Liam Halawith

I am a politics reporter who has led award-winning coverage of Iowa politics, elections, and health policy at The Daily Iowan and as a news intern at The Gazette. 

The Daily Iowan •

Iowa counties press on as state reviews opioid grants

Amanda Eleazar, of Iowa City, was just 25 years old when she started using opioids. It was 2014, and she was a mother of four living in Tennessee. Her husband received a prescription from a local pain specialist clinic. He ended up addicted to opioids, and she eventually joined him. 
After years of addiction, Eleazar and her husband moved to Burlington, Iowa, to start their recovery in a new place. Eventually, they both relapsed. Eleazar’s husband later died of endocarditis, or an infection of t...
The Daily Iowan •

Senior Column | An experience I couldn’t get anywhere else

From covering the Iowa caucuses to traveling across the country to bounce around Atlanta, Georgia, on election night 2024, I’ve had no shortage of unique experiences during my time at The Daily Iowan. 
Ever since I wrote my first story in the 10th grade, I knew I was hooked on talking to random people and writing about what I learned. I never thought that journey would take me to where I am today, graduating after leading the politics section at the DI for three years. 
It has not always been an...
The Daily Iowan •

Health insurance changes lead to rising costs

Cheryl Westrich of Decorah, Iowa, owns and operates a small bakery business after leaving the education field to pursue her dream of being a small business owner. Westrich said the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which allows adults to purchase insurance through a federally regulated market, gave her the financial freedom to open her own business. 
The subsidies kept her from worrying about losing the access to insurance that came along with it. Now, rising premiums and expiring subsidies are m...
The Daily Iowan •

Former UI student Ali Younes found guilty of robbery, theft, and attempted murder

Former University of Iowa Student Ali Younes, 22, was found guilty of three felonies on Friday after he robbed and strangled an Iowa City woman outside of the UI’s Art Building West in April 2022.
Sixth Judicial District Judge Kevin McKeever found Younes guilty of attempted murder, first-degree robbery, and first-degree theft following a non-jury trial on July 8 and 9. 
Younes fled the U.S. to Jordan in 2022 following his arrest and release on bail. Younes pled guilty to escaping from custody an...
The Daily Iowan •

Iowa’s rural hospitals brace for impacts from Medicaid changes

Grace Nelson, a third-year University of Iowa student from Sioux City, Iowa, was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at 18 months old and has been a powered wheelchair user since she was 3. 
Nelson uses a personal care attendant for 14 to 18 hours a day, seven days a week — a program paid for through a Medicaid waiver to cover the home health care service. 
Having an attendant is what makes it possible for Nelson to attend the UI and remain active on campus. “Having to reduce those hours woul...
The Daily Iowan •

Miller-Meeks hosts tumultuous town hall in Keosauqua

“When hell freezes over” The town hall laid bare voters’ frustrations with Miller-Meeks and the Trump administration who face a tough re-election campaign in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. The race is currently rated a toss-up by multiple election forecasters, including Sabato’s Crystal Ball. In 2026, Miller-Meeks faces a challenge from two-time Democratic nominee Christina Bohannan, Muscatine Democrat and former trade lawyer Taylor Wettach, and Tiffin Democrat Travis Terrell. Wettach attend...
The Daily Iowan •

Iowa Democrats look ahead to midterms at annual dinner

DES MOINES — Following nationwide gains for Democrats last Tuesday, and a year of success for Iowa Democrats running in special elections, Iowa Democrats rallied at their annual Liberty and Justice Dinner at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines on Sunday. 
Democrats hope to continue their success into next year’s midterm elections, where they face a slate of competitive races in statewide and federal elections. 
The annual celebration comes after Democrats won off-cycle elections in New Jersey a...
The Daily Iowan •

With cuts to Medicaid, health policy experts worry addiction care could suffer

Ann Breeding remembers the moment she was told her 29-year-old son, Daniel Bailey, had died of a drug overdose.Breeding recalled dropping to her knees in the living room — now decked with pictures and shrines paying homage to her late son — of her Bondurant home, screaming “no” over and over again. When Bailey died, he had been drug-free for six months after nearly 12 years of addiction thanks to finally receiving treatment for his long-term substance use at Bridges of Iowa, an addiction care ce...
The Daily Iowan •

