The Des Moines Register
ON AIR, OFF TRACK?
When a local shoe company found themselves with 50 left shoes — just the left ones, mind you — Van Harden had an idea. The longtime host of WHO Radio’s morning show, “Van & Bonnie,” told the station’s staff members to each take one and find a place for...
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Arts center proposal repurposes City Hall
A group led by longtime Des Moines philanthropists Pamela Bass-Bookey and Harry Bookey is proposing a dramatic transformation of the East Village. The group calls for a new nationalcaliber performing arts center built on the riverfront next to the...
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DATA DISMAY
WOODWARD – Tensions flared in this Dallas County town as hundreds of residents packed a school auditorium to learn about a proposed Microsoft data center, with one man forcibly removed after confronting the mayor and others questioning why the city had...
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LAST CALL FOR A ‘LEGEND’
AMES – When Bill Fennelly took over the Iowa State women’s basketball team before the 1995-96 season, he inherited a program that barely drew any fans and had endured losing season after losing season. The Davenport native turned the Cyclones into a...
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Cournoyer, Wettach offer competing approaches for Iowa auditor’s office
This fall, Iowans will select the state’s next auditor from a matchup between a Republican lieutenant governor and a Democratic political newcomer. Current state Auditor Rob Sand, a Democrat, opted to run for governor, rather than run for...
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Honor flight relieves vet’s long-held guilt
Verne Wonderlich Verne Wonderlich’s Oct. 7, a day shy of his 76th birthday, was almost like any of his other days. It would have been another nearmiss in the life of a 40-year veteran of the Iowa National Guard. Would have been, if not for an old...
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Iran war, immigration and ethics hot topics
Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson and Democrat Josh Turek squared off over immigration, the Iran war and ethics in their first televised debate ahead of the November midterms in Iowa’s closely watched U.S. Senate race. The debate comes as early...
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Another pitch for Des Moines stadium
A downtown Des Moines pro soccer stadium that the group that holds Major League Soccer’s Kansas City franchise proposed would house the group’s feeder team on a site with a commanding, skyline view of Iowa’s capital city. It sets city leaders on a...
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Playtime is over
Two days after the long-awaited sale of Valley West Mall closed, the Des Moines Children’s Museum, a tenant at the mall for nine years, got a letter from Project 1551. Delivered by a courier Thursday, Oct. 1, the company, which is overseeing the...
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FORGING JOBS
the incentive package for Mesabi Metallics’ proposed Lee County steel plant will be one of the priciest efforts at job creation in Iowa history. h If the company hires 1,750 employees as promised, the $1.36 billion in tax credit rebates Iowa is...
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5 TAKEAWAYS FROM SPECIAL SESSION
Iowa legislators convened for a oneday special legislative session Oct. 2 where they committed $1.36 billion in tax credits for the construction of a southeast Iowa steel plant that many cheered as “transformational.” But it didn’t happen without some...
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Ethics complaints against Rep. Lundgren dismissed
A House committee voted to shelve an ethics complaint filed against a state lawmaker over use of official resources for a character statement on behalf of a man convicted of lascivious acts with a child. The complaint filed by Kaylara Hoadley of Mason...
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Lawmakers prep steel deal
Executives from Mesabi Metallics made their first public pitch to Iowa lawmakers during a Friday, Oct. 2 special session as legislators considered approving $1.36 billion in state tax incentives to construct an Iowa steel plant. “We expect to, again,...
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$1,360,000,000 CREDIT
Iowa lawmakers have been told that a state tax incentive package for a new $15 billion steel plant in southeast Iowa could be worth as much as $1.36 billion over a decade. Iowa Economic Development Authority Director Debi Durham presented the numbers...
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BEHIND THE STEEL
President Donald Trump’s announcement of a steel plant coming to Lee County could transform the economy of the rural southeast Iowa community. Hailed by the president on Monday, Sept. 28, as “the largest steel plant in American history,” the project...
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Reynolds calls back Iowa lawmakers
Gov. Kim Reynolds is calling the Iowa Legislature to convene for a special session to pass tax incentives for a new $15 billion steel plant in southeast Iowa — a move that comes just weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The session will be held...
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Steel project hailed as ‘transformational’
Surrounded by Iowa politicians, Republican President Donald Trump announced Monday, Sept. 28, from the Oval Office that Mesabi Metallics is planning to invest $15 billion into building a steel mill in Iowa. According to the White House, the project...
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Fifth-grade field trip turns tragic; 2 drown
SOLON — A “tragic accident” during a fifth-grade field trip at Lake Macbride has left a teacher and a 10-year-old child dead, according to the Johnson County Sheriff ’s Office. The University of Iowa Police Department and sheriff ’s deputies were...
