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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Bernie Sanders Visits Cedar Rapids to Talk About Dem Budget Proposal
US Sen. Bernie Sanders wants Iowans to know how Congressional Democrats are working to improve their lives. Reform ideas long championed by Democrats are planned for the budget resolution passed by the US House of Representatives on Tuesday. The budget resolution is a framework for total spending goals. The resolution for this budget is $3.5…
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Axne, Becerra Hold Roundtable to Pitch Build Back Better Act
A member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet joined US Rep. Cindy Axne for a Thursday roundtable at the Southside Senior Center in Des Moines to explain how the Build Back Better Act will improve the lives of older Iowans. Specifically, Axne and US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra discussed expanded Medicare benefits, the…
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Iowa’s Disability Community Feels Left Behind in the Pandemic
Iowans with disabilities are fed up and sounding the alarm on the way the state has essentially moved on from the pandemic as COVID-19 continues to spread. For a number of reasons, people with disabilities are more vulnerable to COVID than able-bodied people, even if they are vaccinated. Some need caretakers to come into their…
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Iowa Parents who Made COVID Sacrifices Tired of School Risks Caused by Others
Many COVID-conscious Iowa parents were mostly worried about the new school year a month ago, but now they’re frustrated too. For many, they’ve spent the past year at home with their children, limiting trips outside and wearing masks when they did. When they were able, many got vaccinated. And now they’re facing a school year…
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Kim Reynolds Responds to ‘COVID Kim’ Nickname
Last year, Iowans unimpressed with Gov. Kim Reynolds’ handling of the COVID-19 pandemic gave her a new moniker: “COVID Kim.” Since then, the name has become common among Reynolds’ critics online. WHO 13’s Dave Price asked her about it in an interview that aired Sunday. “People never 100 percent agree with the decisions I make,”…
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Biden Picks a Fight With Reynolds on COVID Safety Measures
President Joe Biden and his administration are stepping in to correct inaction from Republican governors such as Iowa’s Kim Reynolds as the Delta variant spreads and presents a larger threat. Wednesday, Biden directed US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to find out whether the administration can remove bans on mask mandates for schools based on a…
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What They Have, What They Don’t: Four Iowa Return to Learn Plans
Across Iowa, schools are preparing to open their doors for students and faculty this fall. COVID cases are quickly rising again, and a state law was passed in May bans schools from requiring students and faculty to wear masks. While thousands of parents want the law to be rescinded, the plans released by Iowa school…
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Iowans Rally Against Gov. Reynolds’ Ban on School Mask Requirements
Saying they are “are no longer the silent majority,” Iowa parents and educators rallied in front of the Statehouse to speak out against Gov. Kim Reynolds’ ban on school mask requirements. About 150 in all gathered outside in the morning heat to urge Reynolds to reverse her decision as the school year nears. The event…
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Iowa Hospitalizations Increase as State Fair and School Approach
Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines was at or near capacity most of July due to an increase of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and other illnesses. The medical facility announced Monday it would suspend elective surgeries because of a “high census” in the hospital. Elective surgeries are operations scheduled in advance because they aren’t emergencies,…
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Iowa Paddlers Sick of State’s Green, Polluted Water
Every year, thousands of Iowans break out their oars and their paddles so they can take advantage of the state’s many lakes and rivers. And every year, more and more, they find green, streaky water, algae blooms, and swimming advisories. Megan McDowell went paddling in upper Michigan and Wisconsin in July and saw a noticeable…