As Iowa soybean farmers continue a record harvest, a trade war with China spells financial hardship for farmers

Iowa soybean farmers are harvesting what the Iowa Farm Bureau says could be a record crop this year, with an expected 53 bushels per acre. But Verne Hosek, who lives outside Fairfax, isn’t optimistic about making money this year.Hosek, who farms hay, soybeans, and corn in northwest Johnson County, said his operation has been squeezed from both sides of their balance sheet as rising costs on fertilizer, machinery, and higher interest rates have increased his expenses, while soybean and corn price...
The Daily Iowan •

Trump visits Iowa, Iowa’s congressional delegation votes for “big beautiful” reconciliation bill

DES MOINES — President Donald Trump visited the Iowa State Fairgrounds on Thursday to tout his recent legislative accomplishment, his “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” and kick off a series of celebrations across the country to celebrate the U.S.’s 250th anniversary. 
Trump was joined by Iowa’s Republican Congressional delegation, which hours earlier voted for the massive spending and tax cut bill that is estimated to raise the deficit by $3.4 trillion over a decade and increase the debt limit, or t...
The Daily Iowan •

AEA transition to a fee-for-service model has left rural districts paying more

Megan Dial-Lapcewich, of Oxford, Iowa, knew her 3-year-old son Eddie was falling behind developmentally with his speech. She said she could only understand about 50 percent of what he said, when at that point in his development, she should be able to understand 75 percent.
She said Eddie’s developmental delay in speech caused some frustrations at home as he tried to communicate with the family but couldn’t get his point across.
Dial-Lapcewich said she decided to get his delay checked out after a...
The Daily Iowan •

While tuition prices climb, lawmakers ponder solutions

Avery Dettbarn knew she wanted to be a lawyer since she was 10 years old. After watching the popular TV series “Law & Order” with her mother in her rural northeastern hometown of Strawberry Point, Iowa.
The high cost of college made Dettbarn’s journey much harder.
When Dettbarn applied to colleges during her senior year of high school, she wanted to kickstart her legal career as a Hawkeye. The combination of in-state tuition and proximity to Strawberry Point — just 83 miles away from the town of...
The Daily Iowan •

Food pantries brace for surge as aid halts due to shutdown

Iowa’s food pantries brace for what could be a record surge in visits after Iowa and other states announced they would not be delivering November food assistance benefits due to the ongoing federal government shutdown. 
The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services announced Oct. 17 that the U.S. Food and Nutrition Service — a department within the U.S. Department of Agriculture in charge of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP— told SNAP administrators across the country no...
The Daily Iowan •

Rob Sand emphasizes bipartisanship in Johnson County town hall

Rob Sand, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Iowa governor, emphasized an end to the “culture wars” and hyperpartisanship in Des Moines during his Johnson County town hall on Thursday, which drew over 300 attendees to Field Day Brewing in North Liberty. 
Sand is running for the governorship, among a crowded field of Democratic gubernatorial hopefuls, following incumbent Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement that she would not seek reelection in April.  
Sand has run on making Iowa “not...
The Daily Iowan •

Senatorial hopeful Jackie Norris navigates political firestorm following arrest of Des Moines Public Schools superintendent by ICE

Des Moines Democrat and senatorial hopeful Jackie Norris has come under fire from Iowa Republicans as she navigates the aftermath of the arrest of former Superintendent Ian Roberts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents on Sept. 26. 
Norris chairs the Des Moines Independent Community School District Board, the board overseeing the state’s largest school district, and has had to navigate the shock, anger, disappointment, and politics that have come since federal agents arrested Ro...
The Daily Iowan •

Video shows Iowa City resident arrested by federal agents at Bread Garden Market

An Iowa City resident was taken into custody by federal agents at Bread Garden Market in Iowa City on Thursday morning. 
A video provided to The Daily Iowan by Escucha Mi Voz, an immigrant workers’ rights organization based in Iowa City, shows Jorge Elieser Gonzalez Ochoa being detained by three men in plain clothes who identified themselves as federal agents. 
Jim Mondanaro, the owner of Bread Garden Market, said in an email to the DI that federal agents arrived at the store, unannounced, and c...
The Daily Iowan •

