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A private-school network built around artificial intelligence plans to expand to about 50 campuses this school year, while some Iowa districts pursue a separate AI experiment.

Why it matters: Iowa schools are taking an incremental path on AI, putting new tools in teachers' hands even as other models rethink the classroom itself.

How it works: Alpha School students spend about two hours each day on AI-powered programs for core academics, then focus on life skills and projects.

Instead of licensed teachers leading lessons, Alpha employs "guides" who are paid at least $100,000 annually to coach and motivate students.

Its announced locations include Chicago and Tulsa, but none in Iowa.

Zoom in: Waukee became Iowa's first district to join OpenAI's ChatGPT for Teachers pilot, a tool for lesson planning and classroom activities.

Ankeny teachers have used ChatGPT and MagicSchool to provide personalized reading materials and language assistance.

Zoom out: Just 18% of teachers in public K-12 schools in a recent Gallup study said they've received formal guidance from school administrators on how to use AI tools.

The intrigue: A new Iowa law caps digital instruction for K-5 students at 60 minutes per school day, with exceptions for assessments, assistive technology and computer science.

Districts must also allow parents to request further reductions in their child's digital instruction.

Worthy of your time: A recent Iowa State study of 38 undergraduates found that using AI effectively for writing can require more thought, not less, because students must still develop ideas, exercise judgment, and evaluate the output.

AI schools expand, but Iowa takes a slower path

Des Moines-area districts are testing AI tools to help teachers.

Person with long light-brown hair wearing blue over-ear headphones sits at a desk, using a laptop that shows a graph. A yellow water bottle and a colorful gift box sit nearby on a patterned floor.

<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="A private-school network" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2025/08/27/alpha-schools-ai-artifical-intelligence-education" data-vars-content-id="4314d1a1-d004-49cd-965b-e50062a53af5" data-vars-headline="AI schools expand, but Iowa takes a slower path" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/charlotte/2025/08/27/alpha-schools-ai-artifical-intelligence-education" target="_self">A private-school network</a> built around artificial intelligence plans to expand to about 50 campuses this school year, while some Iowa districts pursue a separate AI experiment.Why it matters: Iowa schools are taking an incremental path on AI, putting new tools in teachers&#x27; hands even as other models rethink the classroom itself.

News

Polk County could get a five-person cold case unit under a proposal that will go before supervisors Tuesday.

Why it matters: It could bring dedicated attention to more than 100 cold cases identified in Polk County in 2024.

Catch up quick: The sheriff has previously relied on retired officers volunteering to revisit old cases.

State of play: Each of the five specialists would be paid about $31 an hour and budgeted for up to 500 hours annually.

The estimated cost is about $90,000 this fiscal year, rising to around $95,000 in subsequent years.

Context: Some local law enforcement agencies already have dedicated cold case staff.

Cedar Rapids police's unit, for example, helped secure a 2024 murder conviction for the 2007 killing of Dennis First, a 64-year-old man who was stabbed and beaten in his apartment.

Inside the room: Polk's request comes as the county prepares for tighter budgets, with a new Iowa law that generally caps growth in city and county general property tax revenue at 2%.

The sheriff's office annual budget is currently around $102 million.

The fine print: The unit wasn't included in the county's adopted budget and would require a budget amendment. 

County documents don't specify where the money will come from or whether other spending would be reduced.

Two-panel image: left a black-and-white close-up of a smiling boy with a bowl haircut; right a teen in a black Adidas shirt with a bright yellow diagonal sash, standing in a dark background.

Des Moines Register paperboy Johnny Gosch disappeared in 1982. Photos: Courtesy of NCMIC

What they're saying: Sheriff Kevin Schneider said in 2024 that his office didn't have the resources to pay for a dedicated cold case team and welcomed help from the state, which was launching its own unit.

What we're watching: Which cases will receive priority and how the new team will coordinate with other departments on cases such as that of Johnny Gosch, a West Des Moines paperboy who went missing in 1982.

Polk County proposes 5-person cold case unit

The sheriff wants dedicated staff focused on old homicide cases.

Illustration of a magnifying glass shaped like a badge. 

Polk County could get a five-person cold case unit under a proposal that will go before supervisors Tuesday.Why it matters: It could bring dedicated attention to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="more than 100 cold cases" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2026/01/20/police-chief-crime-cold-case-west-des-moines" data-vars-content-id="5158e93a-9217-444c-8386-1a41f7492354" data-vars-headline="Polk County proposes 5-person cold case unit" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/des-moines/2026/01/20/police-chief-crime-cold-case-west-des-moines" target="_self">more than 100 cold cases</a> identified in Polk County in 2024.

Midwest families expect to spend $954 on back-to-school purchases this year — about $32 more than the national average, according to a PwC survey.

Why it matters: Back-to-school costs are rising faster for metro families, putting added pressure on household budgets before the school year even begins.

By the numbers: Nearly half of U.S. families expect to spend more than they did last year, PwC found.

Nationally, K-12 back-to-school spending is projected to hit a record $43.3 billion, up nearly 10% from last year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Zoom in: Some Des Moines-area schools and community groups are trying to ease the burden.

Des Moines Public Schools partnered with the Caitlin Clark Foundation this summer to distribute backpacks with supplies and books to nearly 500 students.

Reality check: The spending doesn't stop once school starts.

Households nationwide plan to spend $635 a month on recurring expenses like meals, snacks and tutoring, per PwC.

Back-to-school costs hit $954 in the Midwest

The Caitlin Clark Foundation helps Des Moines students offset back-to-school costs.

