Here First
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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 thi...
Recent Episodes
282 episodes
Wednesday, January 21st, 2026
Iowa communities took part in Free America Walkout protests. Cedar Rapids school district is drastically shrinking its budget. And how much money did...
Tuesday, January 20th, 2026
The state attorney general is asking lawmakers to make it a felony to harass a judge. Biodiesel producers are still waiting on federal guidance for ta...
Monday, January 19th, 2026
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Governor Kim Reynolds is proposing Iowa to sell ivermectin over the counter. There's also a bill to regulate some ge...
Friday, January 16th, 2026
Former Des Moines Public Schools Superintendent Ian Roberts plans to make a plea deal. Community college leaders want a change in law to offer bachelo...
Thursday, January 15th, 2026
Iowa Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she stands with ICE after an agent fatally shot a Minneapolis woman last week. Iowa House Democrats have propose...
Wednesday, January 14th, 2026
There's a bill in the Iowa House that would ban eminent domain for carbon pipelines. A Democrat has announced a campaign for state secretary of agricu...
Tuesday, January 13th, 2026
Nitrate levels are high in drinking water sources in the Des Moines metro. Iowa Senate Republicans have a proposed plan for property tax reform. And t...
Monday, January 12th, 2026
It's the first day of the 2026 Iowa legislative session. People mourned Renee Good and protested ICE over the weekend. And the USDA has released detai...
Friday, January 9th, 2026
U.S. Representative Zach Nunn broke with GOP party leaders on a vote for an ACA tax credit extension. Flu is surging in Iowa. And what would closing t...
Thursday, January 8th, 2026
Iowa is part of a federal tax credit program that provides more support for private schools. U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon was in Iowa yester...
Wednesday, January 7th, 2026
A legislative panel met ahead of the 2026 legislative session to discuss subacute mental health access. The federal recommended child vaccine schedule...
Tuesday, January 6th, 2026
Gov. Kim Reynolds has created a nuclear energy task force. The superintendent of Sioux City Public Schools has officially resigned. Democratic lawmake...
Monday, January 5th, 2026
The U.S. has captured Venezuela's president and his wife. Iowa's campaign ethics board wants deepfakes that are used in election ads to be disclosed....
Wednesday, December 31st, 2025
Democrats have retained a seat in the Iowa Senate after yesterday’s special election in the Des Moines metro. Traffic fatalities in Iowa could end 202...
Tuesday, December 30th, 2025
Iowa will receive $209 million next year as part of the Rural Health Transformation Program authorized by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed by Con...
Monday, December 29th, 2025
Beginning in the new year, some grocery items in Iowa will no longer be available to recipients of the federal food assistance program known as SNAP....
Wednesday, December 24th, 2025
The speaker of the Iowa House says he wants tougher penalties for people convicted of multiple crimes. A new survey has found the number of Iowans who...
Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025
Iowa will participate in a federal summer food assistance program after two years of opting out. Some public schools are joining a campaign to push fo...
Monday, December 22nd, 2025
Congress members went home for the holidays without a health care deal. State Republicans are going to try again for property tax relief in the upcomi...
Friday, December 19th, 2025
Leaders in the Iowa legislature discuss a potential IPERS study. There's been another detection of measles in Iowa. And a researcher has been trying t...
Thursday, December 18th, 2025
The remains of two Iowa National Guard members arrived in the U.S. yesterday. Iowans in the Sioux City area are worried about their medical care. And...
Wednesday, December 17th, 2025
Iowa's attorney general says Roblox is harming children and is suing the gaming company. Republican leaders in the Iowa legislature talk about eminent...
Tuesday, December 16th, 2025
The names have been released of the two Iowa National Guard Soldiers who were killed in Syria over the weekend. House Republicans have released a heal...
Monday, December 15th, 2025
Two Iowa National Guard soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter were killed in Syria. Federal homelessness funding is in limbo. And tax credits for h...
Friday, December 12th, 2025
Iowa's U.S. Senators voted for the health care plan that would provide health savings accounts instead of ACA tax credits. Iowa state leaders talk abo...
Thursday, December 11th, 2025
Iowa's largest teacher union is voicing their principles. Four international students at the University of Iowa have had their statuses restored. And...
Wednesday, December 10th, 2025
Public employees shouldn't see changes to Iowa's public pension system anytime soon. Iowa land values are slightly up from last year. And who won last...
Tuesday, December 9th, 2025
A farmer bailout has been announced. A Somali immigrant rights advocate is speaking out against President Trump's recent hateful comments about Somali...
Monday, December 8th, 2025
Conservative political commentators spoke at the inaugural event for the new Center for Intellectual Freedom. Some federal grants for museums and libr...
Friday, December 5th, 2025
Unionized Starbucks workers in Des Moines and Iowa City are striking. Retiring ISU President Wendy Wintersteen reflects on her career. And Republican...
Thursday, December 4th, 2025
Both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are planning on property tax relief in the next legislative session. The Iowa Board of Regents has a ne...
Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025
Groups supporting refugees are calling on lawmakers to create a path to permanent residency for Afghan nationals. Immigrant rights advocates are still...
Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025
Some communities in northwest Iowa are still waiting for FEMA buyouts, a year and a half after devastating flooding. Iowa and several other states wil...
Monday, December 1st, 2025
An eastern Iowa county is starting a free Narcan distribution program. Public health experts are encouraging more Iowans to get the flu shot. And some...
Wednesday, November 26th, 2025
Gov. Kim Reynolds says a property tax relief plan is still in the works. Several businesses in Iowa City had to close because of the building owners'...
Tuesday, November 25th, 2025
Satanic Temple Iowa has been denied a request to host a holiday event at the state capitol. Republican candidates say they can't be apathetic going in...
Monday, November 24th, 2025
An investigation into the Des Moines Public School board hiring former superintendent Ian Roberts has been released. Small business owners are feeling...
Friday, November 21st, 2025
The state department of education is revising a federal funding request after public feedback. Student homelessness is on the rise in central Iowa. An...
Thursday, November 20th, 2025
A U.S. Assistant Attorney General is in Iowa to investigate competition in agriculture. A Republican state senator has ended his exploratory campaign...
Wednesday, November 19th, 2025
Both the Senate and House have passed a bill to release the Epstein files. A Minnesota-based newspaper company has about the Cedar Rapids Gazette. And...