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

  • Politics

    Iowa Republicans want to ban local bans on conversion therapy

    Iowa Republicans are continuing their attack on Home Rule in the Legislature this year, this time going after bans on widely discredited conversion therapy for minors. Iowa Sen. Sandy Salmon—a Republican from Janesville who represents Bremer, Butler, Chickasaw and most of Floyd counties—introduced Senate File 2037 last week. It passed out of a Senate subcommittee…

  • Politics

    Ramaswamy downplays Trump attack, says he is the future of MAGA

    Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy downplayed a social media attack on him by Iowa Caucus frontrunner and former President Donald Trump who told people not to waste their vote on the political newcomer. In Waterloo, Ramaswamy, who has largely run on Trump’s MAGA agenda but says he would be “the future” of it, was careful…

  • Politics

    Haley stumps in Cedar Falls as temperatures continue to drop

    Nikki Haley played up the brutally cold weather conditions and general campaign fatigue during an in-person event Saturday morning in downtown Cedar Falls as the Iowa caucus continues to wind down. “Two days ’til caucus,” Haley, who is campaigning for the top of the Republican presidential ticket, told an overflow crowd packed into Second State…

  • Local

    15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day events across Iowa in 2024

    They say Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday held this year on Jan. 15, 2024, should be “a day on, not a day off.” So in that spirit, here are some events coming up honoring—and furthering the legacy of—one of this country’s greatest civil rights leaders. (For an even more comprehensive list of…

  • Politics

    Haley: ‘Don’t complain’ about general election if you don’t pick me

    Nikki Haley tried a last-ditch appeal to Republican caucus voters during a campaign appearance in Cedar Rapids Thursday just before a blizzard warning went into effect across Iowa. The Republican candidate for President recently polled at around 20% of likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa—a distant second place behind former President Donald Trump’s 54%, but ahead…

  • Local

    No more Kum & Go? New owner Maverik of Utah retiring famous brand

    Will Kum & Go have come and gone by next year? One new report claims that’s the plan by the store’s new owners. The Iowa-based convenience store chain Kum & Go—a brand occasionally mocked outside of the Midwest for its mildly salacious name—was bought by Utah-based Maverik last year. Maverik said in August it would…

  • Local

    Rightwing trolls quickly took advantage of Perry tragedy

    Even before the identity of the student who shot multiple people at Perry High School was confirmed by law enforcement Thursday afternoon, right-wing misinformation on social media was filling the void. Posts from verified and other accounts on Twitter (X) in the early hours after the shooting that killed one and injured five others were…

  • Local

    UPDATE: Sixth-grader killed in Perry shooting identified

    A sixth-grader is dead and six others injured—one critically—after a school shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. On Friday, authorities identified 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff as the slain child. His cause of death was three gunshot wounds. The incident happened just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, the first day back for students.…

  • Local

    Feeling charitable? Donate to an Iowa nonprofit that’s Iowan-approved.

    It had to be the most popular question we’ve ever asked: Which charity helping Iowans should folks donate to this year? Hundreds of worthy causes across the state were mentioned.

  • Local

    Hawkeye, ISU marching bands among Top 5 in Metallica contest

    Grammy-winning, Hall-of-Fame thrash metal rockers Metallica are making marching band competitions cool for a whole new crowd. In April, the band announced a marching band competition, “For Whom the Band Tolls,” offering instruments and equipment music programs at high schools and colleges that play their music the best (the band also provided their extensive sheet…