April 2018
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Ep24: Legislative Primaries & Eric Swalwell Interview
Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard talks to Ben Foecke about legislative primaries & interviews Congressman Eric Swalwell of California.
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“Make ’Em Squeal” Backfires On Iowa Farmers
Remember Senator Ernst’s campaign pledge to go to Washington and “Make’em Squeal?” Little did we know that her Trump-led Republican Party would start a trade war that would make Iowa farmers “squeal.” President Trump’s tariff threats aimed at China have Iowa’s agricultural community in turmoil as they anticipate the loss of exports sales. Iowa’s agricultural…
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Iowa Senate Primaries To Watch In 2018
While most of the attention will be focused on the governor’s race and congressional primaries for the next two months, key match-ups for the Iowa Statehouse will be decided on June 5 as well. While many primaries for the Iowa House and Senate are lower profile affairs than the heavily-targeted swing district battles in the…
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GOP Senator Waylon Brown’s Clerk Fired For Sexual Harassment
Yet another person in the Iowa Senate has lost their job over a sexual harassment matter. Senator Waylon Brown’s legislative clerk, Jake Dagel, was fired this week following a complaint made against him for sexual harassment. Secretary of the Senate Charlie Smithson confirmed the firing to Starting Line late this afternoon. “A credible complaint of…
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4th District Dem Leann Jacobsen Calls For Boycott Of Sinclair Stations
The fallout for Sinclair Broadcasting stations continue after a viral video showed them all reading from the same script about “fake news.” Leann Jacobsen, one of the Democratic candidates looking to take on Steve King in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, is calling for a boycott of all the Sinclair stations that cover the Western Iowa…
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Iowa GOP Useless As Trump Trade War Spirals Out Of Control
Yesterday President Trump poured more fuel on the flames of the trade war with China, proposing to slap an additional $100 billion in tariffs on China. This is on top of the $50 billion he has already proposed. You can expect the markets to respond very unfavorably today to this latest escalation of Trump’s China…
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EMILY’s List Endorses Cindy Axne In 3rd District Primary
Cindy Axne is getting a big boost in her bid to win Democrats’ nomination for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. EMILY’s List is announcing this morning that they’re endorsing the small businesswoman from West Des Moines. The backing from the influential national organization could give Axne an extra advantage in the Democratic primary that was recently…
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Democrats’ Race For Governor Still A Polite, Quiet Affair
Exactly two months remain until Democrats decide who they want as their gubernatorial nominee in an incredibly crucial election for the future of Iowa. The candidates continue to criss-cross the state and put in extremely long hours to raise money and meet voters, hoping to close the deal before Election Day arrives. But one thing…
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Sinclair Duels With Meredith Over WHO-TV Ownership
The conservative media giant Sinclair Broadcasting has been in the news the past few days as many of their stations across the nation ran identical propaganda scripts. Sinclair currently owns six Iowa TV stations and they are attempting to acquire two more. Both WHO-TV, the NBC affiliate in Des Moines, and WQAD, the ABC affiliate…
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Ep23: Statehouse Round-Up With Iowa Representatives Ras Smith & Amy Nielsen
District 62 Representative Ras Smith & District 77 Representative Amy Nielsen join Iowa Starting Line Podcast host Pat Rynard to discuss what’s been going on at the Statehouse.