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LAST GASP
Candidates for Iowa’s competitive governor, Senate and House races are rushing to outline plans to lower gas and diesel prices as costs hit voters’ pocketbooks and wreck farmers’ income just six weeks before Election Day. The average price for regular...
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Stores adjust to suit GLP-1 users
Every day, Hy-Vee pharmacy manager Erin Jensen dispenses prescriptions for GLP-1 drugs, the weight-loss medications that have more than tripled in popularity in the last two years in the United States. The percentage of Americans on weight-loss drugs...
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Record diesel prices squeeze U.S. farmers
WASHINGTON – In northeast Missouri, Addie Yoder, a corn, soybean and cattle farmer, runs two combines, three semi-trucks and several tractors from mid-September to late October to harvest and transport her crops. With diesel prices at record highs and...
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Java jolt
The local coffee scene welcomes five new cafes, and two more are on the way
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VP casts midterms as crazy vs. sensible
COUNCIL BLUFFS – Republican Vice President JD Vance said the coming midterm election is a fight over “commonsense versus crazy,” and he cast Iowa governor candidate Rob Sand as the face of extremist Democrats. “This election is a referendum on...
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U.S. human rights scores nosediving
In the lead-up to the 2026 midterm elections, how is the U.S. government performing in terms of human rights? Listening to politicians, it can be difficult to know. On one hand, some have pointed to a number of potential human rights abuses committed...
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HOPE
A 102-year-old Catholic church and school in Waterloo. A nearly 130-yearold former U.S. Army post in Des Moines. A 69-year-old Lutheran church blocks from the Iowa Capitol. What these historic buildings all have in common is not the purposes they once...
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ROUGH
Des Moines’ elected leaders gave reluctant approval to an $11.5 million budget package with cuts to nearly every city department. Des Moines City Council members voted 6-1 on service cuts and new revenue raisers on Monday, Sept. 14, seeking to ward...
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Iowa students score big with Hy-Vee deal
The three college students stood behind their display table in matching blue golf polos with their company name printed on the chest. None is older than 20, but these friends from West Des Moines are entrepreneurs who now have a deal to put their...
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Mail-in ballot rules risk voter confusion
Midterm ballots are already being mailed to voters even as the courts continue to consider whether the U.S. Postal Service can be involved in deciding who gets a mail-in ballot. h Twenty states will soon send mail-in ballots to voters or already have,...
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Mexico, U.S. sprint toward trade deal
MEXICO CITY – Mexico and the United States are racing to reach a bilateral trade deal before the U.S. midterm elections in less than eight weeks, according to six sources in both countries familiar with the talks, an effort made more urgent by the...
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WE REMEMBER
As the United States marked 25 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Americans across the country gathered to honor the nearly 3,000 people who perished and to reflect on the day that forever changed the nation. Loved ones of those...
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American aftershock from 9/11 lingers on
A quarter-century later, 9/11 still echoes. The worst terrorist attack in U.S. history has been followed by other seismic events, from a once-in-a -century global pandemic to the rise of artificial intelligence that is transforming commerce, education...
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Peeking inside Iowa’s only nuclear plant
PALO — Ray Wheaton warned visitors to hang onto their hard hats when looking into the deep, water-filled chamber that once housed the reactor core of the 615-megawatt Duane Arnold nuclear plant. “We don’t want them falling into the cavity. That’s a...
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THE BEEF OVER BEEF
Mary Howe loves steak. But the retired mortician, who gets by on Social Security benefits with her husband, doesn’t buy it anymore. “I just really gotta watch it,” the 67year-old said at the Hy-Vee on Valley West Drive in West Des Moines. “Hamburger’s...
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TPS holders in Iowa face uncertain futures
Like many others who live far from home, Illia Yamchuk keeps up with his family through pictures and videos sent by loved ones. h Yamchuk has watched his nieces and nephews celebrate their birthdays in bomb shelters, blowing out their candles amid the...
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Drake apartment projects slowed, still progressing
Two apartment projects in the Drake neighborhood have fallen behind their planned completion dates. Once completed, the developments, UA Station and Valo, will add 167 housing units and retail space to the Drake University Dogtown business district,...
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If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
Our Sunday refresh offers more local news and sports, as well as “Weekend Exclusive” content to help you navigate your lives. So enjoy your Sunday reading filled with stories that will inspire, educate, inform and entertain you.
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Firefighters union warns cuts could increase calls
The Des Moines firefighters’ union and city leaders are pushing back on proposed cuts to the city’s fire department, saying that program reorganization and fewer staff could mean lower efficiency and longer wait times for residents. Des Moines City...
