Nikoel Hytrek is Iowa Starting Line’s longest-serving reporter. She covers LGBTQ issues, abortion rights and all topics of interest to Iowans. Her biggest goal is to help connect the dots between policy and people’s real lives. If you have story ideas or tips, send them over to nikoel@new.iowastartingline.com.
Nikoel Hytrek
Latest from Nikoel Hytrek
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Brad Zaun has long history of votes out of sync with his district
Brad Zaun has been in office for decades, but while his district has moved to the center and the left, Zan has become one of Iowa’s most far-right representatives
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Voters like Tim Walz’s Midwest background as he campaigns for Omaha’s ‘Blue Dot’
Tim Walz returned to his home state, and a district which could help decide the 2024 election. Voters welcomed him with open arms. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president, spent one of the last Saturdays of the 2024 presidential campaign sweeping through the lower Midwest with events in Illinois and in…
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Rep. Eddie Andrews is not the moderate he claims to be
While many people throughout Iowa State Rep. Eddie Andrews’ suburban district say they’ve heard the legislator present himself as more of a moderate Republican, his voting record tells a different story.
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How former-lobbyist Bill Gustoff helped lay the groundwork for Iowa’s vouchers system
State Rep. Bill Gustoff, a Republican who represents part of the eastern Des Moines metro, spent years lobbying and advocating for private school vouchers.
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As candidates knock doors, voters increasingly voice concerns on Iowa’s abortion ban
Iowa voters are increasingly bothered by Iowa’s near-total abortion ban and candidates hear it a lot when door knocking.
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Mike Pike, self-described ‘cultural warrior’ wants to ‘go in guns blazing’ on vouchers, abortion bans in Iowa Senate
Republican Mike Pike, a plumber and business-owner running for a seat in the Iowa Senate, recently shared his political views in a town hall event hosted on X (formerly Twitter), including many stances that may be too far for voters in the relatively moderate district he seeks.
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Mariannette Miller-Meeks tries to have it both ways on abortion stance
During election season, Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, representing Iowa’s First Congressional District, claims she’s the middle-of-the-road candidate when it comes to abortion policy. But when she’s actually voting in office, Miller-Meeks has supported strict abortion bans for years. She has an A+ rating from a major nationwide anti-abortion group because of her work against abortion…
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Legislators came after her child’s specialized school, so Heather Sievers is running for office
Heather Sievers wasn’t planning to run for office, but then Republicans in the Iowa Legislature ignored the pleas and experiences of thousands of Iowans and changed how Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are run. The agency helps many families with students with special needs.
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Reproductive rights, education, lower costs: Iowa House Democrats’ 2025 legislative agenda
Iowa voters want their leaders to listen to what they want. And what voters want is key to the policy agenda for the 2025 legislative session announced Thursday by Iowa House Democrats in the state house.
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Iowa GOP’s child care solution: bigger class sizes, teenage workers
Iowans have long struggled to find reliable, affordable child care, often waiting months or more on lists to get their children into a center. After little progress, Iowa’s Republican lawmakers, who have a majority in state government, made several changes in laws passed in recent years. Their solution? Younger, teenage workers and larger class sizes.
