Josh Cook
Latest from Josh Cook
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Immigrants Tell Sanders Of Their Stories, Struggles In America
An immigration roundtable this afternoon gave immigrants the platform to tell their story and explain their struggles to Senator Bernie Sanders during his three-day Iowa visit. About 100 people turned out in Des Moines to see Sanders, who opened with remarks about his own family and how they came to America from Poland. “What demagogues…
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Tim Ryan Talks Of ‘Forgotten’ America During Ethanol Plant Tour
Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan toured Golden Grain Energy in Mason City, Iowa on Tuesday. He made a point to learn more about people that work at the facility and their living and working conditions, as well as how the plant fit into the global economy. “The supply chain is what I’m interest in,” Ryan said.…
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Without Rural Improvement, Dems Will Never Retake U.S. Senate
As everyone digests the first round of Democratic debates and discusses the bold policy agendas of the candidates, it can be easy to over-nationalize politics. But winning the presidency is just a step, and certainly doesn’t guarantee that any of those policies will successfully be implemented. Legislation runs through the Senate, where if Mitch McConnell…
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Axne Puts Forth Bipartisan Legislation to Relieve Rural Hospitals
On Tuesday, Cindy Axne (D-IA) put forth legislation to relieve rural hospitals of supervision restraints that limit the ability of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to provide quality care. Working with Adrian Smith (R-NE), Axne introduced the bipartisan bill to postpone enforcement of oversight rules requiring Medicare hospitals to implement supervision provisions for outpatient therapeutic services.…
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One Country Project Pushes Dems To Reconnect With Rural America
Hillary Clinton won just six total counties in all of Iowa in the 2016 presidential election. Trump took the other 93, often by large margins, including with 60% or 70% or more in many rural counties. In an effort to tamp down those lopsided margins in rural Iowa, One Country Project, an organization launched by…
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AARP’s ‘Stop Rx Greed’ Campaign Kicks Off
Prescription drug prices are rapidly outrunning inflation rates, coverage options and people’s income, speakers at today’s AARP event in Des Moines warned. AARP brought together their members, volunteers, advocates from other agencies and representatives for Joni Ernst and Cindy Axne to kick off their “Stop Rx Greed: Cut Drug Prices Now” campaign this morning. They…
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How Bono’s ONE Campaign Is Organizing In Iowa
Foreign aid is often used more in political campaigns as a punching bag than as an applause line, but more Iowans may be pressing their candidates and elected officials on the subject if the ONE campaign is successful here. ONE, a non-partisan advocacy organization co-founded by Bono, works to end extreme poverty and preventable diseases,…
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Trump Rethinks Refinery Waivers After Pushback From Farmers, Democrats
Several reports late this week revealed that Donald Trump has ordered EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to reconsider their approach to small refinery ethanol waivers. President Trump was in Iowa earlier this month to celebrate the year-round sales of E15 and to fundraise for his reelection campaign, but received blowback…
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USDA Grants Boost Small Iowa Towns, But Funding Now At Risk
As small towns across the country struggle to attract or retain businesses, the USDA has been awarding a number of rural development grants to help stimulate growth. “I just feel like there’s been a reinvigorated interest in rural issues and communities, and seeing that manifest itself in different ways has been really encouraging,” said Grant…
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Iowans Appreciate Candidates Like O’Rourke’s New LGBTQ Plans
Health care discussions in the presidential primary have increasingly begun to include specific ideas for the LGBTQ community. Beto O’Rourke recently rolled out his “LGBTQ+ Equality” policy proposal aimed at ensuring everyone can “live openly without fear of discrimination or violence.” “What I appreciated [about the proposal] at first was that we need to address…
