Pat Rynard founded Iowa Starting Line in 2015. He still keeps a close eye on Iowa politics, his dog’s name is Frank, and football season is his favorite time of year.
Pat Rynard
Latest from Pat Rynard
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Iowa Starting Line: 10 years of doing things differently. What you can learn.
We’ve built up an important community that has stood up for Iowans. What a world. Amidst all the stupidity and suffering so far in 2025, our team has had one small reason to celebrate: Iowa Starting Line turned 10 years old earlier this year. It’s a minor miracle that Starting Line has survived this long—launching…
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Senate Democrats Remove Wahls As Leader After Staffing Dispute
Iowa Senate Democrats voted tonight to remove Sen. Zach Wahls as minority leader and replace him with Sen. Pam Jochum. The leadership change was precipitated by Wahls dismissing two longtime Democratic Senate caucus staffers, both of whom worked at the Statehouse for over two decades, at the end of last week, and replacing one with…
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Rita Hart Elected As New Chair Of Iowa Democratic Party
The Iowa Democratic Party has a new chair: Rita Hart, a former state senator and farmer who was the party’s lieutenant governor candidate in 2018 and a congressional candidate in 2020. The party’s state central committee elected Hart in a three-way contest this morning. “My focus is squarely on helping our party win elections again,”…
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GOP Bill Wants Schools To Forcibly Out Iowa Students
Iowa teachers would be required to out many LGBTQ students to their parents regardless of home situations in a new bill introduced this morning by many House Republicans, including Speaker Pat Grassley. House File 9 aims to prohibit schools and their teachers from “Willfully withholding information from, or knowingly giving false or misleading information to,…
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Starting Line Was Iowa’s Fastest-Growing News Outlet In 2022 On Facebook, TikTok
Iowa Starting Line closes out its best year yet as 2022 comes to an end, one in which we saw rapid growth and significant success with our social-first reporting efforts. Our focus in getting Iowa news journalism in front of Iowans where they’re already at online—and through whichever format works, whether that be infographics, videos,…
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Absentee Ballots Came Back Just Fine In 2022 Despite Concerns
Iowans returned their absentee ballots at record rates this year despite fears that a new law passed by Republicans might cause a significant number of ballots to go uncounted. Secretary of State data appears to show an overall absentee return rate of 97.5%, the highest percentage in at least the past ten years, going back…
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Iowa Congresswoman Registers To Vote At Friend’s House In New District
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks registered to vote at state Sen. Chris Cournoyer’s house in LeClaire on the last day for pre-registration this year, then voted in Scott County the day before the election. The Scott County Auditor’s office confirmed in response to an information request that Miller-Meeks is registered at the Great River Road address in…
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Be Careful What You Wish For, Democrats
Well, it was fun while it lasted. The end of Iowa’s lead-off role in the Democratic presidential nomination calendar is about to be official. Reporting on Thursday revealed the plans that everyone expected, that the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee will boot Iowa from the early state window and add two others in its place.…
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Flashback: Ernst Wouldn’t Commit To Backing McConnell
As Senate Republican leadership faces internal tumult over their failure to recapture the majority last week, it’s worth noting an interesting exchange between Iowa’s Sen. Joni Ernst and some conservative constituents earlier this year where she declined to say whether she would vote for Mitch McConnell as leader again. Several prominent Republican senators, including Marco…
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Rob Sand Hangs On To Lead After Final County Reports
It looks like voters have returned Rob Sand to the State Auditor’s office, after the last outstanding county reported its results today. Sand now holds a 2,614-vote lead over Republican opponent Todd Halbur, a margin that–while close–ought to be enough to withstand any additions from provisional ballots or other issues. The margin is close enough…
