When the Iowa Legislature returns to Des Moines in January, the chambers will only have gotten redder. Iowa Democrats did not have many successes this November. Meanwhile, Republicans expanded their majorities. The Iowa Senate will have a 35-15 Republican majority; the House will have a 67-33 majority.
On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith spoke to House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, about what levers of power are available to the minority.
Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers joins to talk about Iowa’s refusal to make use of existing support for hungry Iowans and new data on abortion in Iowa.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. For more, check out its roundup of local writers.
Links
1. Hundreds of Iowans had additional barriers to clear before they could vote this year. And a survey of nearly every county auditor found that the majority of people who came into vote were eligible to vote (The Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/26/iowa-secretary-of-state-paul-pate-challenged-voter-citizenship-how-many-voted-election-2024/76432448007/
2. The Iowa Hunger Coalition and other anti-hunger advocates called on Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to apply for Summer EBT after the federal government rejected her alternate program (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/25/summer-ebt-iowa/https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/25/summer-ebt-iowa/
3. The new data show a monthly average of 400 clinician-provided abortions in Iowa in the first six months of 2024. After the six-week ban went into effect on July 29, the number of abortions dropped to an estimated 250 in August, a decrease of 38% from the average over the first six months of the year (The Guttmacher Institute): https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2024/iowa-had-nearly-40-drop-clinician-provided-abortions-first-month-six-week-ban
Rep. Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights is the House Minority Leader in the Iowa Legislature.
Support Our Cause
Thank you for taking the time to read our work. Before you go, we hope you'll consider supporting our values-driven journalism, which has always strived to make clear what's really at stake for Iowans and our future.
Since day one, our goal here at Iowa Starting Line has always been to empower people across the state with fact-based news and information. We believe that when people are armed with knowledge about what's happening in their local, state, and federal governments—including who is working on their behalf and who is actively trying to block efforts aimed at improving the daily lives of Iowan families—they will be inspired to become civically engaged.
WATCH: This day in history: Anti-gay media personality Anita Bryant pied in Des Moines
On this day in 1977, gay rights activist Thom Higgins pied anti-gay media personality Anita Bryant at a press conference in Des Moines. Bryant was...
WATCH: Protestors chant ‘quit your job’ at ICE officers in Cedar Rapids
This video was posted to social media amid a growing presence of ICE across the nation. Follow Iowa Starting Line for more.
WATCH: How Iowans can push back this Banned Books Week
Have a favorite banned book? Share it with us in the comments! We promise not to report you to Kim Reynolds.
WATCH: UnityPoint spends millions on union-busting instead of safer workplace policies
Nearly 2,000 nurses at UnityPoint Health are unionizing in what is considered the largest union effort in Iowa's history. They're also facing a...
WATCH: Trump float booed at Iowa City homecoming parade
Parade attendees expressed their frustration amid immigration crackdowns in Iowa.
WATCH: Long-term impacts of Iowa’s abortion ban
New data reported by abortion providers show the impacts of Iowa's six-week abortion ban have been felt far and wide.
