Republicans prevail in Iowa and the Midwest, as voters decide Covid-19 is something they will all just live with — and die from — The watch party for Theresa Greenfield wasn’t much of a party. The Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate for Iowa had taken Covid-19 precautions seriously and only opened the event to members of the press. As we waited for Greenfield to come out and make her concession speech, the noise…

Republicans followed Trump’s lead on the virus, and it's working — North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Montana, and Iowa. Those aren’t just states on the electoral map. They’re the states where Covid-19 counts are the highest in the nation, and they are staying the highest. With the exception of Wisconsin, which may not even be called until tomorrow, all of these…

And if they do, will it be enough? — In 2016, a plurality of white women voted for Donald Trump — 47% to 45% for Clinton. Which was incredible given the “grab them by the pussy” comments and all the sexual assault allegations. …

Your Midwest correspondent is ready for a plate of fries and for this all to be over — Hello, I’m Lyz Lenz, and I am sitting in a hotel in Des Moines, Iowa at the election night headquarters for Democrat Theresa Greenfield, who is challenging Republican incumbent Sen. Joni Ernst. I covered the caucuses here in Iowa and accurately predicted that they would be a nightmare. Like the…

Pregnant women feel empowered to ask for things they’d never dared — but they’re also told what to do more than ever — For many women, pregnancy is an honor — the canonization of a certain type of femininity. Often, it’s the only time society celebrates a woman, besides her wedding. There are baby showers. Pregnancy photos. Gifts. Special food. Special attention. People on the subway give up their seat for you. Men…

State Sen. Randy Feenstra ousted the nine-term U.S. representative by promising voters he would be more effective than King — It’s official: On June 2, amid protests against anti-Black racism in all 50 states, notoriously racist nine-term Iowa Rep. Steve King lost his Republican primary bid to Randy Feenstra, an Iowa state senator who harbors every noxious belief King does — he just says it the Iowa nice way.

Iowa has the fastest-growing number of Covid-19 cases in the country. But Gov. Kim Reynolds is loosening restrictions. — On March 11, the day the World Health Organization declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic, Iowa seemed to think it was unassailable. News stories had filtered into the state. We had our first confirmed case on March 8, but the virus itself felt distant. We had a shitshow of…

But everything is also always mending — I was born into a world that was always ending. In our sweaty Texas church of fire and the end of days, we sang, “People get ready, Jesus is coming.” …

You never would have known that night was going to end in disaster from inside that room — In a high school band room in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, two women sit behind me. They are my neighbors. One woman goes to my gym. I don’t recognize her until she pulls her hair away from her face and says, “Now imagine me sweaty!” Both of the women are both…