2017
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Why Decorah Native Rob Sand Is Running For State Auditor
Assistant Attorney General Rob Sand has investigated and prosecuted cases of corruption, fraud and abuse for the past seven years for Iowa. Now he looks to use that experience to turn the State Auditor’s office into a more aggressive watchdog agency that keeps a check on powerful interests within the government and beyond. Today Sand…
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What Every American Should Ask: Which Party Do You Trust On Healthcare?
When a major piece of legislation on healthcare or American’s retirement is brought before the Congress, which party would you rather have in power? A look at historical voting patterns might give some answers. One piece of legislation practically all Americas support was the passage of Medicare. Medicare was voted in by the House of…
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Rod Blum’s Votes Have Put Veterans’ Healthcare At Risk
On May 4th, Congressman Rod Blum voted to repeal the ACA. On May 9th, he stood in front of a packed gym at a town hall and admitted voting for it even though, in his words, he knew “it was a bad bill.” Had this vote passed, 2,700 Iowa veterans would have lost their health care. Contrary…
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Everyone Get On The Ballot – Lessons For Iowa From Virginia Sweep
Democrats in Iowa are still buzzing about the good news – finally, good news – out of Virginia and beyond from Tuesday night’s elections. Maybe, just maybe, 2018 will be the sort of wave year for Democrats we’re hoping for in this red-trending state. Or, at the very least, it won’t be yet another blowout…
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Why Can’t Iowa’s First Female Governor Act Decisively Against Sexual Harassment?
Kirsten Anderson, the former communication director for the Iowa Senate Republicans, is speaking out after winning $1.75 million in a sexual harassment lawsuit against them. In an interview Wednesday with Des Moines Register columnist Kathie Obradovich, Anderson expressed her disappointment with the Republicans’ response to her lawsuit. “I don’t think we’re done yet,” Anderson said. “It…
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Congress Doesn’t Operate Like You And Me
If our households operated the way the United States does, members of our extended families would be planning an intervention to get us to see the error of our ways. Why? Fifteen years ago, our household was on track to pay off our assorted debts. We were doing that by spending less than the paychecks…
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Progressives Pick Up Important Local Seats In Iowa’s Municipal Races
Iowans went to the polls yesterday in municipal races for city council and mayoral seats around the state, the second big election date since the 2016 election. Enthusiasm for local campaigns have been up in Democratic circles since Donald Trump’s elections, and many races that often only see one or two candidates were packed with…
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Obamacare Insurance May Cost You Less In 2018
It’s absolutely essential that Iowans needing individual health insurance coverage for 2018 shop the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace. Some Iowans may be pleasantly surprised to see that they may actually be paying less in 2018 than they are currently paying. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, in some counties in Iowa a 40 year…
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Josh Mandelbaum Wins Big In DSM With Water Quality-Focused Campaign
In one of Iowa’s most-watched municipal races on Tuesday, environmental attorney Josh Mandelbaum won the Des Moines City Council Ward 3 seat in convincing fashion, taking 56% in a three-way race. Former council member Mike Kiernan received 34%, while Democratic Socialist and Somali refugee contender Abshir Omar Mahamed got a respectable 9%. Mandelbaum (who announced…
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Two State Sex Harassment Scandals, Two Different Reactions
A sexual harassment scandal at the Kentucky Statehouse has rocked the state’s politics in recent days, resulting in a top Republican lawmaker stepping down from his leadership post. House Speaker Jeff Hoover resigned from his position (though not from the Legislature) this weekend after backlash grew to news that he had made a secret settlement…
