(Radio Iowa) – State Representative Lindsay James, a Democrat from Dubuque, is running for congress in the district currently represented by Republican Congresswoman Ashley Hinson.

James, who is 44 years old, was first elected to the Iowa House in 2018. She is an ordained Presbyterian pastor who has served congregations and worked as a chaplain.

James says passage of President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” has motivated her run because the bill’s cuts to Medicaid threaten rural hospitals and changes in energy-related tax credits will raise utility bills.

James says Hinson, who voted for the bill, has lost her way.

Hinson, who has served in the U.S. House since 2021, says the One Big Beautiful Bill will supercharge the economy and prevents the tax cuts President Trump approved during his first term from expiring. In mid-July, Democrat Kathy Dolter, a retired Army nurse and former dean of nursing at Kirkwood Community College, announced she was running in the second congressional district. Kevin Techau (TECH-ow), a former U-S Attorney, had been running in the district, but cited fundraising difficulties and ended his campaign this summer.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KCAU) – Lewis Central is set to join the Missouri River Activities Conference (MRC), effective 2026-27.

The Titans will join Sioux City East, Sioux City North, Sioux City West, Bishop Heelan, Le Mars, Sergeant Bluff-Luton and both Council Bluffs Jefferson and Lincoln. The Lewis Central Community School Board voted 7-0 in favor of accepting the conference invitation. The matter is set to go back to the MRC to confirm the acceptance.

(Radio Iowa) – New FEDERAL rules that are to go into effect in 2027 will require some Americans enrolled in an expansion of the Medicaid program to prove they’re working at least 80 hours per month — however the law President Trump signed in July lets states implement the changes earlier. Governor Kim Reynolds says the change will take effect in Iowa on January 1st of 2026.

The State of Iowa sought a waiver that would have required able-bodied adults under the age of 65 who are covered by the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan to work 100 hours per month. These are Iowans with slightly higher incomes enrolled in Medicaid under a program expansion approved in 2013. Reynolds expects federal officials release final work requirement guidelines soon.

The work requirements for adults enrolled in expanded Medicaid in Iowa will not apply Iowans with disabilities, serious illnesses or injuries or to parents caring for children under age six. Given those exemptions, Reynolds says state officials estimate about 100-thousand Iowans who aren’t working today will have to show they’re working 80 hours a month or they’ll no longer be eligible for Medicaid coverage.

Democrats and others critics have said some eligible Iowans are likely to lose Medicaid coverage if there’s a glitch in submitting monthly reports and rural hospitals that get a large portion of their revenue from Medicaid will take a financial hit.

(Radio Iowa) – A particularly cruel scam is surfacing in central Iowa that preys on people who’ve lost a pet. Mackenzie Olk, spokeswoman for the Animal Rescue League of Iowa, says the agency is getting calls from people who’ve put up signs or posted online that they’ve lost a dog or cat along with a phone number to call — and scammers are swooping in.

In another version of the scam, a caller who claims to be with the A-R-L has contacted owners of lost pets and falsely claimed the animal was found and needed urgent medical care.

Getting a call like this could send some people into a panic, but Olk says pet owners need to think carefully before blindly sending money to some caller.

Those websites show photos of the pet and basic information about when and where it was found. Olk notes, reputable shelters will never ask for payment up front without giving you the opportunity to visit their facility and see your pet.

(Radio Iowa) – Congressman Zach Nunn says J-B-S has been able to hire replacements for workers at the company’s Ottumwa pork plant who had their visas revoked and are being deported.

Nunn, a Republican from Ankeny, represents the third congressional district, which includes Ottumwa. President Trump ended a federal program that had allowed people from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter the United States and work for up to two years. The move impacted over 200 J-B-S employees in Ottumwa. Nunn says after President Trump’s speech in Des Moines on July 3rd, he had an opportunity to lobby the Trump Administration about updating visa programs for foreign-born workers.

Nunn said. U-S Customs and Border Protection officials say illegal border crossings in July dropped to the lowest level ever in the 43 years the data has been reported.

Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says there is a need for a strong agriculture workforce.

Hinson represents Iowa’s second congressional district. There are no J-B-S meatpacking plants in the district.

(Des Moines, Iowa) – Des Moines authorities recovered a body from the Des Moines River in downtown early Monday morning.

The body was discovered Sunday evening near the Center Street Dam under the Women of Achievement Bridge, according to Des Moines police. Officers and Des Moines fire crews responded around 9 p.m. Sunday, but couldn’t recover the body due to the rapid water flow rate, the close proximity to the dam and darkness.

“The Des Moines Fire Department was able to free the body from the dam and move to a safer position to complete the recovery” around 9 a.m. Monday, according to a DMPD news release.

Police said Sunday that they are investigating a potential connection to a report of a person in the river that officers responded to in the early morning of Aug. 10. At that time, no person was found.

Authorities say they will release an identity once it is confirmed and appropriate family notifications have been made.

(Radio Iowa) – Republican Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks is visiting two companies in the first congressional district today (Monday) to tout the “Big Beautiful Bill” President Trump signed last month.

Miller-Meeks says the bill will boost U-S manfacturing and reduce reliance on foreign competitors. Miller-Meeks was at the Iowa State Fair last week and she describes it as a walking town hall.

As Miller-Meeks spoke with reporters, a man stood nearby criticizing changes in Medicaid that were in the legislation. Miller-Meeks faces potential rematches in both the 2026 Republican Primary and next year’s General Election.

A Davenport pastor who lost to Miller-Meeks in the 2024 G-O-P Primary by 12 points, says he’ll run again in 2026. Democrat Christina Bohannan, a University of Iowa law professor who finished about 800 votes behind Miller-Meeks last November, is also running again. Taylor Wettach, a lawyer from Muscatine, is another Democrat in the race for the first congressional seat. Democrat Bob Krause of Burlington says he’ll run, too. Krause, who served in the state legislature in the 1970s and worked in the Carter Administration, ran for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in 2010 and 2022.

(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Lottery C-E-O Matt Strawn says the first month of the new fiscal year is starting with a little momentum.

Strawn says scratch tickets have remained strong, including a ticket celebrating the Lottery’s 40th anniversary. Sales of national lotto tickets have not been producing large jackpots, but Strawn says Powerball is now above 500 million.

The Powerball jackpot is at an estimated 605 million dollars for tonight’s (Monday) drawing. The other big lotto game continues to struggle.

Iowa Lottery sales in the last fiscal year that ended June 30th were down 11-point-two percent from the previous record fiscal year record. The record year saw five separate lotto game jackpots that exceed one billion dollars.

DES MOINES, Iowa – An Earling, Iowa, man was sentenced on August 15, 2025, to four months in federal prison for wire fraud.

According to public court documents, from September 2021 to October 2022, Mitch William Gross, 34, defrauded his employer, Ruan Transportation Corporation, by using business-related credit cards for personal purchases, including prepaid gift cards, Pokemon cards, and gaming items. Gross submitted falsified receipts and mischaracterized fraudulent charges on his expense reports so that the purchases appeared as legitimate business expenses. His fraudulent purchases totaled over $140,000.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Gross will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Gross was also ordered to pay $146,590.15 in restitution.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Des Moines Police Department.