Iowa
‘This is the grassroots.’ Iowans gather to caucus ahead of midterms
Watch US Rep. Randy Feenstra make his case to be Iowa’s next governor
Fourth District Congressman Randy Feenstra talked to Iowa Caucusgoers Monday, Feb. 2, as he campaigned for governor.
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra rallied Republicans at a West Des Moines caucus site Monday, Feb. 2, as both parties work to get organized ahead of a competitive midterm election year.
His stop at the Stilwell Junior High caucus site was Feenstra’s first of several planned visits across Polk and Dallas counties, and he touted his work in the state Legislature and in Congress as he appealed to some of his party’s most active members.
“This last year has just been amazing working with President Trump and making sure that we take America first,” he told the group. “I was on Air Force One last week. We were talking about this — making sure that we continue lowering taxes, to make sure that we lower prices at the gas pump and our groceries and all this other stuff.”
Republicans and Democrats held their Iowa Caucuses Feb. 2 at locations across the state.
For Feenstra and other candidates facing a June 2 primary election, this year’s caucuses presented a chance to elevate their name recognition among key party activists, gather signatures to get on the ballot and recruit supporters as they look to break away from the pack.
Especially in years when there is no presidential nomination, the caucuses are about getting the parties organized, submitting planks to be included in their platforms, persuading people to sign up as delegates and getting them to commit to being involved with their local party apparatus.
Feenstra is one of five candidates running for the Republican Party’s gubernatorial nomination. The others include state Rep. Eddie Andrews, businessman Zach Lahn, former state Rep. Brad Sherman and former Department of Administrative Services director Adam Steen.
At Stilwell Junior High, each of the remaining four gubernatorial candidates had a supporter designated to speak on their behalf.
Representatives also spoke in favor of Republican U.S. Reps. Zach Nunn, who is seeking reelection to the 3rd District, and Ashley Hinson, who is running to replace Joni Ernst in the U.S. Senate.
For candidates, Iowa Caucuses are a chance to engage with the grassroots
Feenstra told reporters that he was excited to engage with the grassroots of his party.
“This is the time where the Republican Party gets together, talks about policy, and talks about how we’re going to make sure that we keep this state red, making sure that we don’t get extreme liberals running this great state,” he said. “So that’s what’s happening today, and I’m so excited. This is the grassroots. These are the people that door knock. They put out the signs and everything like that. So it’s fun to be a part of it.”
Laura Ridgway, a 65-year-old West Des Moines resident who caucused Monday, said she feels a responsibility to come.
“How can you complain about your government if you’re not willing to participate and create change or at least listen?” she said.
She said she likes what she knows about Feenstra, but she’s also interested in Steen. She knows Steen has been endorsed by conservative media personality Steve Deace and respects his recommendation.
Mostly, she said, she wants a governor who can keep the state “in line with Christian values.”
Dale Helling spoke in favor of Steen at the Stilwell caucus site Monday after meeting him at a recent fundraiser and coming away “super impressed.”
He likes that Steen has experience in both the private and government sectors, and he thinks Steen would stack up against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand “very well” in a potential debate.
“I think he’s our best candidate, quite honestly,” Helling said.
He said he’ll vote for whoever ends up winning the primary, but now he’s disappointed that Feenstra isn’t engaging more with the GOP primary field.
“I think Randy might be a little awkward at times,” Helling said. “And quite honestly, I’m not happy — I can see why he’s doing it — but he’s ducking everybody right now. He’s refusing to debate. He probably has the lead right now because of name recognition, and he has more money. So he’s choosing really not to engage. And I don’t like that. You should be out there debating with everybody else, and he’s not doing it.”
Feenstra has increasingly come under fire from party activists for opting out of forums and events that feature his primary opponents, including a Jan. 27 debate in Des Moines.
That debate was the same day Trump visited Iowa, and Feenstra said he was flying to and from Des Moines on Air Force One with Trump and couldn’t attend the event.
Feenstra told reporters he asked Trump for his endorsement on that flight, and he hopes to earn the president’s support this primary cycle. So far, the president has not waded into Iowa’s gubernatorial race, although he has made endorsements in three of the state’s four congressional districts.
Some underdog candidates organize with an eye to possible contested convention
In Iowa, if a candidate in a primary race can’t clear 35% of the vote, the nominee is selected by a group of delegates at the party’s convention.
