Iowa went all-in on school choice. It's hurting this city's public schools With school choice programs ascendant not just in Iowa but across the U.S., Cedar Rapids offers a preview of who wins and who loses when education meets the free market.

With school choice programs ascendant not just in Iowa but across the U.S., Cedar Rapids offers a preview of who wins and who loses when education meets the free market.

Thanks to health care cuts in Trump’s Big Ugly Bill, nearly 450 hospitals across the country are cutting services and risk closing.

That’s 6.6 million patients losing access and 275,000 workers left jobless. There's nothing beautiful about that.

In a new post, Trump has attacked Pope Leo. The move comes after Leo’s prayer service for peace yesterday, and after 3 US Cardinals spoke out against the war in Iran, and Trump’s immigration policies. No words here.

Why Rob Sand sees educators as his "secret weapon" "You all can be our secret weapon," Rob Sand told a room full of educators, "because you know almost everyone where you live."

Who's up early?
I wrote about Rob Sand's speech to Iowa's largest teachers union and why he told the educators there, “you might be our secret weapon" in the governor's race.
@robsandia.bsky.social #IAGov
www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/04/12/w...

Pope Leo: “Enough with the idolatry of self and money! Enough with the display of power! Enough with war! True strength is manifested in serving life.”

The violence we don't see | Men Yell at Me by Lyz Lenz Get more from Men Yell at Me by Lyz Lenz on Patreon

Last month, a hospital in Iowa quietly changed its policies to tell employees to give ICE/CBP agents sensitive patient information without a warrant going against national guidelines. www.patreon.com/posts/155034...

Wrote about this ad last fall:
www.bleedingheartland.com/2025/12/07/m...
#IA01's Miller-Meeks has been using franking funds for campaign-style radio ads since 2022.

Exclusive: Randy Feenstra promoting himself with taxpayer-funded ads Laura Belin: As he runs for governor, Rep. Randy Feenstra is getting a boost from taxpayer-funded radio advertising and direct mail.

#IA04's Randy Feenstra has also used franking funds for radio ads this year (he's running for Iowa governor, not for re-election to the House).

www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/02/15/e...

“And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others.”

Pope Leo on Palm Sunday: “This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood’ (Is 1:15).”

Small city No Kings rallies important, participants say North Liberty, near Iowa City, drew about 500 people to its March 28 rally

No Kings in North Liberty Iowa
open.substack.com/pub/lylemull...

Organizer Rory Taylor counted 73 people. It was freezing out there! Norwalk didn’t have any rallies last June or October.

No Kings protester wearing “knitting is resistance “ shirt

No Kings signs in Norwalk, Iowa

No Kings protester with photo of her dad in Norwalk

A few of about 50 people lined up along the main drag in Norwalk, Iowa for #NoKings. Share photos or turnout estimates from other places in Iowa.

Crowd outside Iowa State capitol

View of crowd from the Iowa State capitol

Can’t capture the whole crowd in any one frame. There must be thousands in downtown Des Moines for #NoKings.

No Kings day rallies kick off across the US, with millions expected in anti-Trump protests • Iowa Capital Dispatch Large crowds were gathering Saturday morning in the nation's capital for the third No Kings protest, with events planned around the U.S.

Large crowds were gathering Saturday morning in the nation’s capital and around the country for the third No Kings protest, Ashley Murray reports. Also, see the Iowa schedule of more than 50 events. iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/03/28/r...

The Villages have fallen to the No Kings forces

Over a dozen U.S. soldiers injured in attack on Saudi base as Iran-backed Houthis enter war An Iranian strike on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 15 U.S. service members. Israel also said it intercepted a missile launched from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Update:

An Iranian strike on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded at least 15 U.S. service members. Israel also said it intercepted a missile launched from Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

Cedar Rapids turning out for #NoKings

A sign: kindness, critical thinking, pursuing happiness. Above, the American and Iowa flags.

Iowa City.

“The Gravest Sin” — Pope Leo XIV’s Middle East Envoy Rebukes Hegseth for Invoking God in Iran War The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem — who has walked the rubble of Gaza — responded to the Secretary of War’s Crusade theology with the sharpest rebuke from the Catholic Church yet.

Pope Leo XIV's top Middle East envoy rebuked Pete Hegseth for invoking God in justifying the US-Israel war against Iran.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa called Hegseth’s actions “the gravest sin we can commit at this time.”

At Pentagon Christian service, Hegseth prays for violence 'against those who deserve no mercy' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has hosted a monthly Christian prayer and worship service at the Pentagon, the first since the Iran war began.

Could we please stop referring to these services as "Christian" - there is nothing Christian about them

State of Cancer: New report shows links between cancer and pesticides, radon, nitrates Iowa uses more pesticides than most states, and the three most common pesticides used here (glyphosate, acetochlor and atrazine) have links to cancer, research shows.

Iowa uses more pesticides than most states, and the three most common pesticides used here (glyphosate, acetochlor and atrazine) have links to cancer, research shows.

A new report details how some aspects of our environment connect with Iowa's high cancer rates. STORY: https://t.ly/t0sZv 

Again and again, Democrats have tried to fund TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard while we negotiate on ICE and Border Patrol.

Republicans have blocked us every time.

Utility profits rise as household bills soar, new analysis finds • Iowa Capital Dispatch Investor-owned utility profits have soared as consumer utility bills have skyrocketed in recent years, according to a new analysis.

The report found the utility with the highest average margin between 2021 and 2024 was MidAmerican Energy at 27.22%, Stateline reports.

Both war criminals

The Public is Getting Fed Up With Data Centers. Politicians Need to Take Notice Challenging data centers is not just the right policy move on its merits—it is also a position that will insure electoral success, writes Ben Green.

As US politicians campaign for this year’s elections—and look ahead to the 2028 presidential contest—they need to take data center opposition seriously as a salient issue, writes Ben Green. The opportunity is substantial, particularly for Democrats, he says.

His whole life, Trump has always had someone else around to bail him out of the messes he creates: his father, Allen Weisselberg, the "adults in the room" in his first term. Now all those protectors are gone and he is openly begging for someone to save him from his own folly.

They made them take down the videos because they would cause "reputational damage" to people like this young man, Nathan Cavanuagh, so definitely don't post this all over the internet with the name Nathan Cavanaugh attached, or this guy might suffer reputational damage. This guy, Nathan Cavanaugh.

Iowa's monoculture is killing us Nick Covington: Iowa’s political monoculture threatens our state's ecological, economic, and social diversity. And it’s killing us.

New post by Nick Covington @covingtonedu.bsky.social:
Iowa’s political monoculture threatens the ecological, economic, and social diversity of our state, undermining our interdependence and resilience. And it’s killing us.
www.bleedingheartland.com/2026/03/14/i...