DES MOINES – The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (Iowa HHS) was notified by the Illinois Department of Public Health that an Illinois resident with confirmed measles traveled to Iowa during their infectious period. Iowa HHS is notifying the public of potential exposure locations, which including the Comfort Inn and Suites in Independence from March 4th through the 5th. A total of 1,281 confirmed measles cases have been reported in the United States in 2026. Of these, 93% were unvaccinated. In Iowa, nine measles cases were identified in 2025. To date, no measles cases have been identified among Iowa residents in 2026.

GRIMES – The Polk County Sheriff’s Office reports that a child declared missing in Grimes on Friday morning has died. WHO-13 reports that police were searching for a five-year-old boy with autism, and that nearly an hour after the missing report, he was found unresponsive at a nearby intersection. Despite life-saving efforts, the child died. The sheriff’s office reports that an initial investigation has found nothing suspicious related to the fatality.

DES MOINES – With a $9.67 billion budget proposed in the ongoing legislative session, the state will spend more than a billion than it will take in for a second year in a row. The Des Moines Register reports the revised Revenue Estimate Conference projection shows $8.47 billion in revenue for the current fiscal year. Iowa Republicans are using the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund to pay the difference, with that balance currently at roughly $4 billion.