On "KHOI's Capitol Week," @spencerdirks.bsky.social and I covered a couple of 2026 endorsements, a couple of stories about the Iowans in Congress, and a ton of news from the Iowa legislature in "KHOI's Capitol Week." Here's the audio file and recap: laurabelin.substack.com/p/notable-20...

#IA01 Miller-Meeks, #IA02 Hinson, #IA03 Nunn, and #IA04 Feenstra all voted for the rule—that is, they voted to prevent any House floor votes on Trump's tariffs through the end of July. Rule failed, which means they'll have to take a stand on the tariffs soon.

Amy Tagliareni just announced she’s running for Iowa House district 42 (covering part of Ankeny). The Democratic incumbent here, Heather Matson, is running for Iowa Senate district 21. #ialegis

Leila Staton, community organizer & candidate for Iowa House, is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. She shared her story on Monday while speaking against SSB 3115, a bill that would restrict medication abortion and force providers to give patients false info. www.youtube.com/shorts/8SK83...

New post by Rodney Drenkow: On immigration and the excesses of ICE www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/10/o...

Powerful testimony on Monday from Dr. Teresa Fuller, a family physician in rural Iowa, against an Iowa Senate bill to restrict abortion medications and require physicians to provide medically inaccurate information to Iowans seeking an abortion. #ialegis www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqpJ...

Appreciate that Jess Djukanovic is speaking out about what she went through trying to get an abortion with a non-viable pregnancy in Iowa: iowastartingline.com/2026/02/04/i...

On Monday an Iowa Senate subcommittee considered a bill that would limit no-fault divorce. Most comments strongly opposed GOP Senator Jesse Green's bill. Fellow Republican Scott Webster said he would only support the bill with major amendments. My video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfeE...

You can listen to tonight's show now on podcast platforms or smart speakers: "KHOI's Capitol Week" Tomorrow I'll send the audio file & a detailed written recap (for those who would rather read than listen) on my free email newsletter: laurabelin.substack.com

In a few minutes Spencer Dirks and I will be live on KHOI radio to talk about another very busy week in Iowa politics. 89.1 FM in the Ames listening area or online: www.khoifm.org (will be on podcast platforms later as "KHOI's Capitol Week")

New post: Randy Evans remembers the life and work of Judge Robert Pratt, who died unexpectedly in late January, and important rulings by two sitting federal judges. www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/09/g...

New post by Dan Hunter: Was Ian Roberts "the best of the worst"? www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/08/w...

It's not even midnight and we're already at "Deport Elmo."

Unidos somos América.

“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.” MAGA wanted you to boycott this.

New post: Bruce Lear reacts to comments from Iowa's Republican candidates for governor about K-12 education funding and the state's "school choice" program. www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/08/g...

Mazel tov and happy 4th birthday, Bolts! 🎂🎂🎂🎂 Everyone please follow @boltsmag.org & @taniel.bsky.social for just about the best local political coverage (and how those local events play into regional and national trends!) around.

NEW: The Trump admin certainly put on a show last week about changing tactics in Minnesota after ICE agents killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old VA nurse. Trump even suggested it's time for "a softer touch." Except residents say nothing has changed. At all. www.huffpost.com/entry/ice-mi...

Chasing the clicks should not be the primary guide for any newsroom, let alone a leading national newspaper. Sad.

The implication that Bad Bunny is not a natural born citizen because of language and appearance is a sign of our constitutional and moral decay.

"For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump’s entire political career...cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism." (gift link)

New "Iowa Down Ballot" dropped! Dave, Kathie, and I discussed House members grilling Des Moines Public School officials, an explosive House subcommittee meeting, bills related to nursing homes, and some news from the #IA04 and #IAGov races. iowawriterscollaborative.substack.com/p/iowa-down-...

New post by Al Charlson: The real story for U.S. soybean producers is the shift in worldwide trade relationships since Donald Trump’s 2018 tariffs on China. www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/06/3...

I asked Taylor Wettach, the Democrat running for Iowa state auditor, if there are any particular agencies or programs he would want to audit if elected. "One big area of focus," he said, would be "following the money on the school voucher program." www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNHT...

They made up a whole story about a White House staffer posting ut in the middle of the night, and Trump just goes Leeroy Jenkins and says, "You're goddamn right I ordered the Code Red!"

Even my six year old's response when he heard my husband tell me this was but it's Black History Month?!

