Amie Rivers

Amie Rivers

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 amie@new.iowastartingline.com. For local reporting in Iowa that connects the dots, from policy to people, sign up for Amie’s newsletter.

Latest from Amie Rivers

  • Politics

    What about worker rights? Here’s what Tim Walz has done

    Picking Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signals something big: Worker rights, and pro-worker policies, are back at the forefront of Democratic politics. On Tuesday morning, Vice President Kamala Harris picked Walz as her running mate—arguably a progressive pick, given the laws Walz has signed as governor that have propelled Minnesota into an escape state for many…

  • Local

    Union reps slam Iowa legislators after child labor violations rack up

    Labor leaders in eastern Iowa called out Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Iowa Republicans who backed new laws to loosen child labor, and tied it to Project 2025’s goal of loosening child labor nationwide during a forum in Cedar Rapids last week. Rick Moyle, executive director of the Hawkeye Area Labor Council, referenced recent comments…

  • Local

    Davenport Starbucks is 2nd in Iowa to unionize

    A second Starbucks has officially unionized in Iowa—and two workers there say they were almost the first. Eighteen workers at the Starbucks store on East 53rd Street in Davenport filed with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize in May. Out of 17 eligible voters, 16 of them voted—and 15 voted for the union, an…

  • Local

    Former Mercy Iowa City workers say UIHC is threatening pay, seniority

    You probably heard about the very public bankruptcy of Iowa City’s *other* hospital, Mercy Iowa City, and how around 1,000 jobs were saved when the University of Iowa Health Care (UIHC) agreed to buy Mercy, changing the hospital’s name to UI Health Care Medical Center Downtown. But you may not have heard about what’s been…

  • Local

    5 Iowa arena football and indoor football teams to watch this summer

    If you’re looking for some summer football, check out these five Iowa arena football and indoor football teams. It’s not the exact same game as you see in the fall. But with its shorter field, fast-paced action, and ability to run up the score quickly, arena football and indoor football are great ways to get…

  • Local

    Bruegger’s Bagels employees launch new union in Iowa

    Workers at Bruegger’s Bagels, a nationwide bakery chain, are trying to unionize—and, surprisingly, the effort is starting in Iowa, a state with some of the fewest rights for workers in the country.

  • Local

    Watch the 3 Iowa minor league baseball teams in 2024

    Watch an Iowa minor league baseball team in a city near you. Baseball season is upon us, and while Iowa has no Major League Baseball (MLB) teams in residence (unless it’s the day they’re playing at the Field of Dreams), we’ve got three minor league baseball (MiLB) teams to watch—all unionized since 2023! Check out…

  • Local

    Check out these 7 semi-pro Iowa baseball teams in 2024

    Check out a semi-pro Iowa baseball game this summer. There’s nothing better than catching a baseball game in the summertime. But if you’re only catching the minor league Iowa teams, you’re missing out on some great talent: The smaller teams, many of them summer collegiate leagues, have also seen lots of former players go on…