DES MOINES — “What would happen if nobody was watching?” asks the website of the Iowa Capital Dispatch, which is marking its five-year anniversary Tuesday, Jan. 7.

In 2020, that scenario was rapidly becoming a reality in Iowa, as once-robust local newsrooms dwindled under financial pressures and “news deserts” became the norm in rural areas. Media watchers noted the shift meant citizen engagement and corporate accountability were already falling, and the threat of more government corruption and higher public costs was real.

Enter the Iowa Capital Dispatch, which launched Jan. 7, 2020.

“Our motto is ‘Community journalism for democracy,’” wrote Capital Dispatch Editor-in-Chief Kathie Obradovich on the newsroom’s first day of publishing. “We are bringing over 100 years of combined Iowa journalism experience to coverage of state and federal government policy and politics.”

The Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, now the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with on-the-ground reporting from every state capital. Iowa was the 10th state newsroom to be launched by the network, which now operates 39 newsrooms and partners with and supports already-established nonprofit newsrooms in 11 other states.

Six other newsrooms will also mark their five-year anniversaries with States Newsroom in 2025, including the Minnesota Reformer, Tennessee Lookout, Louisiana Illuminator, Colorado Newsline, Kansas Reflector and Missouri Independent.

“Under Kathie’s leadership, the Capital Dispatch team has quickly become an essential part of the Iowa press corps,” said Chris Fitzsimon, publisher of States Newsroom. “Launching just before the COVID pandemic, covering the Statehouse in Des Moines and tapping into issues across the state, our Iowa journalists consistently demonstrate how important it is for communities to have access to high-quality, nonpartisan reporting.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch stories win journalism awards and bring real-world change to local communities. A few highlights:

• Reporter Clark Kauffman has single-handedly raised awareness in Iowa about the frequency and severity of abuse and neglect of elderly nursing home residents in Iowa.

• This story made international news after it was reported in November 2020: Lawsuit: Tyson managers bet money on how many workers would contract Covid-19

• This story is the Capital Dispatch’s most-read story over five years: Nursing home administrator cited after man was locked outside overnight (April 7, 2023)

• Most-read opinion/commentary, by Kathie Obradovich, published in 2022: Silly school litter box rumors front a darker agenda

• Iowa Newspaper Association Best News Story award in 2023: Town’s drinking water contamination returns after testing ends

Local news outlets across Iowa regularly republish Capital Dispatch coverage in their publications.

“What I think is most valuable about their coverage,” said Anelia K. Dimitrova, who recently stepped away from helming Waverly Newspapers after a 23-year stint as the executive editor, “is that they keep focus on the issues at the state level and on important developments that smaller community news organizations do not have the capacity to cover. The fact that the content is free for readers, and to news organizations interested in carrying it, is a great testament to their commitment to sharing their quality journalism, which ultimately benefits all. Their work is immensely valuable and deserves special recognition.”

Obradovich said she never imagined how quickly Iowans and legacy media outlets would embrace a startup, online news outlet as a trusted source for accurate, objective reporting.

“It is a credit to our hardworking and talented staff of reporters, who are dedicated to digging out news that Iowans want and need and can find nowhere else,” she said.

The five-person staff of the Iowa Capital Dispatch will mark the anniversary by doing what they do every day: reporting the news in Iowa.

MEDIA AVAILABILITY:
Kathie Obradovich, Editor in Chief, Iowa Capital Dispatch, [email protected], 515-720-1914
Lara Weber, Communications Director, States Newsroom, [email protected], 312-952-0788

ABOUT STATES NEWSROOM

States Newsroom is the nation’s largest nonprofit news organization. We shine a light on policy and politics in state capitals around the nation and we provide that coverage for free, no pop-ups, paywalls or ads. In an era of rampant disinformation and news deserts, we provide nonpartisan coverage of the state issues that most affect people’s daily lives.

Leading studies cite States Newsroom as key to filling the void in coverage left by staffing cuts at legacy media outlets. According to one study, the overall percentage of reporters working for nonprofit newsrooms in the statehouse press corps has more than tripled since 2014 and now makes up the largest portion of statehouse reporters in 10 states and the second largest in 17 states.

We run — or partner with — news outlets in all 50 state capitals.

We fully fund newsrooms in 39 states, each with its own website. They are: