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Iowa News You Can Use

Cornhole Champions #16: Empty chair at a crowded town hall (w/ Megan Goldberg)

By Amie Rivers

March 19, 2025

Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota was in Des Moines last week. But while the crowd was excited to see him, they seemed as excited about who didn’t show up. Des Moines sits in US Rep. Zach Nunn’s congressional district, and he’s among a crowd of Republican who are choosing to skip out on public town halls.

This week on Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith talks through whats to gain and whats to lose as these splashy events fall out of favor among Republicans. Join the conversation with Iowa Starting Line’s Amie Rivers and Avery Staker as they break down some the nonsense that’s been going down at the Iowa Legislature.

Links:
1. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticizes US Rep. Zach Nunn for skipping out on public town halls (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/03/18/votevets-targets-nunn/

2. Chemtrail bill amended with Bigfoot study (Iowa Legislature website): https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=H-1071

3. Iowa Democrats push to end insider trading and add term limits (Iowa Starting Line): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DHB6DP2KX0o/?igsh=djZ5bzljaTdlYW95

Guest:
Megan Goldberg is an assistant professor of American politics at Cornell College.

  • Amie Rivers

    Amie Rivers is Iowa Starting Line's newsletter editor. She writes the weekly Worker’s Almanac edition of Iowa Starting Line, featuring a roundup of the worker news you need to know. Previously, she was an award-winning journalist at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; now, she very much enjoys making TikToks and memes and getting pet photos in her inbox.

    Have a story tip? Reach Amie at [email protected]. For local reporting in Iowa that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie's newsletter.

    View all posts

CATEGORIES: LOCAL VIDEO

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SHOW RUNDOWN:
0:00 – Cold open and Zach’s cryptic note about chips
1:30 – Marinette Miller Meeks refuses town halls: “When hell freezes over”
4:30 – Welcome to Cornhole Champions and what’s coming today
6:30 – The New York Times story Iowa needs to read: Trump’s policies hit hard
9:00 – Why bailouts don’t help small farmers and Argentina gets our markets
11:00 – John Deere layoffs, tariffs, and what it means for the Quad Cities
12:00 – Immigration crackdowns devastate Iowa’s meat packing industry

*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
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– Substack – https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
– Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
– Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
– PocketCasts – https://pca.st/74atty1j
… and everywhere you listen to podcasts

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