KIM REYNOLDS

Six GOP-led states are suing the Biden administration over its plan to cancel at least $10,000 in student loan debt for tens of millions of Americans.

Six Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to try and halt its plan to forgive student loan debt for millions of Americans.

In Iowa, more than 10,000 people have died from coronavirus infections. The state has the 19th highest quarterly COVID-19 death rate in the nation, with 135.6 deaths per 100,000 people.

DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz raised the roasted turkey leg like a sword in his Iowa State Fair debut in 2014, the up-and-coming conservative joining a half-dozen other Republican presidential prospects in strolling the Grand Concourse. But they know there needs to be that emphasis that they are here for Iowa Republican candidates,” said Michael Bousselot, a former top aide to Republican Gov. “It's an honor to be here at the Iowa State Fair with you,” he told Grassley, with the politicians surrounded by dozens of news reporters and photographers in the shadow of the century-old brick grandstand. Politicians' food choices and attire at the Iowa State Fair are almost as important as the visits themselves. Kevin Holmes, a Republican from central Iowa, would “absolutely” consider supporting an alternative to Trump in the 2024 caucuses.

Potential White House hopefuls from both parties often swing by Iowa’s legendary state fair during a midterm election year.

Republican state lawmakers this year have been losing in primaries at nearly twice the average rate of the past decade.

Gov. Kim Reynolds' approval with Iowans has risen to over 50%, as she leads Deidre DeJear in the governor's race, the latest Iowa Poll shows.

A 9-year-old boy survived an attack that killed three of his family members at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground on Friday, July 22, 2022. (Lorraine Boogich/Getty Images)MAQUOKETA, Iowa — A 9-year-old boy survived an attack that killed three of his family members at Maquoketa Caves State Park Campground on Friday, according to the mayor of Cedar Falls, Iowa. Like many of you just hearing the news, I’m devastated,” Cedar Falls Mayor Rob Green wrote on Facebook on Friday morning, identifying the survivor of the attack as 9-year-old Arlo Schmidt. Kim Reynolds responded to the shooting Friday afternoon with the following prepared statement:“I’m horrified by the shooting this morning at Maquoketa Caves State Park and devastated by the loss of three innocent lives. As we grieve this unimaginable tragedy, Kevin and I pray for the victims’ family members and the law enforcement officers who responded to the scene.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating a triple-homicide at Maquoketa Caves State Park

As officials searched the 370-acre state park, Krapfl said they found the body of a camper with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Anthony Sherwin, 23, of Nebraska, who they believe was the gunman.

At least a half-dozen GOP presidential prospects are planning Iowa visits this summer now that the state's June primary has come and gone.

Abortion Iowa FILE - Marissa Messinger, of Lake View, Iowa, center, holds a sign during a rally to protest recent abortion bans, May 21, 2019, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) (Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution. “We do not agree that every state supreme court decision is entitled to some minimum try-out period before it can be challenged,” he said. The 2018 decision made Iowa the sixth state — with Alaska, Florida, Kansas, Montana and Minnesota — where abortion rights were recognized by the state’s high court. In Montana, a challenge to abortion restrictions that could test its high court opinion is before the Supreme Court.

The state Supreme Court ruled that a lower court wrongly decided that abortion is a fundamental privacy guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution.

The state Supreme Court ruled that a lower court wrongly decided that abortion is a fundamental privacy guaranteed by the Iowa Constitution.

Abortion Iowa FILE - Marissa Messinger, of Lake View, Iowa, center, holds a sign during a rally to protest recent abortion bans, May 21, 2019, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) (Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday cleared the way for lawmakers to severely limit or even ban abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution. Then Iowa lawmakers could ban abortion in the state without completing the lengthy process of amending the state constitution. The state Supreme Court returned the waiting-period case to district court. In Montana, a challenge to abortion restrictions that could test that state’s high court opinion is before the Supreme Court.

The Iowa Supreme Court has made it easier for lawmakers to limit or outlaw abortion in the state, reversing a decision by the court just four years ago that guaranteed the right to abortion under the Iowa Constitution.