The selection of those delegates begins on caucus night, with volunteers offering to serve first at the county level, then the district and ultimately the state level.
It’s a possibility for which some groups and campaigns were actively preparing as they went into caucus night.
Chuck Hurley, vice president of Christian conservative organization The Family Leader, has encouraged his group’s supporters to attend their caucuses by reminding them in a series of emails that they could play an outsized role in selecting the party’s nominee for governor if a convention becomes a reality.
“For me, it’s just simple math,” he told the Des Moines Register. “If you have four, five, you know, six candidates in a race, you start dividing up the vote, because they each have people that support them.”
The Steen campaign said they were also preparing for the possibility by making connections with key activists and encouraging them to caucus and become delegates.
“We want to be very active at caucus, because we know if this thing does go to convention, we want people represented at state convention who will support Adam Steen,” said Rob Peters, Steen’s campaign manager.
The selection of a nominee at convention is relatively rare, but the process is far different than an open election and can give way to unpredictable results based on the preferences of those delegates who happen to be serving.
In 2014, David Young won the Republican nomination in the 3rd District congressional race after finishing in fifth place in the primary election and after five rounds of voting at the convention. He later went on to win the general election.
Currently, Feenstra is viewed as the race’s frontrunner. He is a sitting congressman with a large war chest, high name recognition among potential voters and a network of high-profile supporters.
It would be a significant upset if he were unable to hit the 35% benchmark. But so far, Feenstra has been unable to clear the primary field.
Billy Fuerst, a spokesperson for Feenstra, said the campaign is not worried about the possibility of a contested convention.
He noted the campaign’s most recent fundraising report, which showed Feenstra easily leading the GOP field with $4.3 million in fundraising — more than the rest of the Republican field combined.
“We have the resources to win. We have the message to win. And our polling also confirms Congressman Feenstra is the commanding frontrunner in this primary election,” Fuerst said. “And again, he will be nominated in June to be the Republican nominee for governor of Iowa, and he will defeat extreme liberal Rob Sand with his common-sense conservative message.
Brianne Pfannenstiel is the chief politics reporter for the Des Moines Register. She writes about campaigns, elections and the Iowa Caucuses. Reach her at bpfann@dmreg.com or 515-284-8244. Follow her on X at @brianneDMR.
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – World War II veteran Laverne Severson turns 100 years old on July 14. On Thursday, family, friends and fellow veterans gathered at the Freedom Foundation in Cedar Rapids to honor and celebrate the milestone birthday.
The National World War II Museum says fewer than 1% of World War II veterans remain alive.
Laverne served as a line medic during the war and was stationed in the Philippines.
“As soon as I turned 18, it didn’t take me about a month until I was going overseas,” Laverne said.
His son, Boyd Severson, recalled stories his father shared about life at his base.
“His base over there, he told me they would get air raids every morning. The Japanese would do an air raid and they’d have to run and jump into their foxholes. And this is stuff you see in movies, and he actually lived through this,” Boyd said.
Eric Parker, assistant director of the Freedom Foundation, said veterans like Laverne deserve recognition.
“As long as we are allowed to still be graced with their presence, then we need to just soak that up and just be really thankful,” Parker said. “There needs to be a remembrance and there needs to be a legacy there that we can honor.”
Boyd said the number of surviving World War II veterans in Iowa underscores the importance of events like Thursday’s celebration.
“Slowly but surely we’re losing this generation that, from what I’ve seen, there’s 250 to 275 surviving World War II veterans remaining in Iowa, and my father’s one of them and they all should be recognized. It all should be honored,” Boyd said.
And we had to ask…what’s the secret to a century of life?
“Crackers and peanut butter in the morning for breakfast!” Laverne said.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
‘MasterChef’ winner and son rate 2025 Iowa State Fair foods
‘MasterChef’ Grant Gillon and his son Grady decide once and for all which is the best 2025 Iowa State Fair dish.
Summer at the Iowa State Fair has always been a celebration of Iowa’s appetite for fun, flavor and a little bit of culinary chaos.
On July 7, the Iowa State Fair revealed 84 new dishes served at the 200-plus food stands on the fairgrounds. And while the fair has always had an appetite for foods on a stick, novelty creations and glorious gut busters, the 2026 lineup pushes that spirit further than ever.
