Reporter Katie Akin began her career as an intern at PolitiFact, debunking viral fake news and fact-checking state and national politicians. She moved to Iowa in 2019 for a politics internship at the Des Moines Register, where she assisted with Iowa Caucus coverage, multimedia projects and the Register’s Iowa Poll. She became the Register’s retail reporter in early 2020, chronicling the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Central Iowa’s restaurants and retailers.
Gov. Kim Reynolds emphasized the importance of personal freedom and presented Iowa’s approach to the economy and COVID-19 as “an alternative” to Democratic policies during her nationally televised GOP response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.