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Site of once-thriving mall gets new lifeline
The four-year search for a buyer and developer for the bankrupt Valley West Mall may be nearing its end. A Polk County judge approved a purchase agreement between a new buyer for the West Des Moines mall and its court-appointed receiver, according to...
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Voting, voters by the numbers
The Iowa Secretary of State’s office posted the statewide statistical report for June’s primary election at the end of July, to little fanfare. It’s a breakdown of who voted in the election by party, age and gender. There are a lot of numbers in a lot...
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BACK WITH HIS TEAMMATES
In the dim light of his room at the rehabilitation center, Layne Hearne parks his wheelchair at the foot of his bed and crosses his arms over his chest. The overhead fluorescent bulbs are switched off, but light spills in from the hallway — through...
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Cancer clinic sale costly for patients
TFirst of two parts. im Day was determined to bring a positive attitude to his treatment after a scary stage 4 cancer diagnosis in 2019. But he learned soon enough he’d need to bring a lot of money, too. Aggressive prostate cancer, already...
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New study calculates cost of tariffs in Iowa
Ton and David Stam had grand plans for how they wanted to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their Chocolaterie Stam business in the coming year. Then came President Donald Trump’s tariffs. The owners of the European chocolate shops, with locations...
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WATER WARS
Iowa water quality emerges as key 2026 issue as GOP targets Muhlbauer.
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Iran, mediators focus on reopening Hormuz
DUBAI – Iran condemned the United States’ new economic sanctions on Aug. 28 as “state terrorism” and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them. The Iranian foreign ministry’s statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to...
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Iowa clergy also stuck in immigration limbo
Some of Apou Aderbuk’s friends and family don’t quite understand why the 28-year-old is pursuing the life she chose. The South Sudanese woman left her home and family, including her four children, to come to the United States and pursue her American...
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Familiar path for Reynolds at Fair
The women knew Gov. Kim Reynolds would be at Chuckies. h Normally, this group of friends meets up for a picture with the governor and their annual, “How ya doin’?” at the Iowa State Fair’s historical walking tour, but, this year, the kickoff was rained...
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LOVE, ALWAYS
Dolly Parton, the “Queen of Country” singing and songwriting icon with a personality as bold as her signature blond coif and rhinestoneencrusted outfits, has died. She was 80. Parton’s death was announced by her family on her social media pages and...
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School’s back, but Moulton detours
It was raining and thundering as dozens of Moulton Elementary students waited for a bus to take them to their new classrooms on the first day of school. Their old Des Moines school slated for demolition, the kids sheltered under the eaves of the...
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Folksy fun combines with intense politics
Iowa’s candidates for governor have capped off an Iowa State Fair week as loaded as a hot beef sundae. h They flipped pork, served up eggs on sticks, cooed at baby animals, conducted interviews and posed for selfies along the fair’s Grand Concourse...
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Baked with love
When Iowa’s famed “Pie Lady” passed away, fair friends found a sweet way to remember her. Read the story behind the memorial green tomato pie contest, and find the winning recipe inside.
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IOWA POTATO FOR PERFECT POUTINE
The best poutine needs a particular kind of potato. The Goldilocks spud? High starch, low sugar. That’s the perfect combo for the deliciously appetizing toasted amber of crisp outside and soft inside. High starch, you see, keeps the potato pillowy,...
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TENT
On a sweltering August afternoon at the Iowa State Fair, the longest lines often aren’t for pork chops on a stick or deep-fried novelties. Increasingly, fairgoers wind toward a different kind of Iowa staple: the Iowa Craft Beer Tent. It has grown from...
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Rob Sand, Zach Lahn pitch cancer plans
“To me, when people have access to care, everyone does better.” Rob Sand State Auditor, Democratic candidate for governor Iowa’s two candidates for governor are laying out policy prescriptions they hope will reverse the state’s sky-high cancer rates...
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This Iowa State Fair garden brings hope
Caitlin Remington, On this little patch at the reaches of the Iowa State Fair, what, exactly, will grow is the question at hand for this group of high school plant scientists. There’s the Iowa climate to consider, of course, which is, being kind,...
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Happy Meal ordering woes feed innovation
McDonald’s seems like the safest bet for lunch. Tin Lam, then about 14 and a recent immigrant from south Vietnam, doesn’t speak a lick of English. We’re talking: “Hello.” “Yes.” “No.” “Thank You.” That’s it. But when he’d gone to the same McDonald’s...
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Crowds turn out for Soapbox speeches
Neither rain nor oppressive humidity could stop Iowans from appearing for the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox, an Iowa State Fair tradition. Nearly two-dozen candidates are scheduled to speak at the Soapbox during the State Fair.