This year’s new foods reflect a fair in full technicolor: patriotic desserts exploding with red‑white‑and‑blue pride, global flavors stretching from Hawaii to Vietnam and over‑the‑top creations engineered for the camera as much as the palate. Strawberries dominate the sweets scene, butter becomes a starring ingredient and bison quietly emerges as the protein of the moment. Even classic comfort foods get a modern remix, whether wrapped in frybread, dipped in chocolate or topped with jalapeño heat.
Together, these dishes tell a story of a fair that’s evolving into louder, brighter and more playful dishes while still rooted in Iowa’s love of indulgence, nostalgia and big summer flavor. Here are the 10 trends defining the 2026 Iowa State Fair.
Hyper‑patriotic foods take over
This year, the Iowa State Fair celebrates America’s 250th birthday with a patriotic Fair Spirit theme that includes a massive 250-flag display, a “Spirit of ’76” historical exhibit, nightly drone shows and special events, as well as an official America 250 Tree and the Iowa Veterans Memorial Walkway on Expo Hill.
The State Fair’s 250th‑anniversary theme shows up everywhere, especially in desserts. Red‑white‑and‑blue sprinkles, flag toppers and “1776” branding dominate the fairgrounds.
Look for 1776 Dubai strawberries, dipped in a rich, creamy pistachio-tahini paste and crunchy toasted kataifi (shredded phyllo pastry) for $19 from The Strawberry Station. The Dairy Zone offers patriotic nachos, a sweet treat with waffle chips and vanilla ice cream, drizzled with cherry and blue raspberry dips, topped with whipped cream and festive red, white and blue star sprinkles for $10.
Bubbly Bar has Parmesan ice cream, a nod to an 18th-century sensation that combines the rich, nutty flavor of aged Parmesan with smooth, creamy ice cream. Bubbly layers in tart cherry and buttery pound cake for a Revolutionary-era treat for $14.
Over the Top goes patriotic with Sweet Americana, featuring strawberry shortcake, lemon bar and blueberry crisp ice creams, each topped with a shortcake cookie, a lemon bar square and chocolate-covered blueberries for $13.
Another sweet dish, the Star Spangled Frybread, comes with a sweet glaze, topped with festive red, white and blue sprinkles and finished with a light dusting of powdered sugar from Its Dough Time for $12.
On the savory side of the menu, Blue Ribbon Bar & Eatery has the 1776 Liberty Bowl with a sourdough bread bowl loaded with cheese curds, French fries and slow-roasted shredded beef, all smothered in gravy and topped with hand-breaded onion rings. Try it for $15.
This is the most overtly patriotic menu the fair has produced in years.
Chocolate‑covered everything
Chocolate is the year’s dominant sweet, whether it’s poured, drizzled, dipped or smothered.
Try Belgian chocolate-covered strawberries from The Strawberry Station for $17 or an affogato, an espresso ice cream drink drizzled with chocolate (or caramel), at the Biscuit Bar for $8.
The Iowa Specialty Crop Growers Association slathers its Strawberry Bliss in chocolate. A buttery shortbread cookie comes topped with a strawberry and a cloud of meringue. The entire creation is covered in milk chocolate, drizzled with white chocolate and finished with a sprinkle of fresh-cut strawberries. Try it for $8.
Chocolate + fruit + spectacle is a clear 2026 signature.
Sweet‑heat mashups
Spicy‑sweet combos are bigger, bolder and more chaotic than ever.
Make your dessert fiery with the Firecracker Churros from Applishus with Lola’s jalapeno and habanero pepper spice sauce, honey molasses and sugar topped with an apple butter and cream cheese dip for $10.
Maybe one of the craziest concoctions at the fair is the Cajun Cluck ’N’ Chaos, a Cajun-style chicken sloppy joe with crunchy sweet pepper coleslaw and fiery spicy pickles topped with a skewer stacked with a tangy pickled egg and extra pickles, finished with a cloud of lime-infused pickle cotton candy. It all comes on a brioche bun at Cluckin’ Coop for $14.
Cowboy Candy from Stockman’s Inn brings sweet and spicy breaded jalapenos for $5.
Whatcha’ Smokin BBQ returns with Star Spangled Swine with pork belly with an apple chipotle rub and Big Red soda glaze rolled in blue and white honey crystals for $15.
While this trend marks a continuation of the fair’s love affair with spicy‑sweet combos, this year they’re more extreme.
Cheese goes maximalist
Cheese isn’t a garnish — it’s the headliner in 2026, with dishes with the dairy product as the main event.
