September 2019
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Ep 113: New Starting Line Reporter and Tom Steyer Interview
Pat Rynard sits down to discuss this week’s Iowa Caucus happenings, new Starting Line Reporter Isabella Murray joins to introduce herself and talk about the beats she’ll be covering, and presidential candidate Tom Steyer stops by to talk about his candidacy and looking forward to the next debate.
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How H.R. 1 Would Make Sure Every Vote Counts
When Democrats took back the House of Representatives last year, they wasted no time putting together a bill to address political corruption in the United States. On Jan. 3, 2019, the House introduced H.R. 1, the “For the People Act.” The bill passed the House in March, but has since languished in the Senate. A…
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“I Would Still Have My Daughter” If Not For Health Cost Fears
In her early twenties, Seana O’Reilly set out on a move to Paradise, California, far away from her home of Turin, Iowa, a tiny town on the western side of the state.. A new adventure brought opportunity for change and a new level of autonomy. As is the case with many young adults, O’Reilly was…
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How 2020 Candidates’ Renter Tax Credits Would Work
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…
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Southeast Iowa Home To Key Legislative Races This Cycle
Presidential candidates currently command the spotlight in Iowa politics, but this summer also proved interesting for politicians eyeing the Statehouse. Since Republicans took control of the Iowa House, Senate and governorship in the 2016 election, Democrats have been desperate to whittle down their margins and eventually retake a chamber or two. Reynolds is in office…
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How Much 2020 Dems Spent On Sinclair TV And Facebook Last Week
The Democratic presidential candidates often like to rail against Facebook and conservative, corporate-owned news outlets. Their campaign spending, however, rarely matches their words on the campaign trail. Candidates have dumped millions upon millions of dollars onto Facebook’s advertising platform this year, even as the Democratic field denounces the company’s handling of misinformation and foreign interference…
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Sea Change Coming For Suburban Des Moines City Councils
Pictured, from left to right: Matt Blake, Erin Cubit, Bridget Carberry Montgomery. They’re young. They’re progressive. And they’re coming to a city council near you. Most municipal races aren’t partisan in Iowa, but several younger Democrats will vie for municipal and school board positions throughout the Des Moines metro in this year’s November election. And…
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Poll: Campaign Finance Reform Resonates With All Voters
While they may disagree about how to expand health care and handle student loan debt, Democratic candidates for president are on the same page when it comes campaign finance reform. Beto O’Rourke: “A campaign by all of us for all of us that answers not to the PACs, corporations and special interests, but to the…
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Contentious DSM Council Meeting Discusses Housing Zoning
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…
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Trailblazer Iowa Democrat Endorses Pete Buttigieg
Pete Buttigieg has his first notable public endorsement for the Iowa Caucus: Jean Lloyd-Jones of Iowa City, a former legislator and the first woman who was nominated by a major Iowa party for a U.S. Senate race. “I support Mayor Pete because he has the brains, the temperament, and the experience to make him an…
