Amie Rivers

Amie Rivers is Iowa Starting Line’s newsletter editor. She writes the weekly Worker’s Almanac edition of Iowa Starting Line, featuring a roundup of the worker news you need to know. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes and getting pet photos in her inbox.

Have a story tip? Reach Amie at amie@new.iowastartingline.com. For local reporting in Iowa that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie’s newsletter.

Latest from Amie Rivers

  • Local

    7 Iowa events for Transgender Day of Visibility 2024

    Transgender Iowans need joy these days. Eight separate bills have been considered in the latest session of the Iowa Legislature specifically targeting transgender youth, contributing to Iowa Republicans’ 40 anti-LGBTQ bills in total. Fearmongering legislation—like bills banning people from school bathrooms, or erasing LGBTQ history—has led to further stigmatization of the transgender community. That’s contributed…

  • Local

    Linn-Mar cutting 19 teachers, 31 staff, cites ‘underfunding’ from state

    One of the largest school districts in Iowa announced it was cutting 50 staff positions, including 19 full-time teachers, beginning next school year. The Linn-Mar Community School District announced Thursday it would be forced to cut $2.5 million from its budget for the 2024-25 school year. This comes on the heels of a $3 million…

  • Local

    Why it’s nearly impossible to find an Iowa dentist who takes Medicaid

    Laura Sauls of Dumont has two kids, and their pediatric dentist is only a 15-minute drive away. That was, until that dentist called last fall with bad news: The office would no longer accept Medicaid, which meant they would no longer treat Sauls’ children unless she paid cash. With the closest dentist accepting Medicaid over…

  • Local

    What will happen to 1,276 laid-off Tyson workers in Perry?

    What will happen to the 1,276 Iowans who will lose their jobs when the Tyson pork processing plant in Perry closes in June? Roger Kail, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1155, represents workers at that plant, and that is something he is working to figure out. Things had been going…

  • Local

    1,276 people to lose jobs when Tyson plant in Perry closes in June

    1,276. That’s how many people in and around the central Iowa town of Perry will lose their jobs by the end of June, after Tyson announced Monday it would permanently close its longtime pork processing plant there. That’s a HUGE number of workers (and the largest employer in Perry): It’s more than 12% of Tyson’s…

  • Politics

    When getting a raise means losing health care: Disabled Iowans fighting back

    By all rights, Sioux City resident Erica Carter should be a success story. Despite a spinal cord injury 13 years ago—which left her unable to get out of bed without help—Carter was able to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting. Today, she is the finance manager at a public school and is…

  • Local

    UPDATE: Seaboard ends contract after 9 kids found working illegally in Sioux City meatpacking plant

    At least nine children were working on overnight shifts cleaning dangerous meatpacking equipment at a Sioux City plant, according to court filings Wednesday from the US Department of Labor (DOL). The children were allegedly employed by Fayette Industrial, a Tennessee-based company that contracts with other companies to clean their facilities. Fayette had the children working…

  • Local

    Crafty Grandma: Waterloo craft-fluencer sharing her skills

    Sue Wright and I had been chatting over coffee for a while, about her crafting projects, her tiny cardboard houses, and her YouTube presence, when I noticed the buttons of her shirt bore a striking resemblance to buttons inside of the miniature house she was showing me. “Wait—you made this? All the clothes you’re wearing…

  • Politics

    Iowa Republicans have a new union-busting bill

    Labor advocates say a new Republican-backed bill that would force public employers in Iowa to submit a list of employees eligible to vote in their union election prior to each election—and, if the state doesn’t get it in time, they’ll decertify the union—is yet another union-busting tactic. Senate Study Bill 3158, introduced by  Sen. Adrian…