Start with America’s “Berry” Good Grilled Cheese from What’s Your Cheez for $16. It combines several trends with a sweet and savory grilled cheese made with caramelized brioche bread, stuffed with blueberry white cheddar, layered with tart raspberry amaretto jam and blueberry bourbon jam, then stuffed with crispy candied pork belly that has a touch of sweet heat. Patriotic, sweet and savory, maximalist and cheesy all in one dish.
Cheese takes center stage with the Mozza‑Tini from DG – Destination Grille for $10. These hand-breaded gluten-free mozzarella sticks come with warm vodka sauce, jalapeno ranch drizzle and fresh parsley. Spicy and sweet come together with cheese.
The garlic dill pickle cheese curds from Brad & Harry’s Cheese Curds for $9 combine the food stand’s two most popular flavors, garlic and dill pickle.
Strawberries are the star fruit
Strawberries appear in more new food dishes than any other fruit. Often, they are paired with chocolate or patriotic themes.
The 1776 Dubai Strawberries at The Strawberry Station, the Strawberry Bliss at the Iowa Specialty Crop Growers Association and Sweet Americana at Over the Top are just some of the dishes offered at the fair.
This mirrors national trends. Strawberries are having a moment.
Global fusion expands
Hawaiian, Vietnamese, Salvadoran and Mexican influences make this the fair’s most international menu yet.
New dishes include Saigon birria pupusa from Saigonais Cuisine for $10. A pupusa comes filled with pho-braised brisket and melted cheese, served with a hoisin birria consommé for dipping. “Just as Iowa’s heritage has been built by generations of people bringing their own stories and traditions to the table, the Saigon birria pupusa brings Salvadoran, Vietnamese and Mexican flavors together in one dish. It is a tribute to the fair spirit — a celebration of unity, heritage and the American tradition of creating something greater together,” the fair said of the dish.
A taste of Hawaii brings spam musubi to Kama’aina Grill for $5. This fusion food combines American spam with Japanese musubi (rice ball) techniques. The stand also has Kama’aina Bento for $23. The plate lunch from Hawaii features teriyaki beef, fried saimin noodles, spam or garlic chicken served with rice and macaroni salad.
Bao Bao’s Tanghulu brings tanghulu, a Chinese street food of candied fruit on a stick, for $12.
GoldenKDog brought Korean hot dogs to the fair in 2025. This year, they introduced the Cinnamozza Kdog, a mozzarella cheese Korean corn dog dunked in salted butter, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and topped with Cinnamon Toast Crunch for $18.
Dessert spectacle rules
Desserts are bigger, brighter and built for social media. These over-the-top dishes are shareable, both with another person and on Instagram.
Oreo Overload Nachos from Dairy Zone for $10 start with waffle chips piled around vanilla ice cream, hot fudge topped with crushed Oreo cookies for dipping and whipped cream. Dairy Zone suggested dipping the waffle chips into the sundae.
The deep-fried cookie dough pie from Minneapple Pie comes with vanilla or cinnamon ice cream for $12.
The walking taco goes dessert-style with the walkin’ Oreo sundae for $9 from Wonder Bars.
If combining savory and sweet is your thing, try the Ultimate Bacon-Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut. The $7 snack from The Rib Shack starts with mac and cheese loaded with bacon and brisket that’s breaded in a cake-style coating and finished with a sweet barbecue glaze. Not enough? It’s topped with chopped brisket and garnished with a slice of fresh jalapeno. You can nab six for $30.
Dessert nachos, dessert doughnuts and dessert frybread add up to the fair pushing “dessert as spectacle.”
Bison and pork dominate the protein scene
The Iowa Pork Producers lead the way with pork dishes at the Iowa State Fair. The fair estimates it sells 46-50,000 of its famous Pork Chop on a Stick during the 11-day event. But save room for some new riffs on pork that appear in 2026, including the Porky Pileup at the Stockman’s Inn for $15. The dish features fries layered with pulled barbecue pork, mac n’ cheese and cowboy beans topped with bacon bits.
Kalua pork appears at Kama’aina Grill as a plate lunch with rice and macaroni salad for $18, as well as in a poke bowl for $23.
DG – Destination Grille has the Porky Parm Gnocchi, a gluten-free potato gnocchi and Graziano sausage tossed in a house-made AE cream Parmesan sauce with a pesto drizzle and shaved Parmesan, all topped with an America 250th year flag and a souvenir piggy pal for $14. Note that everything at DG – Destination Grille is gluten-free.