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Story County considers renewing contract for 2 license plate cameras
Story County is considering a contract renewal to keep a pair of license-plate-recognition cameras in place in Ames. Flock Safety Group offers LPR cameras, or automated license plate readers, that automatically detect and record license plate...
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Nightmare trip ends in a Field of Dreams
DYERSVILLE – One pitch – then two, then three – pop off the barrel of a bat with a crack, halted from dropping into the crowd by the large foul-ball net hung behind home plate. On a baseball field tucked among the cornfields in western Dubuque County,...
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FAIRLY WET
The storm began at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13. Polk County areas were under severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings. By 10 a.m., the rain had calmed down, turning into a drizzle. Despite the less-than-ideal weather, crowds of fairgoers still showed...
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BIG DREAMS
DYERSVILLE — Keith Rahe steps out of his red Dodge Ram truck and surveys a part of the Field of Dreams Movie Site rarely, if ever, seen by fans. The spot is about a quarter of a mile from the diamond made famous by the 1989 film about an Iowa farmer...
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FAST AND FAIR-IOUS
Setup was underway Tuesday, Aug. 11, to prepare for 11 days of livestock competitions, deep-fried goodies, animal calling contests and more. The Iowa State Fair kicks off Thursday, Aug. 13, with an opening ceremony at 9 a.m. Stick around for the Big...
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Lahn: ‘I’ve got to talk to all the voters I can’
FREDERICKSBURG – Republican gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn is ramping up a series of public town halls – hitting the road in an effort to introduce himself to general election voters across the state. And, in a recent swing through northeastern...
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Smithsonian exhibit features Iowa artists
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Debra Wykert was ready to be creative again. Finally. This was 2022 after a few tough years for the family. There was COVID-19, of course, and her husband had been diagnosed with cancer, too, right as the pandemic seeped into our...
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If it’s local you want, we’ve got it.
Our Sunday refresh offers more local news and sports, as well as “Weekend Exclusive” content to help you navigate your lives. So enjoy your Sunday reading filled with stories that will inspire, educate, inform and entertain you.
Read Full Story (Page 1)
Racing fans converge on NASCAR Fan Fest
NASCAR fans gather in downtown Des Moines for Iowa Fan Fest ahead of the Iowa Corn 350 race weekend on Aug. 6 in Des Moines.
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TH N E
For attorneys and litigants not dealing with medical malpractice cases, the recently concluded Iowa Supreme Court term may have been a quiet one. Iowa’s highest court heard and decided 107 cases in its 2025-26 term, which concluded June 30. While the...
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Impending budget shortfall may hit police At ‘bare minimums’ but cuts considered
Des Moines’ looming budget gap may mean cuts to the Des Moines Police Department, even as officers say they’re stretched too thin with inadequate staffing and an increasing workload. City police officers say Des Moines already has an insufficient...
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Blanche gets closer to becoming the AG
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche won the support of a key Senate committee Aug. 4 to be confirmed in his role permanently, but his pathway to approval from the full Senate isn’t assured. The 12-10 Senate Judiciary Committee vote on party lines...
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Family Leader wins Polk tax break
The Family Leader Foundation, a high-profile Iowa conservative group, has won its fight to exempt its new headquarters in rural northeast Polk County from paying property taxes. The nonprofit Christian organization led by prominent activist Bob Vander...
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HINTERLAND 2026 TAKES A BOW
Hinterland Music Festival wrapped up its 2026 event Sunday night after a weekend of music cascading across genres and cultures. Music-lovers flock to St. Charles yearly for the event, which this year was anchored by musical acts KATSEYE, Lorde, Mumford...
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‘My flesh was cooking’ HEAT HITS UNHOUSED
Selma Stewart woke up on July 26 with a clear goal in mind: Find a way to get out of the heat and into a place with air conditioning. Stewart, 36, has been living outside in encampments or in shelters since 2024. On that hot Sunday, when the heat...
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‘WITCH OF WOKE’
Piano notes filled St. James Lutheran Church as self-described “free-range” pastor Sarah Trone Garriott led congregants in worship. Wearing a traditional white alb as she stood before the churchgoers in Johnston, the Lutheran minister and state...
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State House, Senate hopefuls amass cash
Democratic state legislative candidates in several of Iowa’s most competitive races hold a firm cash advantages over their Republican opponents as the Nov. 3 general election approaches, new filings show. But GOP leaders are amassing hefty war chests...
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Dem Sand stumps in Iowa’s deep red areas
SANBORN — About 40 minutes into Rob Sand’s O’Brien County town hall, Sutherland resident Chuck Virgil takes the microphone. “There’s a lot of things I’d like to talk about,” the 78-year-old lifelong Republican said, launching into a conversation about...
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