2019
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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…
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Ernst Blames “Shifting Demographics” For Tough Reelection Campaign
During an interview late last week on the AM Quad Cities radio show, Sen. Joni Ernst blamed her struggling campaign on Iowa’s changing demographics, rather than on her voting record. At a fundraiser with Vice President Mike Pence earlier this month, Ernst admitted that she was one of the most-vulnerable incumbent senators in the country.…
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Why We Moved 1,000 Miles To Elect Gov. Steve Bullock
Guest piece from five Montanans who moved to Iowa to organize for Governor Steve Bullock — Bullock for President Iowa Organizers Rio Aagaard-Shively, Alice Boyer, Shelby Fisher, Korbin Bragstad, and Harry Child. Montana has been a home that’s given more than we could have asked: the small communities that nurtured us, the quality public schools…
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Coal PAC, San Fran “Socialite,” Leadership Among Hinson’s Q3 Donors
State Rep. Ashley Hinson’s fundraising has largely held steady over the last six months, though she still trails the Democratic incumbent in Iowa’s 1st Congressional District. Hinson, of Marion, is running to unseat Rep. Abby Finkenauer in the eastern Iowa swing district. In the third fundraising quarter [July 1 to Sept. 30], Hinson brought in…