Bison, though, is emerging as the breakout starring protein. Newcomer Sleepy Bison Grill has a bison burger for $13, a bison cheesesteak slider for $11 and bison nachos for $14.
Butter becomes a flavor
The Iowa State Fair is famous for its Butter Cow made with approximately 600 pounds of low-moisture, pure cream Iowa butter. In 2011, the fair turned food media on its collective head with the deep-fried butter on a stick from concessionaire Larry Fyfe. The indulgent dish featured frozen butter dipped in honey-cinnamon batter, deep-fried and topped with a powdered sugar glaze.
In 2026, butter is a micro-trend, with the butter-dipped ice cream cone from Coney Corner for $6 that swaps out chocolate for a buttery hard shell encasing vanilla soft serve.
That Cinnamozza Kdog comes with a salted butter dunk. And buttery desserts feature shortcake, pound cake and even Biscoff cookie butter cheesecake funnel cake from McGrath’s Funnel Cakes for $15.
Chaos foods define the fair
Maximalist, hybrid, over‑the‑top creations are now a fair signature, and the new dishes in 2026 do not disappoint. The Cajun Cluck ’N’ Chaos at Cluckin’ Coop and Ultimate Bacon‑Brisket Mac & Cheese Donut at The Rib Shack certainly fall into that category.
One of the most expensive dishes at the Iowa State Fair brings caviar and chicken nuggets from JR’s SouthPork Ranch for $99 that blends childhood nostalgia with pure luxury. JR’s calls it “a little bit county fair, a little bit Champagne lifestyle and 100% conversation starter.” Coqodaq, a Korean-inspired fried chicken restaurant in New York, served this dish during the 2025 U.S. Open, and McDonald’s followed with a Valentine’s Day special that combined McNuggets with caviar. Now, the trend hits Iowa.
Sign up for our dining newsletter, Table Talk DSM, which comes out on Wednesday mornings with all the latest news on restaurants and bars in the metro. You can sign up for free at DesMoinesRegister.com/tabletalk.
Susan Stapleton is the entertainment editor and dining reporter at The Des Moines Register. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or drop her a line at sstapleton@gannett.com.
One Iowa high school athletic department is facing extremely low numbers in multiple sports, prompting school officials to begin searching for programs to share with.
Exira-EHK High School has already cancelled the upcoming 2026 Iowa High School Athletic Association varsity football season, going instead with a junior varsity-only series of games. According to a report by Western Iowa Today, they have also shared softball with Audubon.
The Exira-EHK/Audubon softball team is currently ranked No. 1 in Class 1A of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union. A total of 11 of the players on the 23-girl team are from Exira-EHK. They are 15th in the latest High School On SI Iowa Top 25 State Rankings as they prepare for postseason play.
Enrollment For Exira-EHK School District Continues To Drop
Enrollment at the high school level for the Spartans is down by over 20 students, with the expectation for even more of a drop in overall enrollment moving into the 2026-2027 school year.
Tom Petersen, the Exira-EHK athletic director, was part of a community-wide meeting earlier this week alongside Trevor Miller, the school superintendent.
“I’m going to continue to campaign, keep working (to get more kids out),” Petersen said. “It’s just part of being an AD and a coach. I have tried every scenario that I can to try and make it that our kids could go and play varsity (football).
“It’s not the state’s fault, it’s not our fault; it’s the middle of a two-year cycle. I coached here for 20 years in football and it’s crushing (to not have a program).”
Petersen also mentioned during the meeting that he is struggling to fill several coaching vacancies, including the head boys basketball position. He said that they have received zero applications for that coaching vacancy.
Spartans Currently Share Multiple Sports With Audubon
Along with baseball and softball, the Exira-EHK school district also shares girls basketball, boys wrestling, girls wrestling, boys tennis and girls tennis with Audubon. Petersen is proposing to the school board a share agreement for boys basketball, boys track and field, and girls track and field, in addition to the other sports.
Last fall, the Spartans went 4-5 overall, as they won 22 games over a stretch of seasons after going 0-7 in 2020. Exira-EHK was 12-1 in 2013 and had three consecutive years of at least eight wins after that.
The schools are a combination of the towns of Exira, Elk Horn and Kimballton.
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