Iowa, once a leader in wind power, is increasingly relying on coal generation as electricity demand surges from AI and data centers, with coal's share rising sharply at major utilities in 2024-2025. The shift has caused a significant jump in harmful emissions including sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, worsening air quality and public health concerns in a state already facing elevated cancer rates.
NextEra Energy secured a $1.9 billion federal loan to restart Iowa's Duane Arnold Energy Center, a 615-megawatt nuclear plant that closed in 2020. The facility will supply power to Google under a 25-year agreement and aims to resume operations by early 2029, supporting growing demand from AI data centers and generating billions in economic value for Iowa.
Law enforcement agencies across the country are concealing their use of surveillance technologies like automated license plate readers (ALPRs), cell-site simulators, and facial recognition to avoid public scrutiny and accountability. Police departments are instructing officers not to mention these tools in reports or during stops, preventing citizens from questioning how tax dollars are spent and denying defendants the ability to challenge evidence gathered by spy tech.
The Supreme Court ordered California AG Rob Bonta and 11 allied state attorneys general to respond by September 25, 2026, to a challenge from Iowa and Montana opposing their antitrust lawsuit against the $111 billion Paramount-Skydance merger. The ruling doesn't indicate whether the Court will take up the red states' request, but the tight deadline creates scheduling conflicts with related federal court proceedings and highlights deepening partisan divisions over the deal's approval.
The U.S. Energy Department will lend up to $1.9 billion to NextEra Energy to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa, which shut down in 2020. Google has agreed to purchase electricity from the plant to power its AI data centers. This loan is part of broader efforts to revive nuclear energy, with similar restart projects underway in Michigan and Pennsylvania.