Wednesday, July 29th, 2026
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15 segmentsSupport for IPR comes from Hancher Auditorium. The 2025-20206 Broadway series has been announced and includes Kinky Boots, Clue, The Music Man, and more. Information at hansher.uIowa.edu slash Broadway. It's here first from IPR. I'm Megan McKenney. As the governor race continues, the libertarians who wanted to be on the ballot will not be after a judge's ruling, and Democrat Rob San has shared his thoughts on cancer-related plans. It's Wednesday, July 29th. A Polk County judge has ruled a libertarian candidate for governor and his running mate cannot be added back onto the ballot this November. Last month, the state panel kicked Nicholas Glouba and Jules Cutler off the ballot. Globo was running for governor with Cutler as his lieutenant governor. The panel determined that Cutler failed to submit the needed affidavit of candidacy. Stephanie Berlin is the chair of the Iowa Libertarian Party. She says the candidates are thinking about appealing the judge's decision. We are clearly unhappy with the decision and the pathway that this has taken us down. However, we are exploring our next steps. In court, Cutler claims she offered her affidavit to an elections official who told her it wasn't necessary. The official said Cutler didn't try to offer her the document. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand says he would be interested in exploring increasing the state's tobacco tax. IPR's Natalie Krebs, has more. The roundtable event on cancer in Iowa was hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. Sand was asked if he would support increasing the state's tobacco tax by $1.50 a pack as a way to try to reduce the state's lung cancer rates. San says he is interested in the idea but is unsure about what amount the tax should be. I want to learn more about that and try to find it a level that we can put it at. that is going to help improve health care outcomes for Iowans and put us in a place where we also aren't just sending everyone somewhere else to go get it instead. According to the Iowa Cancer Registry, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the state. Sands Republican opponent, Zach Lane, is scheduled to participate in a roundtable on cancer next month. I'm Natalie Krebs. IMPR News. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he's optimistic. Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche will be confirmed this week despite questions from fellow Republicans about Todd Blanche's actions on behalf of President Trump.
In exchange for dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, President Trump announced a plan in May to create a fund to compensate those he says were wrongly targeted by the Biden administration. Todd Blanche, who was Trump's criminal defense attorney at the time, put an addendum on the settlement banning the government from auditing tax returns filed by Trump, his family members, or their companies. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, says he's working with two reluctant committee members to get them to vote yes. We have two members that want some further satisfaction before they're going to vote for him. I think those two are the deciding votes. Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina, both Republicans say they want to further question Todd Blanche about his actions before tomorrow's confirmation vote. U.S. farming organizations recently won a lawsuit restoring grants canceled by the U.S. Department of Ag. Now the agency is appealing that decision. IPR's Mara Kern has more in how this affects an Iowa organization. Iowa Valley RC&D is a nonprofit that teaches farmers how to start their own businesses. One of their farmer training programs was funded by the increasing land, capital, and market access grant. The USDA terminated that grant program in March due to claims of waste, fraud, and abuse. A lawsuit successfully restored the grant earlier this month, but Iowa Valley director Jason Grimm says they don't want to act yet because the USDA is appealing the decision. We don't really want to jump back into this full steam, rehire any staff, or have new program participants start and then have the rug pulled back out on them again in a month. Grimm says they applied for reimbursements and are adjusting the program's budget and timeline while they wait. I'm Mara Curran, IPR News. And I'm Megan McKinney. Thanks for taking the time to be informed with Here First from IPR today. It's a Wednesday. If no one's told you yet this week, you're doing great. Talk tomorrow.
The fatal shooting of a teenager at a protest in Seattle has gone unsolved for six years. This is open in your face. How are there no answers? Our investigation has uncovered new evidence and witnesses who say they've never talked to police. Did police ever call you? Not once. Listen to We Keep Us Safe, a new true crime series on the Embedded podcast from NPR.