Iowa
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate says he’ll seek a fifth term in office in 2026 election
Watch: Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate addresses election security
Hear from Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate as he discusses Iowa’s election security and integrity ahead of the 2024 election on Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate will seek a fifth term in office.
Pate, a Republican, announced June 14 that he would run for reelection in 2026.
“I am thrilled to announce that I will once again be running to serve as your secretary of state, because we’re not done yet,” said Pate in a video announcing his candidacy.
In his announcement, Pate detailed key accomplishments the state has achieved under his leadership.
“Throughout my life as a public servant, I’ve been guided by three core principles: service, participation and integrity,” Pate said. “During my time as Iowa Secretary of State, we’ve broken numerous records for voter registration and participation, we’ve been recognized as a top state for election administration and integrity and even earned awards for cyber security measures, accessibility for the disabled community, and poll worker recruitment and voter outreach.”
He went on to discuss the importance of secure elections and promised to continue his mission of ensuring “every Iowa business thrives (and) every eligible vote counts.”
Pate previously served as Iowa’s secretary of state from 1995-1999. He lost a primary bid for the Republican nomination for governor in 1998 and served as mayor of Cedar Rapids from 2002-2006.
He ran again for secretary of state in 2014 before running for the office again in 2014. He won reelection in 2018 and 2022.
The most recent election saw Pate defeat Democrat Joel Miller with 60% of the vote, compared to Miller’s 39.9%. His current term will end on January 1, 2027.
Pate has supported several changes to Iowa’s election laws during his terms in office. Most recently, he backed a bills that give his office more tools to verify a voter’s citizenship status and standardizes recount procedures.
The legislation comes in response to the chaotic weeks leading up to the 2024 election, when Pate instructed county auditors to challenge the ballots of 2,176 registered voters who he suspected were not citizens based on a faulty list from the Iowa Department of Transportation.
Ultimately, his office found 277 noncitizens on Iowa’s voter rolls, including 35 noncitizens who successfully voted in the 2024 election and five more who tried to vote but had their ballots rejected.
The last-minute moves faced criticism and legal challenges.
Throughout his career, Pate has also served as a state senator and president of the Iowa League of Cities. He was unanimously elected president of the National Association of Secretaries of State in 2019, according to his campaign website, pateforiowa.com.
“I’m Paul Pate, your secretary of state,” the video concluded. “And I’m asking for your vote.”
Norah Judson is a reporter for the Register. Reach her at njudson@gannett.com.
TAMA COUNTY, Iowa — A pair of power outages left more than 700 people without power in Tama County Friday afternoon.
Alliant Energy says the larger outage, just north of Garwin, was caused by a semi-truck striking one of their power poles. That outages impacted 690 customers as of 5 p.m. Friday.
The smaller outage impacted roughly 36 people in Tama. The outage was caused by equipment needing repairs.
Alliant says crews are on site and working to fix both outages.
SPIRIT LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) – The Iowa Great Lakes community is remembering Leo “Butch” Parks, a longtime lakes-area businessman and founder of Parks Marina.
He died Tuesday, Jan. 6, at the age of 81.
Parks established the marina on East Lake Okoboji in 1983, growing it from a small fishing boat operation into a business with marinas, sales, service, rentals, storage, and popular destinations like the Barefoot Bar.
Parks and his wife, Debbie, also owned Okoboji Boat Works for 23 years.
Funeral services are set for Friday, Jan. 16, at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Spirit Lake. It will be followed by a celebration of life at Snapper’s restaurant in Okoboji that evening.
Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.
Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
Iowa
Iowa woman accused of pandering for prostitution and harassment after incidents at Casey’s and a daycare
AURELIA, Iowa (KTIV) – A Northwest Iowa woman is facing charges of harassment and pandering for prostitution after two incidents took place in December 2025.
Forty-seven-year-old Kristal Miller of Odebolt was taken into custody on an arrest warrant and faces three charges: one count of pandering for prostitution and two counts of first-degree harassment, according to court documents.
The charges stem from two separate incidents that took place on Thursday, Dec. 18. 2025.
According to court documents, at 6:15 a.m., Miller reportedly went to the Casey’s General Store, located at 100 Pearl St. in Aurelia. Documents state Miller approached an employee and customers, requesting money from them.
Authorities state Miller claimed she was wanted by the FBI and told people, if anyone called the police, “she would kill them.”
During this encounter, she also allegedly asked an employee to remove the string from her hooded sweatshirt. Documents state when the employee refused this request, she threatened to strangle them.
That same day at 7 a.m., Miller reportedly approached a female employee outside an Aurelia daycare and asked them for money.
Court documents stated Miller suggested the unnamed employee leave her boyfriend. Miller reportedly told the employee, if she did, then she and Miller would both be paid.
Authorities say when she was told no by the employee, Miller became upset and started yelling at them.
Miller also allegedly threatened to “steal her car” and ”take her away to her guys to start a new life.”
She was booked into the Cherokee County Jail on a cash-only bond of $5,000. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled in Cherokee for Friday, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m.
Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.
Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
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