2019
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The 2020 Leader On America’s Underappreciated Crisis
Affordable housing has an unofficial figurehead as the national crisis makes its debut as a major issue on the presidential campaign trail this cycle. Julián Castro, the former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, served as the Housing and Urban Development Secretary for the last two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. He’s seen housing from the…
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Report: How Russia Used Iowa’s Pete Brownell To Infiltrate NRA
Pete Brownell, a former president of the National Rifle Association and an Iowa native, was implicated today in a damning 18-month investigation by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee into how the gun rights group was used by Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Brownell served as NRA president from 2017-18. He is CEO…
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In Iowa, All Hands On Deck For Booker’s Do-Or-Die Fundraising Push
The 50-some staffers of Cory Booker’s Iowa Caucus operation turned into 50-some finance assistants this past week as their campaign fights to survive in the primary. In addition to their usual field duties, the Iowa staff have hit the phones and their own personal networks to cobble together every dime they can before the end…
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Ep118: All Aboard The Buttigieg Bus, Mark Sanford Interview
Pat Rynard sits down with Nikoel Hytrek to talk about what it was like to be on Pete Buttigieg’s all-access bus trip for two days, and Republican primary challenger Mark Sanford joins for a talk about his candidacy.
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Senate Democrats Petition To Protect Pre-Existing Conditions Coverage
Senate Democrats have filed a discharge petition to bring a vote on the Protecting Pre-Existing Conditions Act, in an attempt to bypass committees and put public pressure on Senate Republicans to put a vote on the record. The petition will push to hold a vote later in October. “Trump and Republicans have pushed to let…
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Beto O’Rourke Adds New Iowa Endorsers
Riding off of a strong performance at last weekend’s Steak Fry in Des Moines, Beto O’Rourke is announcing a new round of Iowa endorsers today. Nine new caucus activists and elected officials are publicly throwing their support behind the former congressman. They include Floyd County Treasurer Frank Rottinghaus and Oelwein Mayor Peggy Sherrets, two well-known…
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Ernst Votes For New Labor Secretary With Anti-Worker History
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst voted yesterday to confirm Eugene Scalia as the new United States Secretary of Labor, a man who once argued that it’s OK to force workers with health issues to soil themselves on the job. Scalia was confirmed as the new labor secretary Thursday afternoon. Scalia, the son of the late Supreme…
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Joni Ernst Tries To Siphon Military Funds For Border Wall
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst bucked several of her Republican colleagues Wednesday in voting against a bill aimed at stopping the president from declaring a national emergency to fund the construction of a wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Republican-led Senate voted 54-41 to terminate President Donald Trump’s emergency declaration. Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in supporting…
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Chuck Grassley: We Need Whistleblowers For Good Government
An op-ed from Senator Chuck Grassley sent out to the media on July 30, 2019. Starting Line apologizes for the delay in running this op-ed from Iowa’s esteemed senator, but felt this was as good a day as any to do so. The first whistleblower law was unanimously passed by the Continental Congress on July…
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How Young Climate Activists Are Taking Charge In Iowa
It’s been a consequential month for youth dedicated to tackling climate change. Before Swedish 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg on Monday scolded the U.N. Climate Action Summit audience asking, “How dare you?“, students across Iowa organized and promoted a number of events with presidential candidates over the weekend. Events included a small meeting with Kamala Harris,…
