antlerless-only season, then Landowner / Tenant (LOT) tags will also be available for registered landowners / tenants for use on qualifying property within those counties. When / if the county antlerless quota runs out in any of these counties, LOT January tags will still remain available. LOT January Season tags will be available for purchase only from vendors in open January Season counties.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate is asking lawmakers to make it easier for his office to dissolve the registration of fraudulent businesses. Every business that’s incorporated in Iowa must file paperwork with the secretary of state’s office. Pate says some fraudulent companies register using a legitimate street address — and the person who lives at that address winds up being harassed by creditors and others looking for the dishonest business owner.

“The bill we’re proposing is a starting point that would give us the authority and the ability to expedite dissolving that company…so those poor homeowners aren’t getting besieged with these kind of creditor calls and things like that,” Pate says. Pate says the process his office has to use in these situations is too cumbersome and takes way too long.

“If we know that they’re not real and they’re using a bogus address, we should just be able to dissolve them,” Pate says. Pate’s office also oversees elections. Pate says he’s pleased with recently adopted changes in the election recount process and enhanced checks of voter eligibility and will not seeking major election law changes this year.

(Radio Iowa) – A report by Common Sense Institute Iowa finds Iowa has one of the most affordable housing markets in the country. Institute spokesman Ben Murrey says the state ranks eighth in the country when factoring in property taxes, and 11th for affordability relative to what its residents earn.

“There are states that are very affordable in absolute terms, but wages are very low, and affordability doesn’t help them as much, whereas in Iowa, we have pretty good earnings relative to what housing costs here in Iowa,” he says. The report also found through September, the average Iowan needs to work 38 hours a week to be able to afford a mortgage payment for a single family home. That’s 14 hours a week less than the national average.

Murrey says the report also found Iowa is on track to eliminate its housing shortage by the end of 2028. “Price is a function of supply and demand. So in order to keep affordability up, we want to see a healthy growth in housing supply, and a lot of what’s driven housing prices so much higher around the country is just demand outpacing supply,” Murrey says.

The report estimates Iowa will have a deficit of nearly 16-thousand homes by the end of this year.

DES MOINES — Officials with the Iowa Democratic Party have announced the locations of the 2026 in-person precinct caucuses. The in-person caucuses will take place on February 2, 2026 at 7 p.m.

The current list of caucus locations is available at https://iowademocrats.org/caucus-locations/. The list will continue to be updated between now and February 2 as the 99 county party organizations complete their preparations. In a news release, Iowa Democratic Part Chair Rita Hart said “In 2025, Iowans showed they are ready for change with Democratic candidates overperforming by an average of 22 points in six special elections. In 2026, the Caucuses are the first opportunity to get involved in our campaign for change. If you think Iowa is going in the wrong direction and are ready for new leadership, join your local Democratic Party and get involved the evening of February 2.”

Along with planning for organizing in 2026, the Iowa Democratic Party will conduct traditional party business at the in-person precinct caucuses including electing delegates and alternate delegates to county conventions, electing county central committee members and submitting platform resolutions for county conventions.

(Radio Iowa) – State Treasurer Roby Smith is recommending that the legislature update Iowa tax law to match recent federal changes for the so-called five-29 (529) accounts — accounts created to save and pay for college costs as well as expenses for private K-through-12 schooling. “We have a good amount of people that are saving from obviously from birth or just a year or two old, so they can choose to use it when they want,” Smith says. “They can use it for K-12 expenses…curriculum materials, books, those types of things or they can leave it in there all the way for college if they’d like.”

The One Big Beautiful Bill President Trump signed in July doubled the amount people can withdraw annually for a student enrolled at a private or religious K-12 school. It had been 10-thousand dollars a year — but it’s 20-thousand per student, starting this year. The money may also be spent on different things, including tutoring and fees for tests like the A-C-T. “So we just want to codify that in code to make sure it’s clear that Iowans can use their 529 money for those expenses and not have to pay any additional taxes on them,” Smith says.

There’s no federal limit on how much a person can save in a five-29 account, but each state sets limits on the amount that’s tax deductible. In 2024, the Iowa legislature raised that amount to 55-hundred dollars a year that can be deposited tax-free into a five-29 account.

(Radio Iowa) – The 2026 Iowa legislative session starts Monday — and one of the top Republicans in the Iowa House is predicting there will be pressure to wrap things up as quickly as possible. Representative John Wills of Spirit Lake is Speaker Pro Tem, the third ranking Republican in the Iowa House. “We’ve got a lot of legislators who are running for higher officer…for congress and for governor,” Wills said. “…I think there’s going to be some desire to get out of Des Moines this year — and that’s good thing.”

Three state senators and five representatives are running for federal office, plus another member of the Iowa House is running for governor. Wills expects bills to emerge on the use of eminent domain for the carbon pipeline and to limit property tax increases, but beyond that, Wills says legislators will deal with a bunch of smaller issues. “I don’t think it’s going to be that robust of a session,” Wills said. “There’s just not a lot of appetite for a lot of discussion, any talk about big ticket items.” Wills has served in the Iowa House since 2015 and is seeking re-election in November.

Here are legislators who are running for higher office, seeking to represent, or are from, western/southwest Iowa:

• State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott of West Des Moines is running in the Democratic Primary in Iowa’s third congressional district
• State Representative Josh Turek of Council Bluffs is running in the Democratic Primary for the U.S. Senate.
• State Representative Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley is running in the Republican Primary in Iowa’s fourth congressional district
• State Representative Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights is running in the Democratic Primary in Iowa’s third congressional district.

(Radio Iowa) – Inmates at the state prison in Newton began building homes in 2019 –and the program has reached a major milestone. The 150th modular home built on a 100-acre site inside the prison complex was delivered to Mason City this week. Melissa Schoneberg is executive director of Habitat for Humanity of North Central Iowa, the organization that received the nearly move-in-ready house. “All we have left to do now is to hook it up with the water and sewer and things like that, electrical, and then get the flooring and appliances in, a few touch-ups. It did go across the state, so there’s a few things they come and fix a little drywall, but it’s in awesome shape. A little dirty from the road, you know,” she said, laughing, “but other than that it’s going to be ready as soon as the homeowner gets her hours done, the sweat equity hours that they are required to do, and then we can get her in there.”

Iowa’s Department of Corrections and Prison Industries works with Habitat for Humanity programs throughout the state on the “Homes for Iowa” program. Schoenberg says it’s the first time one of the houses has been provided to her organization — which serves Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Hancock, Winnebago, and Wright Counties. “It’s wonderful because we typically do one to three houses a year, and right now we have 11 house projects going at the same time,” she says, “so this helps to fill the gap of one house for us to get done.” Schoneberg says there is a housing crisis in Iowa and this program is not only addressing it, but giving inmates at the Newton prison work skills they can use when they’re paroled.

“The cost of construction is so high now…It’s hard to find subcontractors that have time,” Schoneberg said. “With the Homes for Iowa program, they train people that are incarcerated job skills, so that they can become contractors and subcontractors when they get out of prison…and it also helps those prisoners to learn skills so they don’t go back into the system.”

So far, over 160 of the inmates who’ve gone through the program have become certified in one of the construction trades, like carpentry or welding. Each house built in the “Homes for Iowa” program has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The program has placed homes in more than 50 counties in the past five years.