Shows / Here First
Here First
Start your day with the essentials. Coffee. Breakfast. And the local news you need to know. Host Meghan McKinney rises bright and early to bring you the top news stories from around Iowa in under 10 minutes. Wake up, grab that coffee and get your news Here First. You can support what you hear on this podcast at ipr.org/donate.
Episodes
- Here First
Friday, November 6th, 2026
All three victims in a Des Moines shooting are in stable condition. Two eastern Iowa communities are losing one of their largest employers. And how are rising…
- Here First
Thursday, November 5th, 2026
Voter turnout in Iowa was the highest it's been for a midterm in three decades. The Iowa Democratic party chair reflects on the Democratic wins in the…
- Here First
Wednesday, November 4th, 2026
There's been a blue wave with several Iowa seats helping flip the control of Congress. Democrat Rob Sand will be Iowa's next governor. And a few state offices…
- Here First
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026
It's Election Day! A federal judge has cleared the way for the Satanic Temple of Iowa to host a holiday display at the Iowa Capitol rotunda. And how could data…
- Here First
Monday, November 2nd, 2026
President Trump made his second visit to Iowa in the last two weeks. Iowa voters share their concerns ahead of the midterms. And could this be the last time we…
- Here First
Friday, October 30th, 2026
President Trump has cancelled his rally in Dubuque. Two health clinics who have been working together for decades are struggling to agree on a contract. And…
- Here First
Thursday, October 29th, 2026
Iowa's top election official is dismissing fears of federal interference in the midterm elections. Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Josh Turek is…
- Here First
Wednesday, October 28th, 2026
The candidates for Iowa governor debated last night, as well as the candidates for the 3rd congressional district. Gov. Kim Reynolds' Medicaid Fraud…
- Here First
Tuesday, October 27th, 2026
Over 265,000 Iowans have cast early ballots for the midterms. The Trump Administration is overturning longstanding interpretations of how the Endangered…
- Here First
Monday, October 26th, 2026
The USDA is funneling over 500 million dollars to expand fertilizer production in the U.S. Linn County has denied a zoning request to build a natural gas…
- Here First
Friday, October 23rd, 2026
President Trump held a rally in Sioux City last night. Google hosted an open house in Palo last night about a proposed data center. And how is the One Big…
- Here First
Thursday, October 22nd, 2026
President Trump is set to be in Iowa today. A poll shows many Americans feel the economic pinch from rising inflation. And how can the election for Iowa's open…
- Here First
Wednesday, October 21st, 2026
The Board of Regents has picked a new permanent director for the Center for Intellectual Freedom. The major party candidates for Iowa's First Congressional…
- Here First
Tuesday, October 20th, 2026
Gov. Kim Reynolds' husband, Kevin Reynolds, is undergoing treatment for a recurrence of cancer. An ISU student is suing the city of Ames over its policy that…
- Here First
Monday, October 19th, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security is delaying a decision about TPS for Ukrainians. Democratic candidates in Iowa raised more money than Republicans this last…
- Here First
Friday, October 16th, 2026
An Iowa City woman granted protection from persecution in Ivory Coast has been deported and could likely end up back in that country. President Trump will hold…
- Here First
Thursday, October 15th, 2026
An Iowa City hospital worker has been deported despite pushback from elected officials. Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is suing OpenAI. And what are the…
- Here First
Wednesday, October 14th, 2026
In person absentee voting starts today in Iowa. Some health departments are trying to help refugees in Iowa who lost their Medicaid. And how is affordability…
- Here First
Tuesday, October 13th. 2026
A constitutional amendment on the Iowa ballot would make it harder to raise income or corporate tax rates. The candidates for state treasurer share their…
- Here First
Monday, October 12th, 2026
A potential 2028 presidential candidate was in Iowa last night. The candidates for Iowa attorney general have debated. And Johnson County is trying to convince…
- Here First
Friday, October 9th, 2026
Major party candidates for Iowa's Second Congressional District debated last night. Some landline users are concerned about their service ending. And how could…
- Here First
Thursday, October 8th, 2026
Candidates for Iowa's open U.S. senate seat debated last night. High rainfall in September is connected to the El Niño weather event. And utility rates in the…
- Here First
Wednesday, October 7th, 2026
The candidates for Iowa governor had their first debate last night. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins was in Iowa yesterday. And Des Moines is being…
- Here First
Tuesday, October 6th, 2026
The candidates for Iowa governor have different thoughts on supporting public and private schools. Waterloo is keeping a human rights director position. And…
- Here First
Monday, October 5th, 2026
State lawmakers passed legislation to support a proposed steel plant in Iowa. The Center for Intellectual Freedom is responding to criticism. And some worry a…
- Here First
Friday, October 2nd, 2026
The Democrat running to be Iowa secretary of agriculture says ethanol is an economic dead end. Scientists are worried the closure of a USDA research facility…
- Here First
Thursday, October 1st, 2026
People in eastern Iowa are calling for the release of a hospital worker who was detained by ICE last week. The candidates for Iowa governor both held rallies…
- Here First
Wednesday, September 30th, 2026
A new report about Iowa's high cancer rates looks at behavioral and demographic risk factors. Dubuque is partnering with a research center to revive an…
- Here First
Tuesday, September 29th, 2026
Just ahead of the midterm elections, President Trump has announced a steel plant investment in Iowa. Local health department's budgets could be tighter under a…
- Here First
Monday, September 28th, 2026
