2019

Rep. Abby Finkenauer took to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives just before the entire Iowa Democratic delegation voted with a bipartisan majority to pass workplace safety legislation last week. Iowa’s Steve King voted against the “Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act,” which passed the House 251-158. Finkenauer told a…

Only 14% of civilian workers in the United States have access to paid family leave, making America the only industrialized country in the world without a federal paid leave policy. Instead, it’s a state-level issue, with a mere seven states, and Washington, D.C., mandating it (Iowa is not one of them). The 1993 federal Family and Medical…

In all the controversies about abortion bans and restrictions, the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has played a big part. Missouri and Arkansas received most of the attention this year for laws to ban abortion at 20 weeks and 18 weeks, respectively. The bans haven’t gone into effect in either state, but both are…

Female electricians in the Midwest are ready to fight for equality. Women within the 11th District of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers are waiting on a charter to be finalized, which will establish the first Women’s Committee within the district that covers North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri. “Younger women are breaking…

Everyone knows Andrew Yang as the guy who wants to take on artificial intelligence and automation. To that end, one of Yang’s signature promises is the Freedom Dividend, which would give $1,000 a month to all Americans. But he’d also like to give people money to tackle a different kind of inequality. “Lobbyists and corporate…

 Pat Rynard sits down with Paige Godden to talk about upcoming candidate travel during Thanksgiving and general reaction to the November debate in Atlanta, and implications going forward in Iowa and around the rest of the country.