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Republican Wendy Larson wins Iowa House special election

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Republican Wendy Larson wins Iowa House special election


Republican Wendy Larson has won a special election in northeast Iowa’s House District 7, retaining House Republicans’ supermajority in the state Legislature.

Larson, of Odebolt, will fill the seat of former Rep. Mike Sexton, R-Rockwell City, who resigned Sept. 19 to take a job as Iowa state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s rural development office.

Larson won with 70% of the vote, defeating Democrat Rachel Burns, who received 30%, according to unofficial results from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office.

“I’m very blessed to have the opportunity to serve House District 7,” Larson said in a statement. “Throughout this campaign, I vowed to be a common-sense, conservative leader for rural Iowa in the Statehouse. I look forward to delivering on promises that I campaigned on, including protecting landowner rights, providing property tax relief and protecting our children. I’m eager to carry the voices of House District 7 to Des Moines and deliver results for rural Iowa.”

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House District 7 includes Sac, Pocahontas and Calhoun counties, as well as portions of western Webster County.

Larson is a deaconess at Kiron Baptist Church and a volunteer at the Mobile Food Pantry. She and her husband, Chad, have three children. Larson holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Colorado State University.

Larson campaigned on protecting landowner rights from eminent domain, opposing vaccine mandates, strengthening Second Amendment rights, fighting illegal immigration and “protecting our children from political indoctrination” in school, according to a news release from House Republicans.

With Larson’s win, Republicans retain their 67-seat supermajority in the Iowa House.

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House Speaker Pat Grassley, R-New Hartford, praised Larson’s 40-point victory in a statement.

“Unsurprisingly, House District 7 awarded Wendy Larson a resounding victory today,” he said. “Iowans continue to reject out-of-touch liberal agendas and opt instead for more of the common sense, freedom-loving approach you’ve come to know from Iowa House Republicans. We are proud to have a strong leader for House District 7 in Wendy Larson and we look forward to her joining us in the Iowa House.”

Larson previously ran against Sexton in a Republican primary in 2024, losing that race 51% to 49%.

Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart thanked Bruns for running and praised her campaign.

“Rachel Burns ran a gutsy and inspiring campaign, and the results of her hard work were clear tonight — overperforming by 11 points and forcing Republicans to spend over $35,000 in a district that Donald Trump won by 52,” Hart said in a statement.

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Iowa has seen half a dozen special elections for the Legislature in 2025

Larson’s win marks the fifth special election for the Iowa Legislature in 2025.

In January, Democrat Mike Zimmer pulled off a surprise victory over Republican Kate Whittington in an eastern Iowa Senate seat that Chris Cournoyer vacated when she became lieutenant governor.

Republicans narrowly held a House seat that became vacant after former Rep. Martin Graber died unexpectedly of a heart attack. Republican Blaine Watkins defeated Democrat Nannette Griffin in March.

And in April, Democrat Angelina Ramirez won a special election to the Iowa House to replace Sami Scheetz, who resigned after being appointed to fill a vacancy on the Linn County Board of Supervisors. Ramirez defeated Republican Bernie Hayes.

Democrat Catelin Drey in August won a special election for the Iowa Senate seat previously held by Rocky De Witt, who died of pancreatic cancer. She defeated Republican Christopher Prosch, breaking Senate Republicans’ supermajority in the 50-member chamber.

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Polk County residents will head to the polls for one final election on Dec. 30 to fill the Senate District 16 seat left vacant by the death of Sen. Claire Celsi in October.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on X at @sgrubermiller.





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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)

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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)


Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field

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Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.

Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field

Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.

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Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field

Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.

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Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field

Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.

Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis

Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.

Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf

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One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.

Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf

An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.

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Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field

Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.

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Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field

The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting

High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit


The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.

Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.

The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.

After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.

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“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”

Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).

“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.

A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”

A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.

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Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.

He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.

A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.

Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall

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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall


DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.

One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.

“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”

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Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.

“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”

Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.

Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.

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“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.

Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.



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