Laura Belin
Laura Belin has been called “probably the hardest-working — and perhaps the best — political reporter in the state” and “one of the best investigative reporters in the state.”
Appears in 153 Episodes
First take on Iowa's 2026 election results
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent a full hour talking about Iowa's state and federal election results, going in depth on the big Democratic victories: Rob Sand for g...
Trump and RFK in Iowa, candidates' closing messages
In this final pre-election episode, Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks discussed the latest early vote numbers, what Iowans need to bring to vote on election day, and the U...
Early vote numbers, Trump in Sioux City, more campaign news
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with an update on Iowa's early voting numbers, then discussed Donald Trump's rally in Sioux City from several angles, with highligh...
IA-01 triage, more debates, 3Q fundraising
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with somber news about the First Gentleman's cancer recurrence and a tragedy in Rob Sand's family. They discussed fundraising, adve...
Debates, Wulf's mystery loan, election worker's criminal trial
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with some reminders about how to vote early in Iowa, beginning on October 14. They covered two new Iowa polls, the first debates be...
Special session, NYT/Siena poll, first IA-02 and IA-04 debates
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half the program on different angles related to last week's special Iowa legislative session. Lawmakers approved economic inc...
Steel mill politics, Trump v Selzer, Bernie for Chris Jones
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with breaking news: a proposed $15 billion investment in a steel mill in southeast Iowa, political reaction to the idea, and a poss...
Vance in Iowa, new poll, shifting stances on Iran war
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with candidate remarks at two large Republican events: a rally featuring Vice President JD Vance and the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coa...
RNC, Cy-Hawk politics, news from the races for Senate and governor
Laura Belin and Bob Leonard (filling in for Spencer Dirks) began with news from the RNC's midterm convention and political happenings related to the Cy-Hawk football g...
Derek Wulf's finances; another new Iowa poll
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half of this episode discussing newly reported information regarding the financial and legal entanglements of Derek Wulf, the...
New Iowa poll; tight races for attorney general and Ag sec
Laura Belin and Dennis Hart (filling in for Spencer Dirks) analyzed Suffolk University's latest Iowa poll findings on the races for governor, U.S. Senate, and a propos...
More Iowa State Fair politics, new campaign ads
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the slew of senior Trump administration officials who came to support Republican candidates during the Iowa State Fair, questi...
Politics at the Iowa State Fair
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the DNC calendar and how it may impact Iowa Democrats, as well as the latest news about Libertarian candidates for Congress an...
Emerson poll, new ads, data centers and health care in the campaigns
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the latest news about Libertarian efforts to field candidates for governor and Congress. They covered several findings from th...
Election-related court cases, legislative targets, another school book ban challenge
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks started with three court rulings related to Libertarian candidates for governor or Congress, and a new Republican suit to revive a restri...
2026 state and federal campaign news; DNC's Iowa snub
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the latest governor's race news: policy ideas, wrangling over debates, Zach Lahn's change message, a new TV ad, and the first ...
GOP candidate pitches, Derek Wulf finances, 2Q fundraising
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with Republican speeches to the Family Leadership Summit: Ashley Hinson, Zach Lahn, Mike Johnson, and more. They discussed Laura's ...
Candidate pitches and news from Iowa courts
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the big Iowa Democratic and Republican fundraisers that happened over the weekend, covering remarks by Pete Buttigieg and all ...
Conflicting polls, Iowa angles on SCOTUS rulings, new state laws
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with two independent polls that paint a different picture of Iowa's races for governor and U.S. Senate. They discussed Zach Lahn's ...
Lots of news from the campaign trail, Congress, and courts
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks review another busy week in Iowa politics, starting with the Libertarian candidates for governor and lieutenant governor challenging the ...
Senate poll, governor's race news, abortion in the 2026 campaigns
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with news from Iowa's U.S. Senate race: a poll showing a small lead for Josh Turek, a conservative group already spending for Ashle...
Derek Wulf controversies, Libertarians challenged
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half of this show covering the governor's race, including several angles related to Republican nominee Zach Lahn choosing Der...
Governor's race, Senate poll, lawmakers defeated in primaries
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks covered many developments in the governor's race, including Rob Sand's lieutenant governor pick, first general election rally, and first ...
Analyzing the Iowa primary election results
Laura Belin and Mike Murphy walked through results from Iowa's June 2 primary elections, spending the most time on the governor's race, where there was a photo finish ...
Previewing Iowa's primary elections
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent this entire episode on Iowa's upcoming state and federal primary elections, taking place on June 2. They began with the latest deve...
Iowa state candidate fundraising, 2nd GOP debate
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began this Memorial Day episode by remembering four Iowans who died in military service in the Middle East over the past year. They spent...
Lots of news about Iowa's U.S. Senate race
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent about half of the show on news from the campaign for Iowa's open U.S. Senate seat: the second (and last) televised debate between Z...
Wahls/Turek debate, new campaign ads and polls
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks spent most of this show on 2026 campaign news, starting with what Iowans need to cast early ballots for the June 2 primary and the first ...
Legislature wraps, property taxes, GOP debate, new polls
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with the marathon finish to the Iowa legislature's 2026 session: the all-nighter at the capitol, culminating in the final agreement...
New ads; lawmakers work on budget, taxes, nominees, cancer
Laura Belin and Spencer Dirks began with ad buys and air time reservations in Iowa's U.S. House races, new ads for Republican candidates Adam Steen and Zach Lahn, Stev...