If you left the plant debris and leaves in the perennial garden all winter (a good idea), then spring is the time to do some clean-up. more

In 2021,18 public water systems in Iowa — including municipalities, rural water districts, churches, residential care facilities and mobile home parks — reported nitrate or nitrite levels that exceeded federal safe drinking limits, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) annual drinking water compliance report. more

Immigration was the biggest factor in population growth for the agricultural Midwest, as well as many booming Sun Belt counties, according to a Stateline analysis of new U.S. Census Bureau county estimates. more

Peregrine falcons, once nonexistent in Iowa, hatched and raised at least 36 young falcons in 2024 out of the 17 nests monitored in the state. more

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza was detected in a commercial pullet flock in Buena Vista County Friday, according to the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. more

Iowa farmers and institutions lost an estimated $11.3 million in federal funding to support the purchase of locally raised foods, following the recent termination of two U.S. Department of Agriculture programs. more

Iowa House lawmakers unanimously passed legislation March 13 changing how the crime of misrepresenting an animal as a service animal is charged. more

Iowa American Water more than $40 million in water and wastewater system upgrades last year throughout its service areas. more

March 19, 1975: Eleven-year-old Patrick Richards was safely in the United States after his family was evacuated from Ethiopia. Patrick and his parents, Arthur and Patricia, had been living near the city of Asmara, where Arthur worked for a top-secret satellite communications post. A civil war broke out in the country. Arthur was injured and airlifted to a military hospital in Frankfort, Germany. Patrick and Patricia were able to pack a few belongings before taking shelter at a military base in Asmara. They then flew from Addis Ababa to Athens to Rome before joining Arthur in Germany for a week. Now, Patrick was set to spend the rest of the school year with his grandmother, Mrs. Jessie Richards, in McCausland. He was enrolled in the sixth grade at Virgil Grissom Elementary School. Patrick vividly recounted his recent adventure to The NSP. more

The House had 13 bills related to advancing access to mental health care prior to the first funnel deadline. These bills are described below and now are to be considered by the House Floor and the Senate Committee. more

The Iowa Revenue Estimating Committee released the March forecast and Iowa’s grand economic theory is bringing clarity to our direction. Regardless of the Governor’s rosy picture she and the Republican legislators are unable to cut spending/services fast enough to cover the loss of revenue. I often use the phrase, “it’s not real until it becomes personal” and if it hasn’t already, it’s about to become personal for many Iowans through the loss of services. more

Among the bills the Iowa Senate passed, Senate File 277 made several adjustments and clarifications to the chronic absenteeism policy that we passed last year. We have heard from many parents and schools about the policy, and we took what we heard into consideration when making some changes to the law. more

This week in the Legislature is the first week post-funnel. Initially, all 150 legislators can propose any bill at any time – leading to thousands of bills being filed.  There has to be a system in place to narrow down those bills to the roughly 200 ideas that we will actually consider.  more

"First, the notion that Steve Scheffler was recruited as one of our supporters is completely false. This was the biggest election in the state of Iowa, and Steve was interested in coming as a neutral observer. Steve communicated his neutral position to all of us before, during, and after our central committee meeting, and my team and I fully supported his neutrality ..." more

"It is simply incredible that Paustian and McNulty think that such information is proprietary to them, or that it is in anyway proper to keep fellow central committee members from  contacting one another, indeed that it is in any way collegial not to facilitate contact ..." more

"Mr. Brockmann’s Republican party wants you to sit quietly and wait while the regime tears down our democracy ..." more

"The First District has elected Miller Meeks three times. She is a neighbor we know and trusted doctor who truly cares about people in Iowa ..." more

Stefanie Ducey smiled through the tears. more

Glen L. Keppy, 77, a well-known farmer and life-long resident of Eldridge, died on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Crest Health Center in Davenport. more

Delores ‘Lori’ Marie (Drechsler) Ewoldt, 89, of LeClaire, passed away peacefully in the presence of her family early Saturday, March 15, 2025. She had been living at Bickford Cottage in Davenport for the past 15 months. more