It’s easy to miss what’s happening in Iowa when you’re scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn’t just about tariffs or trade policy. It’s about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: How Trump’s economic policies hit Iowa harder than almost anywhere else in the country.
Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.
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:*
– YouTube – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
– 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
*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://x.com/zacharyos
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/zacharyosmith
– Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social
– Threads – https://www.threads.com/@zachosmith
– LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyos/
*FOLLOW IOWA STARTING LINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://twitter.com/iastartingline
– Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IowaStartingLine
– TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@iowastartingline
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/iowastartingline
– YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UCXN791Qw5opBRLyvTWYl43w
WATCH: What’s siphoning money out of Iowa’s public schools?
Could Iowa phase out private school vouchers someday? That’s what a grassroots group is working toward. Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement...
WATCH: Students at all public Waterloo schools plan walkout to protest ICE
Students at all public Waterloo high schools—East, West, Expo, and the Career Center—planned to jointly walk out of class Friday, Feb. 6 at 12:30...
WATCH: Iowa mobile home residents report bad water, unsafe soil
Residents told Iowa Starting Line about long-term issues with unclean water and soil erosion that has become so serious it's beginning to impact...
WATCH: Privaty equity is raising the rent at mobile home parks
Havenpark Communities owns mobile home parks across Iowa and the country. Residents' rents are climbing. Services are getting cut.
WATCH: Plant closure will be ‘devastating’ for Iowa community
Case New Holland says it will close its Burlington plant by the middle of next year. Workers say it's not because of money—which the company has...
WATCH: Celebrating one year of Cornhole Champions (PT 3) – Cornhole Champions #46
This is one of the last episodes of Cornhole Champions for 2025. We're taking November and December off, coming back in January with fresh ideas....
