How to follow Laura Belin's coverage of the Iowa legislature and 2026 elections

I’ve been writing about the Iowa legislature, campaigns, and elections at Bleeding Heartland since 2007, and I’ve rarely looked forward to a new year in politics as much as this one.

With open-seat races for governor, U.S. Senate, and two U.S. House seats in Iowa, plus many incumbents facing challengers from within their own party, this year’s primaries will be the most fascinating I’ve covered—especially on the Republican side. The general election will feature competitive races for many state and federal offices.

The dynamics of the tenth legislative session under a GOP trifecta could be quite different, now that Governor Kim Reynolds is a lame duck, and senior roles in both the Iowa House and Senate have changed since last spring.

I will continue to publish deep dives and exclusive reporting about state government, legislative, Congressional, and campaign happenings at Bleeding Heartland, sharing links to all of those posts on Facebook, Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Mastodon, and the free Evening Heartland email newsletter.

But over the past five years, my political reporting has expanded far beyond this website. If you’re only following my work here, you’re not getting the whole picture.

“KHOI’s Capitol Week”

KHOI Community Radio in Ames has employed me as a part-time statehouse reporter since the beginning of 2021. I’m so grateful, since I could count on one hand the number of times I have ever been invited to discuss my political reporting on other Iowa radio stations.

February 1, 2026 will mark the five-year anniversary of “KHOI’s Capitol Week.” Dennis Hart and I did the program together for more than three years, and Spencer Dirks has been on the other end of the microphone since the spring of 2024.

I’m proud of how much Iowa political news we are able to pack into our 30 minutes together every Monday evening. You will hear our take on the biggest topics of the week, as well as some stories you won’t hear anywhere else.

If you like to listen to the news, you can subscribe to “KHOI’s Capitol Week” on any podcast platform, or find it through a smart speaker, or listen on this page of KHOI’s website. New episodes drop on Monday evenings, usually by 8:00 or 8:30 Central.

You can also find the audio file and a written recap of each week’s episode on my free Substack newsletter, Iowa politics with Laura Belin. That goes out on Tuesdays.

Iowa politics with Laura Belin

Julie Gammack had a big idea: what if we could expand community-based local journalism and commentary in Iowa, by creating a network of free newsletters on Substack? She launched the Iowa Writers Collaborative in the summer of 2022, and I was among the early adopters. The collaborative now includes dozens of authors—journalists, researchers, feature writers, essayists, poets, songwriters, and more.

I didn’t have a plan for Iowa politics with Laura Belin at first. Then I realized the newsletter would be a good place to share my weekly radio show. The audio file is at the top of each post. But since many of my subscribers would rather read than listen, I also write a detailed summary of every episode of “KHOI’s Capitol Week.” Here are a couple of examples, from our January 5 and January 12 programs.

I can’t write a full-length article on every newsworthy story from the legislature or the campaign landscape, but I can cover those on “KHOI’s Capitol Week.” You won’t miss my reporting any of those topics if you subscribe to Iowa politics with Laura Belin.

In addition, I usually share one Bleeding Heartland post with my Substack audience each week. These are typically deep dives, with original reporting and analysis.

Bleeding Heartland’s YouTube channel

Long ago, I set up a YouTube channel, primarily to upload clips from Iowa House or Senate floor debates so I could embed those videos in Bleeding Heartland posts.

I still use the channel to highlight important parts of floor debate. But I also strive to give viewers a window onto other aspects of the legislature’s work.

Subcommittee or committee discussions

I can’t attend every panel discussion, but I will occasionally record and upload videos related to bills that would particularly interest my audience. Click here to watch the first Iowa House subcommittee meeting of 2026, where Republicans advanced a bill that would ban the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines.

Q&A with legislative leaders

Now that I’m credentialed in the Iowa House, I am usually able to attend Speaker Pat Grassley’s “gaggles” with statehouse reporters. I post those on YouTube so that everyone can see the unfiltered Q&A, not just the few quotes that may end up in other news articles. Here’s one example from 2025.

On January 8, I uploaded the Iowa Capitol Press Association forum featuring top Democratic lawmakers. (Republicans declined to participate.)

On January 12, I recorded a press conference where Senate Republican leaders answered questions about their property tax proposal.

Following the governor’s Condition of the State address on January 13, I recorded all of the media availabilities with legislative leaders. Click any link to watch:

Candidate interviews

During past election cycles, I usually spoke with candidates over the phone or at events around the state. For the 2026 cycle, I’ve tried to do most of those interviews over Zoom, so subscribers to my YouTube channel can learn more about the contenders. Click any link below to watch the full interviews.

U.S. Senate race:

I also posted the first official campaign speech by Thomas Laehn, the Libertarian candidate for Senate.

Governor’s race:

Other statewide candidates:

Ryan Peterman (secretary of state)
Nate Willems (attorney general)
Chris Jones (secretary of agriculture)

First Congressional district:

Second Congressional district:

Third Congressional district:

Fourth Congressional district:

I also interviewed Catelin Drey before the special election in Senate district 1, recorded Heather Sievers at her campaign launch in House district 40, recorded a short gaggle with Renee Hardman during the Senate district 16 special election campaign, and interviewed Council Bluffs Mayor-elect Jill Shudak last November.

More legislative candidate interviews are coming in 2026. First up was Mike Tupper, the Democratic candidate in Iowa House district 52 (Marshalltown area).

Other podcasts, radio, or video

Along with Kathie Obradovich of Iowa Capital Dispatch, I am a regular panelist on Iowa Down Ballot, hosted by Dave Price. We recently relaunched the podcast; new episodes drop on Saturday mornings.

From time to time I am invited to speak on other podcasts (such as The Attitude with Arnie Arnesen, Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Live with David Nir and Aaron Rupar, or “It’s the Democracy, Stupid” with Edwin Eisendrath). This month I also appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal and moderated a conversation with Democratic lawmakers for the Heart of Iowa Democrats.

When these opportunities pop up, I always share those links in my radio show recaps at Iowa politics with Laura Belin.