October 2019
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Housing Advocates Frustrated With Cancelled Forum
Housing advocates’ push to bring attention to affordability struggles fell short of the Iowa spotlight as the top five polling candidates caused the cancellation of a scheduled affordable housing debate this Friday. Top-tier candidates Joe Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris couldn’t commit to what was supposed to be a candidate…
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Why And How To Make SCOTUS More Accessible
For about five minutes in the last Democratic debate, the candidates discussed reform for the Supreme Court. It’s not a new conversation by any means. This year, candidates have ideas to make the highest court more fair, from term limits and expansion to rotating the justices among the federal bench. Many have questioned whether those reforms could…
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Sanders, Biden, Yang, Buttigieg Top Youth Caucus Vote In Iowa
Sen. Bernie Sanders still commands the youth vote in Iowa, according to today’s Youth Caucus Straw Poll results as of late afternoon. Sanders nearly doubled the next-closest Democratic contender in the Iowa Secretary of State’s annual survey of high school students, garnering 24.7% to former Vice President Joe Biden’s 12.3%. Andrew Yang came in third…
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At House Hearing, Iowans Warn EPA Is “Crippling Rural America”
After a summer where more broken promises about ethanol flowed than the product itself, the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing today to discuss the lack of transparency within the EPA. Iowa farmer Kelly Nieuwenhuis, the president of Siouxland Energy, Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuel Association and Gene Gebolys, president…
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Jill Biden: Cancer Steals Our Joy, But We Must Never Give Up Hope
Guest column from Dr. Jill Biden on Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer has been a dark thread throughout my life. Both my parents died of it, and in 2015, Joe and I lost Beau to glioblastoma. Cancer is a brutal disease; it shatters our hearts and steals our joy. But what Joe and I have…
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Two Top Labor Leaders Praise Biden’s New Union Plan
Presidents of two major international labor organizations are praising Vice President Joe Biden’s new plan to protect unions. The plan takes a number of steps to protect workers’ rights by holding CEOs responsible for interfering with organizing efforts, ensuring employers who engage in union-busting do not receive federal dollars and going after any employer that…
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Beto O’Rourke Centers Iowa Message On Everyday Americans
During his latest trip to Iowa, Beto O’Rourke emphasized how the federal government should redirect its focus to the needs of individual Americans. On the trip, the former Texas congressman pointed out failings like the country’s lack of gun control and the unchecked spread of the opioid epidemic. He also noted the through line between…
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Ep126: Nancy Pelosi Visit & Jane Sanders Interview
Pat Rynard is back on the podcast to talk about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s weekend visit to Iowa at Drake University with Josh Cook. Pelosi talked about impeachment proceedings, legislating in 2019 and how to push Trump’s buttons. Josh Cook sits down for a one-on-one with Dr. Jane Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie…
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“This Is Unsustainable”: Nancy Pelosi Talks Drug Prices In Iowa Visit
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi Friday visited Des Moines this weekend to talk about the state of U.S. politics, what she’s working on as Speaker and, of course, Donald Trump. Understandably, there was a healthy amount of time set aside early for Pelosi to talk about her relationship with the Trump Administration, the president…
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Affordable Housing: A Workshop For Municipal Leadership
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…
