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Former Davenport city attorney reprimanded for settlement talks

on Wed, 06/10/2026 - 19:16   by Clark Kauffman

Iowa Capital Dispatch
June 9, 2026

The Attorney Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Iowa has sanctioned a former attorney for the City of Davenport for allegedly withholding information from select city aldermen.

Former Davenport City Attorney Thomas D. Warner violated professional ethics rules by excluding elected officials from critical financial settlement discussions and also by acting without authorization from the full Davenport City Council, the board recently concluded.

The board’s order of public reprimand states that, as the city’s attorney, Warner had intentionally communicated only with select city council members, opting to exclude others from settlement discussions before entering into agreements exceeding $50,000 without obtaining the approval that’s required by law.

Iowa groups sue EPA over contaminated water evaluations

on Tue, 05/19/2026 - 19:19   by Anonymous

by Kadin Luhmann, Iowa Capital Dispatch
May 18, 2026

Three environmental groups are suing the Trump administration over the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to remove seven Iowa waterways from the state’s Impaired Waters List.

Food and Water Watch, the Iowa Environmental Council (IEC)  and the Environmental Law and Policy Center are asking the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa to order that the EPA relist the seven bodies of water, or require the EPA to issue a final determination.

The IEC said the EPA had previously determined that parts of the Cedar, Des Moines, Racoon, Iowa and South Skunk rivers were contaminated with dangerous nitrate levels months before the waters were removed from the agency’s list in July 2025.

New management, but red ink continues at Davenport-based Lee Enterprises, Inc.

on Sun, 05/10/2026 - 01:50   by news

Davenport-based Lee Enterprises, Inc. – owner of the QC Times and Daily Dispatch/Argus – has a new CEO, a new chief financial officer, several new board members and a new majority owner.

The initial financial results, however, look very much the same: declining revenues and negative earnings.

The company's second quarter results – a loss of $2.2 million – were an improvement from a year ago – a loss of $12.6 million.

U.S. EPA begins review of four Superfund clean-ups including Arconic (Alcoa) site in Riverdale

on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 02:21   by Anonymous

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Monday (5/4/26) it will conduct comprehensive reviews of cleanup work beginning this spring at four Superfund sites, including the Arconic (formerly Alcoa) Davenport Plant site in Riverdale and the Mississippi River Pool 15.

The sites undergo a review every five years to ensure ongoing or completed remediation efforts continue to protect human health and the environment, according to the EPA news release. "Upon completion of the review, EPA will make a Five-Year Review Report available on the Superfund Site Profile page," the EPA stated.

Iowa Legislature passes state education appropriations budget

on Sat, 05/02/2026 - 01:46   by Anonymous

by Brooklyn Draisey, Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 30, 2026

Both chambers of the Iowa Legislature have approved education appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2027, with Democrats decrying what they called straying priorities and a lack of will to fully support Iowa’s students.

House File 2783, as amended in the House to reflect agreement with the Senate, would allocate more than $1 billion to Iowa’s education systems, representing a 1% increase in the budget but keeping funding for the Iowa Board of Regents and Iowa Tuition Grant program flat for the upcoming fiscal year.

Sen. Mike Zimmer, D-DeWitt, thanked his predecessors for investing in public education when he was in high school, as it was the only reason he was able to go to college. He’s paid that investment back several times over, he said, through living, working and raising a family here.

“We didn’t view this as an expense, we viewed it as an economic development to keep people in Iowa,” Zimmer said. “And when I look at the funding that’s in here now, it’s certainly not indicative of looking at Iowans as an investment, it looks at, more as, Iowans as an expense.”

Judge clears ICE’s path to deport asylum-seeker from Iowa to Congo

on Wed, 04/29/2026 - 21:09   by Clark Kauffman

Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 28, 2026

A federal judge has cleared the way for ICE officials to deport a Bolivian asylum-seeker from Iowa to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Noting that José Yugar-Cruz is part of a class of people for whom the Supreme Court has twice issued orders lifting injunctions that prohibited such deportations, U.S. District Judge Stephen H. Locher ruled this week that he had “little choice” but to deny Yugar-Cruz’s motion to have the court block his removal from the United States.

Iowa Senate sends SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin to governor

on Tue, 04/28/2026 - 19:36   by news

by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch
April 27, 2026

The Iowa Senate sent Gov. Kim Reynolds’ “Make America Healthy Again” legislation to her desk Monday, a package that includes SNAP restrictions, over-the-counter ivermectin and several school health and nutrition policies.

House File 2676, passed 30-16, seeks to make permanent the state’s currently implemented waivers restricting the purchase of unhealthy foods through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the the federal Summer EBT program. The bill does this by requiring the state to “continuously request” approval of these waivers.

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