Few protections remain for transgender Iowans following repeal of civil rights protections

Sean McRoberts of Iowa City first came to terms with their gender identity almost six years ago while in their upper 30s and has felt freer and more like themselves since. 
McRoberts, a transgender nonbinary person, said growing up, they did not have the language available to understand what they felt. 
“It has really been empowering and freeing to come to that self-understanding,” McRoberts said. “I’m really grateful, especially for the people who have walked with me in that, and the people who...
The Daily Iowan •

Ashley Hinson kicks off Senate bid in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS — Iowa Republican U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson formally kicked off her bid for Iowa’s U.S. Senate seat in a room full of supporters in Cedar Rapids on Sunday as she vowed to be President Donald Trump’s “top ally” in the Senate if elected.
Hinson is vying for the Republican nomination of the U.S. Senate seat left vacant after U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, announced on Sept. 2 she would not seek reelection. She is considered a frontrunner for the nomination with a bevy of endorsements from...
The Daily Iowan •

Student loan caps leave future uncertain

Karima Mohammed, a fourth-year University of Iowa student from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, always wanted to be a doctor. Under Republican lawmakers’ new student loan caps for certain graduate and professional programs, her path to a medical degree has even more financial obstacles.
“My passion has always been to help people, and I’ve always had a kind of calling into medicine from a young age,” Mohammed said.
Currently, Mohammed is working toward her degree in human physiology while preparing for...
The Daily Iowan •

An onslaught of deportations hits Iowa communities

Pascual Pedro, a 20-year-old who previously lived in West Liberty, Iowa, with his grandfather, entered the U.S. from Guatemala in 2018 and has resided in Iowa ever since. This summer, he was one of hundreds of Iowans deported from the U.S. This number has more than doubled since 2024.
He was a high school soccer star who helped propel his small town team to a state victory, an active member in his local community, and regular attendee church at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in West Liberty. He ha...
The Daily Iowan •

Lawmakers, governor eye solutions for Iowa’s soaring cancer rates

Cathy Ketton, of Waterloo, Iowa, found a lump in her breast in February 2022. She had just been released from the hospital after complications from contracting COVID-19 and had read the virus can cause lumps in your breasts in rare cases.
She brought her concerns to her doctor, who agreed it could be from COVID-19. She said he told her to come back in six weeks.
Six weeks later, the lump was still there.She told her doctor, who she said wasn’t concerned. However, Cathy knew the lump was there. S...
The Daily Iowan •

Iowa’s cancer rates continue to increase, number of survivors grows

While Iowa continues to have the second highest and fastest growing rate of new cancers in the country, decreasing death rates create a growing number of cancer survivors in Iowa.
According to a new Cancer In Iowa report released Tuesday by the Iowa Cancer Registry, Iowa is home to 171,535 cancer survivors in 2025, compared to just 168,610 last year. The number is increasing as improvements in medical science have led to a decreasing mortality rate, and the number of new cancers continues to gro...
The Daily Iowan •

Facing physician shortage, Gov. Reynolds touts new residency slots, doubling loan repayment

Abby Davison, a third-year medical student at the University of Iowa’s College of Medicine, is hoping to stay in Iowa for her residency, where she plans to train to become an OB-GYN — a specialty Iowa critically needs.
Davison grew up in a military family, moving from state to state until she finally settled in Iowa and graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf.
She then received her Bachelor’s in Neuroscience and Ethics and Public Policy from the UI in 2022. Now, she is hoping t...
The Daily Iowan •

Iowa Republican lawmakers eye “comprehensive review” of state higher education system

DES MOINES — Iowa Republican lawmakers are eyeing a “comprehensive review” of the state’s higher education system, including the state’s three regent-controlled universities. 
A newly formed Iowa House Higher Education Committee, chaired by Iowa Rep. Taylor Collins, R-Mediapolis, was formed at the opening of this session, indicating Iowa lawmakers are taking a heavier hand in governing Iowa’s higher education system, including universities governed by the Iowa Board of Regents. 
The new committe...
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