The incumbent Republican and her Democratic challenger are running unopposed in the primary after a well-respected Black Democrat said major political donors in the state refused to meet with him.

Thursday’s violence in the Midwest comes as President Biden called on Congress to take immediate action on gun control, seeking to transform emotion and anger into change.

The nation's governors are diverging over how to respond to mass shootings such as the one that killed 19 students and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.

An Iowa Supreme Court decision is holding back the state's solidly Republican Legislature and governor from banning abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v.

The Iowa Supreme Court has ruled that Democratic Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer qualifies for the primary ballot, rejecting a lower court decision and allowing her to continue her campaign for the nomination.

Month by month, more of the roughly 40 million Americans who get help buying groceries through the federal food stamp program are seeing their benefits plunge.

Iowa Democrat Abby Finkenauer’s hopes of running against Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley this fall may hinge on a state Supreme Court ruling on three petition signatures.

A state court judge has concluded that Democrat Abby Finkenauer cannot appear on the June 7 primary ballot for U.S. Senate because she didn’t gather enough petition signatures, knocking off the candidate considered by many to be the party’s best chance to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley.

Iowa was Barack Obama’s unlikely launching pad in 2008 to become the nation’s first Black president.

Dozens of Black Democratic candidates are seeking office in heavily Republican states that former President Donald Trump won easily in 2020.

Iowa is nearing passage of a dramatic reduction in unemployment benefits to try to force people to fill thousands of open jobs and reverse a trend in which the governor argues the state's “safety net has become a hammock." A measure supported only by the Republicans who control the Legislature would reduce allowable unemployment payments from 26 weeks to 16 weeks, placing Iowa among only six states with such severe limits. Currently, 40 states plus Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico pay up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, and Iowa has held to that standard for nearly 40 years.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer was one of the more high-profile targets of political violence when prosecutors say a group of men who were angry about pandemic restrictions plotted to kidnap her.

The first Iowa Poll of 2022 includes an early test of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and likely Democratic challenger Deidre DeJear.

Iowa science writer: The rare transgender female who plays sports may have little advantage — or no advantage at all.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed legislation that will immediately restrict participation in women's college and K-12 sports to biological females.

The legislation goes into effect immediately.

Transgender Sports Iowa Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signs a bill that prohibits transgender girls from participating in women's sports at the Iowa State Capitol in Des Moines, Iowa, Thursday, March 3, 2022. he bill prohibits transgender females from participating in girls high school sports and women’s college athletics. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette via AP) (Nick Rohlman)DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — Iowa Gov. “Iowa girls today and every generation to come will be able to pursue the things they love to the best of their abilities," Erzen said. Republican leaders made the bill effective immediately, so any transgender students playing sports may be required to immediately stop. The district's lobbyist opposed the bill because it believes the legislation discriminates against transgender girls and women and the district is concerned it conflicts with federal anti-discrimination laws.

The ban takes effect immediately. The ban applies to K-12 schools and community colleges as well as colleges and universities that are part of the NCAA or NAIA.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has signed into law a bill that prohibits transgender females from participating in girls high school sports and women’s college athletics, rejecting opponents' argument that she would harm vulnerable children to solve a nonexistent problem.

Republican elected officials across the U.S. are criticizing President Joe Biden over his energy policies and want to ramp up domestic production as a way to help wean the nation and its allies off oil from Russia.

Kim Reynolds was tapped to give the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. But they plowed ahead anyway, raising the price at the pump by 50% and pushing inflation to a 40-year high. With Texas and Arizona leading the way, I, along with Republican governors from several states have sent resources to the border. And we’ve actually gone to the border—something that our president and vice president have yet to do since taking office. While Democrats in D.C. are spending trillions, sending inflation soaring, Republican leaders around the country are balancing budgets and cutting taxes.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivered the Republican response to the State of the Union address Tuesday.

Kim Reynolds delivers her Condition of the State address before a joint session of the Iowa Legislature, on Jan. 11, 2022, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) (Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad was confirmed as the Trump administration's ambassador to China. It’s not what he promised when he took office.”Reynolds had endeared herself to Iowa’s increasingly GOP-leaning electorate in no small part by opposing much of the Biden administration’s pandemic policy. She resisted mask requirements and joined other states in lawsuits to fight the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates.