This is an important explanation of how Epstein manipulated the girls … by the journalist who broke the case:

No wonder he was first to capitulate to Trump's demands early on, selling out the lawyers who worked for him and making it more dangerous for the rest of the bar to oppose Trump's extortion.

The X account that created the video Donald Trump shared depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes was previously behind the clip the US president shared that portrayed him as a pilot dumping excrement on "No Kings" protesters. Note the matching watermark.

Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley took Qs from reporters Thursday. Topics covered included: -proposal to rescind school vaccine requirements -other bad education bills -education funding -casino smoking ban exception -eminent domain -judges' safety concerns Video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HHk...

New post by Kali White VanBaale: "I ask you to listen not just to data, but to the lived experiences of Iowans like me—people who love someone with mental illness and are desperate for a system that shows up when it matters most." #ialegis #mentalhealth www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/05/o...

Weird: Yesterday an Iowa House Ag subcommittee considered a bill on buffer strips (a practice to improve water quality). Public comments were all in favor. So was Democrat @jdscholten.bsky.social. But Rs on the subcommittee killed the bill. I asked JD what happened: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iElR...

I'm as annoyed by the grifty Democratic fundraising emails as anyone, but they are nothing compared to the grifty (and bigoted) Republican pitches for money. From my inbox today: "JOIN THE SHARIA FREE AMERICA CLUB"

They have made clear that it was never just about illegal immigration: they hate all immigrants.

Forgot to link to text of House Study Bill 668, introduced by Iowa House Judiciary Committee chair Steven Holt: www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/... Strikes references to affirmative action, "minority" grants and programs, and removes "citizenship" from discrimination protections in state licensing.

Today an Iowa House subcommittee advanced bill to strike references to affirmative action throughout the code, eliminate various grants & programs for "minority" populations, and appears to legalize discrimination against non-citizens in state licensure. My video: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh6h...

I extensively covered the reassertion of state power over the Russian media in late 1990s/early 2000s. A crucial step was oligarchs buying or gaining control over many influential media outlets. Those media owners/shareholders changed editorial policy, fired people, etc to curry favor with Kremlin.

The Washpost's editor said today that, amid the layoffs, one of the Post's top priorities will be "national security, in DC and abroad." And at the same time, the Post is laying off every journalist in the Middle East. And Ukraine.

New post: Six Iowa House Democrats (including @levinforiowa.bsky.social) share some of the positive and negative feedback they heard on their statewide education listening tour.  www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/04/l...

Freelance rates are also abysmal and haven't changed much in 20+ years, which means they're even worse today. Not only are you not being paid enough, but you don't have the support of an organization behind you. In-depth reporting is much harder as a freelancer.

My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power

Another batch of Trump's judicial nominees refused in their confirmation hearings today to publicly acknowledge that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, which annoyed Sen. Richard Blumenthal enough for him to call them "monkeys" and "puppets"

ICYMI over the weekend: The DNC will allow Iowa Democrats to compete against Michigan and Illinois to become the Midwestern state to hold an early contest in 2028. Reporting by Robin Opsahl of @iowacapitaldispatch.com: www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/04/d...

under different circumstances this is congressional-inquiry level scandal

Better late than never! Here’s the audio file and written recap of Monday’s nights Iowa politics radio show, “KHOI’s Capitol Week.” The show will never take up more than 30 minutes of your time. laurabelin.substack.com/p/trump-in-i...

Today Republicans on the Iowa House Public Safety Committee advanced a bill that would ban local IDs. Democratic State Rep Elinor @levinforiowa.bsky.social talked to me about the benefits of Johnson County's ID program and why this bill would be so harmful: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM0Y...

The House narrowly votes to approve a Senate-passed package of 5 government funding bills + DHS funding (through Feb 13). Trump's signature will end the 4-day partial shutdown. If not for the 21 Dems voting Yes, this bill would have lost.

So much of GOP conspiracy land is simply not understanding how counting works. No one is ever “ahead” or “behind” until the counting is over.

3 yrs ago I started writing a book that is in stores TODAY. It's narrative nonfiction, anti-fascist spy thriller set in Trump era. It's timely as hell & I'm proud of it. A thread of what people are saying abt it & why I hope you'll help make it a bestseller www.simonandschuster.com/books/To-Cat...

I said on last week’s radio show that with Jennifer Konfrst no longer running for Congress in #IA03, I expected EMILY’s List to endorse Sarah Trone Garriott soon. That just happened today. laurabelin.substack.com/p/three-camp...