Iowa Public Radio

•

Channel • 7 Shows

Daily News

Daily News

Updated Daily
Society & Culture

Society & Culture

Updated Daily
News

News

Updated Daily
Home & Garden

Home & Garden

Updated Weekly
Sexuality

Sexuality

Series
Politics

Politics

Updated 05/04/2023
Government

Government

Updated 12/19/2023

5D AGO

Wednesday, December 31st, 2025

Democrats have retained a seat in the Iowa Senate after yesterday’s special election in the Des Moines metro. Traffic fatalities in Iowa could end 2025 at a 100-year low. And the state is seeing high levels of flu activity.

5d ago

•

8 min
2D AGO

More of Iowans' personal data is now available to federal government

An interview with Lee Rood of the Des Moines Register about the state's agreements with the Department of Homeland Security that took effect this January, and with IPR's Rachel Cramer on new restrictions on SNAP food purchases, and more.

2d ago

•

48 min
6D AGO

Tuesday, December 30th, 2025

Iowa will receive $209 million next year as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Congress. While Interstate 35 was closed for parts of Sunday and Monday because of blizzard conditions, motorists sought shelter in nearby communities. Citations instead of warnings will be issued for those violating Iowa's new hands free driving law starting Thursday, and a Polk County judge recently ordered the state to allow contractors reopen a resort in southern Iowa.

6d ago

•

4 min
4D AGO

Iowa Democrats stave off Republican supermajority

Democrat Renee Hardman became the first Black woman to be elected to the Iowa Senate after winning a special election in the Des Moines area to replace the late Sen. Claire Celsi. Republicans saw the district as an opportunity to regain their supermajority, but Hardman had a decisive win in the historically blue district. On this politics day edition of 'River to River,' political experts Megan Goldberg and Rachel Caufield dissect this election, as well as reflect on the biggest political moments of 2025.

4d ago

•

47 min
12/29/2025

Monday, December 29th, 2025

Beginning in the new year, some grocery items in Iowa will no longer be available to recipients of the federal food assistance program known as SNAP. Iowa’s cattlemen are urging state lawmakers to include spending on bird flu vaccine development in next year’s budget. And expanded gambling in Nebraska is cutting into casino profits in Council Bluffs.

12/29/2025

•

4 min
2D AGO

Reading the 1937 novel 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' is still a moving experience today

A conversation with expert readers about 'Their Eyes Were Watching God' for the 'Talk of Iowa' Book Club. Author Zora Neale Hurston drew on her experience as a folklorist, anthologist and a Black woman who came of age in the Jim Crow South when she wrote her beloved novel. (This show was originally produced August 12, 2025.)

2d ago

•

48 min
5D AGO

Grappling with community, faith and truth in 'The Exvangelicals'

In this episode of the 'Talk of Iowa' book club, author Sarah McCammon and expert readers discuss 'The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church.' The book is a blend of memoir and reporting, focusing on McCammon's life growing up in an evangelical church in Missouri and attending an evangelical college before parting ways with the church as a young adult. McCammon also writes about the experiences of other so-called "exvangelicals." (This episode was originally produced April 15, 2025.)

5d ago

•

48 min
5D AGO

A look back at the biggest stories of 2025

IPR's journalists rehash their most consequential moments of the last year — from raucous town halls to the arrest of Des Moines schools' superintendent. Assistant news director Grant Gerlock and reporters Katarina Sostaric, Natalie Krebs, James Kelley and Rachel Cramer bring us back through the biggest stories of 2025 and share what they'll be watching in the year to come.

5d ago

•

48 min
12/23/2025

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025

Iowa will participate in a federal summer food assistance program after two years of opting out. Some public schools are joining a campaign to push for more funding. And Democratic leaders share their thoughts on eminent domain ahead of the 2026 legislative session.

12/23/2025

•

9 min
12/24/2025

Wednesday, December 24th, 2025

The speaker of the Iowa House says he wants tougher penalties for people convicted of multiple crimes. A new survey has found the number of Iowans who identify as a caregiver is growing. And a change in state law may mean big changes for Johnson County’s board of supervisors.

12/24/2025

•

4 min

Iowa Public Radio is where news, music and culture meet.