A possible new steel plant may bring lawmakers back to Des Moines for a special session. After losing half of its executive committee, the Center for…
- Here First
Friday, September 25th, 2026
A proposed change to Waterloo’s human rights department is dividing the city’s leadership. A business group is questioning why Alliant Energy wants to build…
- Here First
Thursday, September 24th, 2026
President Trump's lawsuit against pollster J. Ann Selzer has been dismissed. A traveling exhibit is in Des Moines that features the Epstein files that have…
- Here First
Wednesday, September 23rd, 2026
Linn County is looking at the quality of its groundwater. Library hours are being reduced in Des Moines because of city budget cuts. And how has data from…
- Here First
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2026
Prosecutors will retry a man accused in the cold-case killing of a Native American woman in Sioux City. The Dubuque City Council voted Monday to adopt a goal…
- Here First
Monday, September 21st, 2026
Vice President JD Vance and Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy are among the high-profile Republicans who’ve visited Iowa recently to rally GOP support ahead of the…
- Here First
Friday, September 18th, 2026
The Democratic candidate for governor supports legalizing recreational marijuana. Republicans are urging support for a constitutional amendment. And how are…
- Here First
Thursday, September 17th, 2026
Two Iowa representatives have voted to limit President Trump's war powers in Iran. Private well owners in certain counties are eligible for a free arsenic…
- Here First
Wednesday, September 16th, 2026
This year's Iowa Climate Statement calls for investing in renewable energy to meet electricity demands. Minden and Greenfield are receiving money from the USDA…
- Here First
Tuesday, September 15th, 2026
The city of Des Moines has approved an initial recommendation to cuts to its 2028 budget. The state attorney general's office has announced how it'll use some…
- Here First
Monday, September 14th, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security secretary was in Iowa over the weekend. Child labor violations are disproportionately higher in Iowa. And a rare and…
- Here First
Friday, September 11th, 2026
Iowans will remember the 9/11 anniversary today with observances. One former Iowan will return to the Pentagon for today’s commemoration. Republicans will go…
- Here First
Thursday, September 10th, 2026
Iowans vote this fall on whether to make it tougher for lawmakers to raise income taxes. Iowa's agriculture secretary is promoting a science-based approach to…
- Here First
Wednesday, September 9th, 2026
University of Iowa marching band member Derek Phillips has died after collapsing from the heat in Iowa City Saturday. Waterloo passed a temporary ban on new…
- Here First
Tuesday, September 8th, 2026
The candidates for governor share their thoughts on automated license plate readers. Johnson County officials are trying to figure out an AI policy. And what…
- Here First
Friday, September 4th, 2026
Iowa is trying to bring back nuclear energy. Farmers across the country are losing access to federal workers to help with soil and water conservation. And how…
- Here First
Thursday, September 3rd, 2026
Many public schools in Iowa are trying to navigate rising costs and low enrollment. Iowa has been burning more coal to produce electricity than in the past…
- Here First
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2026
The U.S. secretary of agriculture is in Iowa this week. Synthetic Kratom fatal overdoses are higher than last year. And a central Iowa town wants to add a…
- Here First
Tuesday, September 1st, 2026
A new data analysis suggests there are more heat-related deaths than what's reported by the CDC. Candidates for Iowa's First Congressional District share their…
- Here First
Monday, August 31st, 2026
Republicans and Democrats held big rallies in central Iowa over the weekend, with Election Day just about two months away. The price of ground beef has passed…
- Here First
Friday, August 28th, 2026
Black Hills Energy is facing scrutiny from Iowa utility regulators. Libertarian candidates for governor and in the 3rd Congressional District have lost a legal…
- Here First
Thursday, August 27th, 2026
Iowa stands to get more than 125 million dollars from the settlement between tech giant Meta and 47 states. Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek says…
- Here First
Wednesday, August 26th, 2026
The Democrat running for state auditor shares his thoughts on how transparent private school budgets should be. Some 8th graders will be allowed to play…
- Here First
Tuesday, August 25th, 2026
There measles outbreak in southern Iowa is growing. Unionized John Deere workers have said no to a proposed contract. And Iowa Public Radio has announced a new…
- Here First
Monday, August 24th, 2026
U.S. cattle producers aren't pleased with President Trump's plan to lower beef prices. The Democrat candidate for Iowa secretary of agriculture shares his…
- Here First
Friday, August 21st, 2026
Several Trump cabinet officials have visited Iowa recently. A western Iowa community is dealing with the environmental fallout of a Cold War missile site over…
- Here First
Thursday, August 20th, 2026
Some cities have turned off their automated license plate readers. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig makes his case to be reelected. And state Attorney…
- Here First
Wednesday, August 19th, 2026
Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn says he supports a tobacco tax. The candidates for secretary of state talked to voters at the state fair. And Iowa…
- Here First
Tuesday, August 18th, 2026
State officials have confirmed a measles outbreak in southern Iowa. The U.S. health secretary was in Iowa to talk about the new presidential fitness test. And…
- Here First
Monday, August 17th, 2026
The Iowa Democratic Party's Caucuses are not in the early 2028 presidential primary calendar. Candidates for Governor Zach Lahn and Rob Sand spoke at the state…
- Here First
Friday, August 14th, 2026
The Satanic Temple is suing the state of Iowa. Dubuque County learned how much water data centers in Iowa use each year. And why has the cotton industry been…