HOUSING

Affordable housing advocates are making a case for municipal support to generally receptive local officials as a projected workforce housing crisis approaches Polk County. A newly released workforce housing study found Polk County will need to add 57,170 new housing units before 2038 to accommodate 150,954 expected new workers — about 70% of which will belong to households…

Several mayoral candidates with extensive, but different backgrounds dealing with Des Moines’ rising shortage of affordable housing have proposed varied approaches to solve the issue ahead of Nov. 5 elections. Incumbent Mayor Frank Cownie, who has led the city through rapid downtown development during his 16-year tenure, is up against local affordable housing developer Jack…

The third and final reading of the new, controversial Des Moines zoning code was approved Wednesday by the Des Moines City Council while a few focus surrounding a potential housing project surfaced Monday at a Council meeting. The code, which sparked debate over housing affordability and other design standards in the city, was pushed forward…

Affordable housing lies in the underpinnings of Cory Booker’s presidential run. The 2020 candidate’s campaign said the issue is integral to his purpose as a public servant. A housing rights attorney before running for public office, the New Jersey senator’s stump speech even mentions his past living situation in Newark’s housing projects and the story…

Presidential candidate Michael Bennet today joined the slate of 2020 democratic hopefuls with detailed housing plans. The Colorado Senator’s plan looks to build more affordable housing near good jobs, help middle-class families rent or purchase a home and reform housing tax incentives on the federal level. Over half of the current democratic candidates campaign for…

Nearly a fifth of Iowan households do not make enough to live without public assistance, a new Iowa Policy Project report has found, due to factors like rising housing costs. According to the Cost of Living in Iowa report, released last Tuesday, family budget costs far outpace Iowa’s minimum wage. Costs like housing and transportation…

Affordable housing has an unofficial figurehead as the national crisis makes its debut as a major issue on the presidential campaign trail this cycle. Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, served as the Housing and Urban Development Secretary for the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. He’s seen housing from the…

Another top-tier Democratic hopeful has released a detailed plan addressing the nation’s shortage of affordable homes as housing advocates push for even more coverage on the topic on debate stage. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders rolled out an affordable housing strategy preview Saturday at an event in Las Vegas, Nevada. The announcement came after the third…

Cost-burdened Iowans who rent housing may see tax benefits if certain Democratic hopefuls make it to the White House in 2020. Nearly a third of Iowans rent their homes, of which 40% are “cost-burdened” — paying more than 30% of their income on rent, experts say. Among several Democratic presidential candidates’ varied plans to address…

A new Des Moines zoning code was pushed forward by the city council despite pleas by local developers and housing advocates to make the changes more flexible for lower-cost building. Council chambers overflowed Monday evening as its members unanimously approved the first of three readings on the first code overhaul in 54 years, after over…