Politics
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Iowa Republicans Add New ‘Education Reform’ Committee In House
Iowa Republicans appear to planning major reforms to the state’s education system in the next legislative session. Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) announced on Wednesday the formation of a new, five-person Education Reform Committee, which is in addition to the House’s original Education Committee. The purpose of the new committee is to deal…
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House Republican Who Opposed Reynolds’ Voucher Plans Endorses Democrats
A longtime Republican Iowa House member that Gov. Kim Reynolds helped defeat in a GOP primary against a pro-voucher Republican has returned the favor by endorsing Reynolds’ Democratic opponent. Rep. Dave Maxwell (R-Gibson) endorsed gubernatorial candidate Deidre DeJear and House candidate Sarah Smith, both Democrats Smith is running against Rep. Dean Fisher for Iowa House…
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New Des Moines Health Conference Will Focus On Underserved Populations
Corey Dion Lewis’ familial background is one of the things that inspired him to get involved in the health and wellness field. “Chronic disease was normal for me growing up,” he said. “Seeing my family struggle with diabetes [and] at the time not really understanding that that was killing them. “As I got older, I…
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Documents Put Into Serious Doubt Where Jack Whitver Lives
One of the highest-ranking Republicans in the Iowa Senate may not actually live in the new district he wants to represent. Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R-Ankeny/Grimes) changed his voter registration to an apartment in Grimes to run for Senate District 23; however, that unit has not used any water since February, according to reporting…
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Hannah Krause Sponsoring Reproductive Rights Event In Des Moines
Hannah Krause remembers how she felt on June 24. That was the day the US Supreme Court overturned a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion and allowed individual states—or possibly Congress—to make those decisions for them. Krause, a Des Moines business owner and a member of Iowa’s Krause family—owners of the Kum & Go gas…
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MacKenzie Bills Hopes To Bring New Ideas, Lessons From Firestone Plant Father To Statehouse
One of MacKenzie Bills’ core childhood memories is of her family surviving on canned beans for about a year. Her father, Kenny, was a tire layer at the Firestone plant in Des Moines and a United Steelworkers Local 310 member. That local was part of a nationwide strike that lasted from June 1994 until May…
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13 Bills Jake Chapman Wrote Or Endorsed That Show What He Really Cares About
While you can’t read about any issues Jake Chapman supports or opposes on his campaign website—votejackchapman.com—his actions in the Iowa Senate paint a clear picture about what he cares about: Controlling women’s bodies, guns, and defunding/defaming public schools. The Republican from Adel was first elected in 2012 and has served in the Iowa Senate since…
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Chuck Grassley’s Political Career Is Older Than Barbie, The Grammys, And More
Chuck Grassley turned 89 on Sept. 17 and, if re-elected, Iowa’s senior US senator would be 95 at the end of his next term and become the second-oldest person in history to hold that position. Grassley was first elected to the Iowa House in 1958—Grassley’s son, Robin, was 2 years old at this time, and…
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Paralympics Basketball Star Josh Turek Takes A Shot At Representing Council Bluffs
Josh Turek represented America on the international stage and now he’s ready to represent his hometown in the Iowa Legislature. The 43-year-old, two-time gold medal-winning Paralympian was born and raised in Council Bluffs and is the Democratic candidate for Iowa House District 20, covering northwest Council Bluffs and all of Carter Lake. Iowa House District…
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How The Right’s Hatred Of Electric Vehicles Is Growing In Iowa
Over the last few months, the Starting Line team has noticed an interesting trend in Iowa social media: Stories about electric vehicles drive huge engagement and draw intense debate among supporters and detractors, mostly on Facebook. And while wild comment threads on Facebook stories is nothing new, the sheer ferocity on EV-related stories, even if…
