2021

Rick Mullin, 67, passed away unexpectedly Thursday morning at his home in Sioux City. He was a loving father of two and grandfather, a longtime Democratic leader and activist in Woodbury County, and a former state legislative candidate. The following is from his lifelong friend Tim Bottaro. Starting Line will have more to say on…

Iowa Republicans are willing to take a hit on the state’s economic development in order to welcome former President Donald Trump with lenient first amendment privileges during a time when few places are offering to be his safe haven. Big tech companies like Facebook, Apple and Google will no longer enjoy the tax breaks and…

If the Iowa GOP seeks to run government like a business, passing a voter suppression bill reflects a poor business model, Democrats said tonight during floor debate in the Iowa House. In his opening statement before the House passed a contentious elections bill, Republican Rep. Bobby Kaufmann called for sweeping reform to Iowa’s election system…

At the close of a three-hour-long debate highlighting clashes in the Iowa Capitol over former President Donald Trump’s debunked claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 race, the state Senate passed a controversial elections bill along party lines. The GOP bill, which reduces Iowa’s early voting period, imposes criminal charges on county auditors who…

“Do we really have to do this now, during a pandemic?” That was a question repeatedly asked during a roundtable with Iowa union members Tuesday morning, following an earlier, contentious debate in the Iowa House Labor Committee which advanced a bill that cuts unemployment insurance benefits. The legislation, which has been proposed but not signed…

It has been nearly a year since the tragic murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. The event sparked the most powerful protests against racial injustice in recent history. Tragedy has transformed our country before, and this would not be the exception. Last summer, Indira Sheumaker and her sister joined the…

Despite sweeping public resistance, Iowa is set to move forward as one of the almost three dozen states where Republicans are pushing to restrict voting access after November’s general election. A total of 964 Iowans signed up on Monday night to speak against a GOP-introduced House bill that shortens voting periods and clears out voting…

All 39! is a group of Iowa volunteers diligently working to improve Iowa’s democracy. We are alarmed at a bill that will limit and actively discourage Iowans from voting. The necessity of such legislation is confusing, as there is no evidence of wide scale voting fraud in Iowa. Senate Study Bill 1199 and House Study…

Frustrated Iowa residents are crowdsourcing locations and availability for COVID-19 vacccine doses on social media and through personal networks in lieu of state assistance. With state preparation for distributing the vaccine lacking, the lucky Iowans who have gotten a vaccine typically have done so after significant searching. It’s on Facebook groups, Reddit posts and Twitter…

In another sign that Iowa and Gov. Kim Reynolds’ administration was not prepared to distribute the COVID-19 vaccination, the Iowa Department of Public Health just this week is hiring up what appears to be key staffers for the task. On an online job posting board for Iowa government jobs, the IDPH is hiring at least…