The GOP wants to show voters that some Republicans just want to keep schools open, lower taxes, and stop teachers from talking about critical race theory.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers the Republican response to President Biden's first State of the Union address.

Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds hit President Biden on inflation and crime, among other things.

Kim Reynolds delivers her Condition of the State address before a joint session of the Iowa Legislature, on Jan. 11, 2022, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, File) (Charlie Neibergall)DES MOINES, Iowa — (AP) — Iowa Gov. Last June, she dispatched about 30 Iowa State Patrol officers to the U.S.-Mexico border for roughly two weeks to assist with law enforcement. Kim, great job,” Trump said of Reynolds to a crowd of thousands during the rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. The Des Moines Register's Iowa Poll in November showed 88% of Republicans approving of the job she was doing, higher even than her state's GOP Sens.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, delivering the Republican rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday, painted the picture of a country in the grip of several crises.

Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds' response to the pandemic, with few restrictions, has gotten her national attention.

President Joe Biden sat through many State of the Union speeches as a senator and vice president.

Governors and lawmakers in numerous U.S. states are seeking to add to the financial squeeze on Russia over its war against Ukraine.

Top issues to expect in President Biden's address are his response to concerns about rising inflation and fatigue about the pandemic as well as steps taken to threaten Russia's financial stability.

The Michigan Democrat will speak on behalf of the progressive Working Families Party, in a rare instance of a formal response by a member of the president’s own party.

Kim Reynolds speaks during a news conference at Iowa Spring Manufacturing, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Adel, Iowa. Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, GOP congressional leaders announced Tuesday. Reynolds is the 43rd governor of Iowa and has served since May of 2017. She was the first governor in the country to require schools to open for full-time in-person learning. Reynolds became the first woman to serve as Iowa governor.

GOP leaders praised Reynolds for her permissive coronavirus policies in Iowa and for her fight against so-called "critical race theory."

Kim Reynolds speaks during a news conference at Iowa Spring Manufacturing, Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021, in Adel, Iowa. Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1, GOP congressional leaders announced Tuesday. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on March 1, GOP congressional leaders announced Tuesday. “She handled COVID by choosing freedom over lockdowns and personal responsibility over mandates – leading to real economic recovery from the pandemic," McCarthy said. Reynolds is the 43rd governor of Iowa and has served since May of 2017.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on March 1.

WASHINGTON — (AP) — Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds to deliver GOP response to Biden's State of the Union address. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

New cases per day have tanked by almost a half-million nationwide since mid-January, the curve trending downward in every state but Maine.

Propelled in part by the wildly contagious omicron variant, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 has hit 900,000, less than two months after eclipsing 800,000.

With the brutal omicron wave rapidly loosening its grip, new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. are falling in 49 of 50 states, even as the nation's death toll closes in on another bleak round number: 900,000. The number of lives lost to the pandemic in the U.S. stood at over 897,000 as of midday Friday, with deaths running at an average of more than 2,400 a day, back up to where they were last winter, when the vaccine drive was still getting started. Similarly, an early-warning program that looks for the virus in sewage found that COVID-19 infections are declining in the majority of participating U.S. communities, according to data posted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The news from Gov. Kim Reynolds comes one day after the state reported another 156 people died from COVID in its weekly report.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states' Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status.

Democratic lawmakers in California, Maryland and Washington passed far-reaching policing reforms this year in response to the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minnesota.

A state audit report on government spending released Monday accused Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds of using nearly $450,000 in federal coronavirus relief funds to pay salaries for 21 staff members for three months last year and concealing the spending by passing it through the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. State Auditor Rob Sand said a review of the state's payroll system shows the money was used to pay the Republican governor's office staff, but it's unclear why she had to take federal money to pay the salaries. “What is not clear, is why these salaries were not included in the governor’s budget set prior to the fiscal year and prior to the pandemic,” he said in the audit report.

