Katie Akin, Iowa Capital Dispatch

Ramirez was one of thousands to attend a rally for former President Donald Trump at the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Saturday. The outdoor event drew Trump fans from across the Midwest and beyond.

“We've been singing, we've been chanting," said Brighton resident Vicki Entsminger, who arrived at the fairgrounds at 9 a.m. “We've been talking about the way it is right now."

Entsminger, 52, said she felt things were “getting a little bit scarier out there" under President Joe Biden. She said things were better during Trump's administration — she and her husband bought a house and a Harley Davidson motorcycle — while they struggled during former President Barack Obama's tenure. ...

Several hundred Iowans gathered in the Capitol Rotunda before Tuesday's special session to rally against vaccine mandates.

“I'm thrilled to see all of you, but I'm actually aggravated that we have to be here at all. Who would have thought, in America, in Iowa, we would have to come to plead for our rights and our liberty?" said Tamara Scott, a national committeewoman for the Republican Party. A row of children stood behind her holding handmade signs that read “The final variant is communism" and “Proudly unpoisoned."

Lawmakers do not plan to consider legislation on vaccine requirements during today's special session....

Rep. Cindy Axne told reporters Monday that her comments were “completely misconstrued" in an episode of Tucker Carlson Tonight.

In a segment of the show last week, host Tucker Carlson criticized a recording of Axne speaking at a Zoom event. In the clip Carlson aired, Axne spoke about “anti-vaxxer crazies" responding to mask mandates at schools before speaking briefly about “the Christian Right."

“It's painful to watch because they've weaponized religion," Axne said in the clip. “They've weaponized politics."...

A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Iowa law that prohibited schools from instating mask mandates on students.

Under a Monday ruling by District Judge Robert Pratt, Iowa school districts may impose mask mandates on their students, staff and teachers. The decision comes after a disability rights group and several Iowa families sued the state, arguing that students with disabilities face “irreparable harm" when attending schools without universal masking. The lawsuit contended that prohibiting schools from requiring masks was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This article was originally published at Iowa Capital Dispatch...

Republican representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz held a spirited event in Des Moines on Thursday night, railing against technology companies, the media, Democrats and members of their own party who were disloyal to former President Donald Trump.

This article was originally published at Iowa Capital Dispatch

“The Democrats, the media and big tech — that's the new axis of evil," said Greene, who was suspended from Twitter last week for posting misinformation about the COVID vaccine. “Because if it's truthful, they don't want to hear it, they don't want to talk about it."...