Ty Rushing

In a different timeline, Clinton, Iowa, would be home to the first of many Flav’s Fried Chicken (FFC) locations and Col. Sanders would be America’s second-most famous fried chicken pitchman. In January 2011, rapper/reality TV star Flavor Flav partnered with Clinton restaurateur Nick Cimino to open the first of what the duo hoped would become…

As expected, Chuck Grassley successfully fended off a Republican primary challenge from state Sen. Jim Carlin of Sioux City on Tuesday to secure his name on the ballot for Iowa’s US Senate Election in November. Grassley, 88, will be seeking his eighth term in the US Senate and will face former US Navy Admiral Mike…

Former US Navy Admiral Mike Franken sailed past two competitors on Tuesday to set up his biggest political battle to date: Challenging Chuck Grassley for his long-time US Senate seat. Multiple news outlets called the primary race for Franken close to 9:00pm. With just over half the precincts in, Franken held a 20-point lead over…

If you grew up enjoying the American circus, you can thank Iowa. While the Hawkeye State didn’t host the first circus on US soil—that honor goes to Philadelphia—Iowa played a key role in the industry’s development and is directly connected to “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Four of the seven Ringling Brothers—as in Ringling of…

A number of education reform bills desired by Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Iowa Republican officials wound up lumped together in Senate File 2369, which covered curriculum review, the parental bill of rights, vouchers, and more. The bill passed through the Iowa Senate but never moved forward in the Iowa House after a number of…

Emily Bruns had never met Abby Finkenauer before, but she had followed the US Senate candidate’s career closely.  “I have been a fan since she was in the Iowa House and then followed her in [Congress],” said Bruns, a social studies teacher at Mason City High School. Bruns got her chance to meet Finkenauer when…

For the second year in a row, Gov. Kim Reynolds’ attempt to divert public school funds to private schools was defeated. Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) confirmed to the Des Moines Register on Monday that Reynolds’ school voucher proposal—which would have diverted $55 million from state public school funding for 10,000 private school…

The Iowa Legislative session has entered overtime as Iowa House Republicans continue a stalemate with Iowa Senate Republicans and Gov. Kim Reynolds on a few key issues including school vouchers and curriculum oversight. Cut to unemployment benefits, a legislative priority for Reynolds, was another issue that has held up this legislative session. However, the House…

About two hours before the Celebrate CB Parade begins on Saturday morning, Dr. Glenn Hurst and other volunteers are taping campaign signs to a Ford Ranger pickup truck, a less than glamorous job for a US Senate hopeful but one he doesn’t seem to mind. The 52-year-old is a regular fixture at the annual parade…

Iowa has a rather infamous history of plane crashes. Several famous people from the worlds of sports, politics, and, of course, music have lost their lives in the Hawkeye State during aviation-related tragedies. Those losses on top of dozens of others have left a mark on the state.  For this edition of Iowa Weird, we’ll…