Midwest families expect to spend $954 on back-to-school purchases this year — about $32 more than the national average, according to a PwC <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="survey" data-vars-click-url="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/consumer-markets/library/backtoschool-spending.html?" data-vars-content-id="a7ddc4a4-8eb7-4ad7-9e29-dde9ea2ce6f5" data-vars-headline="Back-to-school costs hit $954 in the Midwest" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/consumer-markets/library/backtoschool-spending.html?" target="_blank">survey</a>.Why it matters: Back-to-school costs are rising faster for metro families, putting added pressure on household budgets before the school year even begins.

Polk County may spend nearly $371,000 over three years to help a volunteer-run Des Moines food pantry build a paid staff and provide more reliable evening service.

Why it matters: The investment would test whether county funding can help Knock and Drop Iowa (KADI) meet growing demand without creating permanent dependence on public support.

Driving the news: The Polk County Board of Supervisors will vote Tuesday morning on an agreement that would provide KADI with funding for approximately 100 paid staffing hours per week and would require maintaining at least five part-time employees.

Catch up quick: Zuli Garcia founded KADI in 2020 as a grassroots response to pandemic-era food insecurity, initially delivering food from her garage to Latino families across central Iowa.

The effort evolved into a nonprofit that offers culturally specific food assistance and other community services, initially operating a pantry at the former Franklin Junior High.

Warehouse-style grocery with bright lights. Left: a woman browsing shelves of bags and boxes. Center: checkout area with laptop. Right: shelves stacked with bread and groceries.

Inside Knock and Drop Iowa's food pantry distribution center. Photo: Courtesy of Polk County

State of play: KADI now operates its food pantry at the Polk County Northside Community Center, at 3010 Sixth Ave.

Zoom in: Garcia says its evening experiment showed substantially higher demand.

By the numbers: The agreement would run through June 2029 and require KADI to maintain 4-7pm hours Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

It currently calls for three-hour daytime windows Monday, Thursday and Friday, though KADI can adjust those hours.

Paid staff would handle intake, stocking, food safety and volunteer coordination, while volunteers would continue to assist, Garcia says.

Catch up quick: This is Polk County's second major new multiyear hunger-relief investment this year.

In March, supervisors approved nearly $667,000 over three years to help Caring Hands Outreach Center expand food-rescue operations, including deliveries to the county's River Place pantry.

That deal similarly sought to help a heavily volunteer-driven nonprofit build capacity using county funds and eventually operate without ongoing county support.

What's next: Garcia says KADI would use the three-year period to measure demand and diversify funding through grants, donors, corporate sponsors, and other partnerships, rather than permanently depend on county support.

Polk County weighs $371K boost for Des Moines food pantry

Can county funding meet growing demand without creating lasting dependence?

Sunlit, single-story building labeled "Food Pantry" with a flagpole, ramp, handicapped parking, shrubs, and several cars; an OPEN sign on the sidewalk.

Knock and Drop Iowa operates from the Polk County Northside Community Center. Photo: Google Maps

Polk County may spend nearly $371,000 over three years to help a volunteer-run Des Moines food pantry build a paid staff and provide more reliable evening service.Why it matters: The investment would test whether county funding can help Knock and Drop Iowa (KADI) meet growing demand without creating permanent dependence on public support.

Iowa's youngest students will get more state-required movement this school year — but they're still not guaranteed a daily recess.

Why it matters: Unstructured play offers benefits that organized exercise doesn't necessarily provide, including opportunities for children to build social skills, independence and problem-solving.

Driving the news: A new Iowa law signed in May increases the minimum daily physical activity for students in kindergarten through fourth grade from 30 to 40 minutes beginning this school year.

Fifth graders still need 30 minutes per day, whereas grades six through 12 require 120 minutes per week.

The fine print: Recess can count toward Iowa's requirement, as can P.E., classroom "brain breaks" and other physical activity.

Data: Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research via Bloomberg American Health Initiative; Map: Sami Sparber/Axios

Between the lines: Iowa mandates physical activity, not recess — an important distinction because recess typically offers children unstructured, self-directed play rather than organized exercise.

The same 2026 law requires school districts' K–5 technology policies to prohibit the use of digital devices during recess, but it doesn't specify how much recess students must receive.

Flashback: A 2025 bill would have required K-5 students to receive 30 consecutive minutes of physical activity each day in addition to P.E. and would have generally barred schools from withholding that time.

Zoom out: As of late 2025, 12 states and Washington, D.C., had laws requiring recess, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins.

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

No recess required but Iowa boosts school activity time

Iowa students will get more daily movement under a new state law.

Young girl with long hair smiles through a blurred, colorful inflatable playground. Her arms are raised as orange, blue, and green structures surround her.

Photo: Jon Lemons via Des Moines Public Schools

Iowa&#x27;s youngest students will get more state-required movement this school year — but they&#x27;re still not guaranteed a daily recess.Why it matters: Unstructured <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="play offers benefits" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/04/school-recess-laws-states" data-vars-content-id="e9500bae-9c3b-4e7d-be56-b79361a02902" data-vars-headline="No recess required but Iowa boosts school activity time" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/08/04/school-recess-laws-states" target="_self">play offers benefits</a> that organized exercise doesn&#x27;t necessarily provide, including opportunities for children to build social skills, independence and problem-solving.

A bar chart shows expected U.S. family back-to-school spending for 2026-27 by region. The U.S. average is $922. The Northeast is highest at $1,076, followed by the West at $960 and Midwest at $954. The South is lowest at $832. Data is from 2,080 adults surveyed May 20-22, 2026.

Jason Clayworth

Featured stories

Polk County proposes 5-person cold case unit

Polk County weighs $371K boost for Des Moines food pantry

No recess required but Iowa boosts school activity time

AI schools expand, but Iowa takes a slower path

Back-to-school costs hit $954 in the Midwest