A coalition of 10 states has filed a lawsuit challenging a new rule by President Joe Biden's administration requiring millions of health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

Republican governors, lawmakers and attorneys general are forming a wall of opposition to President Joe Biden's plan to require vaccinations or COVID-19 testing at all private employers of 100 workers or more.

Several high-profile school board candidates who fought COVID-19 restrictions and anti-racism classes have lost their election bids.

The legislation protects employees who do not get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Under a newly passed vaccine mandate exemption bill in Iowa, employees who are fired for refusing a vaccine would be guaranteed unemployment benefits. Gov. Kim Reynolds says she will sign it.

The first Black chair of Iowa’s Democratic Party says he received a series of racist messages, including a lynching threat, after writing a newspaper op-ed criticizing former President Donald Trump and the state Republican officials who stood with him at a recent rally in Des Moines.

The House’s second-ranking Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise, is refusing to say that the 2020 election wasn’t stolen.

Trump Rally People gather ahead of an appearance by former President Donald Trump at a rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa., Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. “Trump won! Trump won!,” came the chant from the crowd spread across the sprawling Iowa state fairgrounds. Grassley, who voted to certify the vote, has been quiet about Trump's continuing claims of a stolen election. On Saturday night, Trump endorsed Grassley and pledged to endorse Reynolds separately in the months ahead.

Republican Sen. Charles Grassley and Gov. Kim Reynolds have embraced Donald Trump’s return to Iowa.

Races for local school board seats have emerged as intense political battlegrounds in the upcoming Nov. 2 elections across the U.S. Parental protests that started during COVID-19 lockdowns are evolving into full-fledged board takeover campaigns.

A group intent on expanding Republican power across state-level offices is rolling out a national effort to diversify and broaden the GOP, with an advisory council headed up by a number of possible future presidential hopefuls.

Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders might be running for governor of Arkansas, but she's not talking much about the state.

Two-thirds of the world's population faces an extreme water shortage at least one month a year. Many of these places are dry, arid deserts with no reliable source of fresh water — other than fog, that is. But fog capture isn't as easy as you might think, at least for us humans. The Namib Desert beetle, on the other hand, has practically perfected the art. Here's how scientists are creating technology based on the beetle's exoskeleton that could help end water scarcity.

Among adults age 18 and over, more than 62% are fully vaccinated. On Friday, 71% of those in Italy age 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. Coaches and other team staff who closely interact with players must be fully vaccinated. The European Commission says AstraZeneca made a “firm commitment” to deliver a total of 300 million vaccine doses by March. More than 13 million South Africans have received at least one vaccine dose, including 5.7 million who are fully vaccinated.

IndyCar will return to Iowa Speedway for a July doubleheader next season.

A hard-to-miss billboard downtown is facing its most vocal opposition by liberals online, despite it being commissioned by a PAC that opposes Gov. Kim Reynolds.Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic insights with Axios Markets. Subscribe for freeState of play: The billboard along I-235 East and Keo Way was purchased by OPE! PAC and claims Reynolds contributed to the state's 42% increase in abortions under her tenure between 2018-20. (The numbers are accurate via Iowa Department of

State Fairs in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Wisconsin are offering COVID-19 vaccinations as the delta variant spreads across the country.

Multiple Republican governors rejected the CDC's mask guidance renewal Tuesday that recommends some vaccinated individuals in locations with greater rates of infection, as well as everyone in K-12 schools, resume mask-wearing in certain indoor venues.

Long before the first presidential nomination contest of 2024, most potential Republican candidates are just getting a sense of the political landscape, tiptoeing through early-voting states and trying to make friends in key places.

Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, former Vice President Mike Pence and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will attend.

Border Patrol Iowa FILE - In a June 10, 2021 file photo, Iowa Gov. Agreements between Iowa and Texas show Iowa is donating the use of state troopers and their equipment at "no cost to Texas" to fight crime along the U.S. border with Mexico. Reynolds said Iowa sent 29 troopers and that they arrived in Del Rio, Texas, a few days ago. Iowa also has 30 soldiers from the Iowa National Guard providing assistance to law enforcement at the border, Reynolds said. Iowa troopers will not bring their patrol cars and instead will team up with Texas state troopers and Texas Rangers, although one investigator planned to drive an unmarked car from Iowa, the agreements state.

Adventureland Park Accident Visitors arrive at the Adventureland Park amusement park, Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in Altoona, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall)IOWA CITY, Iowa — (AP) — The Iowa amusement park where a ride accident killed one boy and critically injured another has become increasingly influential in Iowa politics as the state has trended Republican. Adventureland Park CEO Michael Krantz has donated $175,000 to county, state and federal Republican candidates since 2014. The park also has increased its lobbying at the Iowa Legislature, including for a recent law change allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to operate its rides. The park's political impact has overlapped with several incidents in which workers or guests were injured, leading to regulatory fines and lawsuits.

The Iowa amusement park where a water ride accident killed one boy and critically injured another has become increasingly influential in Iowa politics as the state has trended Republican.

Gun Laws Iowa FILE - In this Feb. 10, 2015, file photo is State Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, at the Statehouse in Des Moines, Iowa. Gun deaths are rising in Iowa even before a landmark law goes into effect Thursday, July 1, 2021, that will allow people to more easily buy handguns and carry them in public without training or a permit. A record 353 people died from gunshot wounds in Iowa in 2020, including 263 suicides and 85 homicides, an Iowa Department of Public Health spokeswoman said Tuesday. From 1999 to 2001, Iowa averaged only 194 annual gun deaths, including just 25 homicides. Eliminating Iowa’s permit to acquire a handgun will facilitate impulsive purchases that can be associated with suicide and homicide and remove a deterrent against illegal gun trafficking, Webster said.

Gun deaths have been surging in Iowa as a law is set to go into effect that will allow people to more easily buy handguns and carry them in public without training or a permit.

Republicans eyeing a 2024 White House run are wasting no time in jockeying for a strong position in what could be an extremely crowded field of contenders.

Fifteen Republican governors have sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Secretary, urging that the U.S. Census bureau release redistricting data as soon as possible.

Kim Reynolds hands out pens to law enforcement officers after signing the Back the Blue bill, at the Iowa Law Enforcement Academy, in Johnston. Some Republican-controlled states have responded to persistent calls for police reform by moving in the other direction. States where lawmakers pushed back against the police-reform movement included Arizona, Iowa, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Wyoming, according to an Associated Press review of legislation. Law enforcement, he said, already does a good job vetting officers, including following hiring standards in state law and voluntarily reporting officers who are decertified to a national database. Washington enacted a dozen police-reform laws, including restricting the use of no-knock warrants and designating an independent investigator for fatal police shootings.

After a year of protests over police brutality, some Republican-controlled states have ignored or blocked police-reform proposals and moved instead in the other direction.

As rising murder rates gain attention in American cities, Republicans have ramped up a misleading campaign to cast Democrats as anti-police and lax on public safety.

A prosecutor is warning prospective jurors that the trial of a Mexican national charged in the 2018 fatal stabbing of a University of Iowa student will include graphic evidence that will be emotionally difficult to see and hear.

Children are having their noses swabbed or saliva sampled at school to test for the coronavirus in cities such as Baltimore, New York and Chicago.

Some states are making plans to spend billions of dollars from President Joe Biden's pandemic relief act, though the money has yet to arrive.

The county officials who run elections are facing a slate of new punishments as part of a nationwide Republican campaign to roll back access to the ballot, months after many hailed them as heroes for the creative ways they expanded voting access last year during the coronavirus outbreak.

Republicans are increasingly using food — especially beef — as a cudgel in the culture war.

Topless dancers can shed coronavirus restrictions beginning next weekend in Las Vegas and get face-to-face with patrons again.

An animal rights activist whose investigations have made him a leading foe of the livestock industry has been charged with trespassing at a pig facility.

The race is on to vaccinate as many Americans as possible against COVID-19, but a significant number of people in the U.S. are still reluctant to get the shots, even in places where they are plentiful.

The U.S. is moving closer toward vaccinating 100 million Americans against COVID-19 in a race against an uptick in cases that health officials fear could lead to another surge of infections.