Amie Rivers

Chris Pietropinto knows what it’s like to have to choose between bills. For the last two decades, the Cedar Rapids woman and her husband have lived on one income, after a disability at 23 meant Pietropinto could no longer work. Instead, she did her best to balance their books. “He’s worked everything from lube tech…

The Cedar Falls community is reeling after the sudden, violent deaths of a beloved librarian, her husband and their young daughter. Sarah Schmidt, 42, along with her husband, Tyler Schmidt, 42, and their daughter Lula, 6, all of Cedar Falls, were victims of what appears to be a random act of gun violence while they…

Three people were killed in an early-morning shooting at Maquoketa Caves State Park’s campground, and the alleged gunman later took his own life a short distance away, officials said Friday morning. Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of major crimes with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office was called…

Another strike could be looming—this time at a tire plant in Des Moines. United Steelworkers Local 310 (USW 310) said contract negotiations with Bridgestone have effectively stalled, and are now shoring up support among elected officials and community leaders to push the company back to the table. “We are disappointed to report that we have…

Iowa’s governor announced unemployment numbers are now officially back to pre-pandemic levels, but there are tens of thousands more open jobs than available workers—and critics say she’s still hurting those workers with draconian policies. Gov. Kim Reynolds celebrated the news that the state was at 2.6% unemployment, down from 2.7% in May. The June jobs…

The City of Waterloo committed to using only renewable energy sources citywide by 2035, only the fourth city in the US to pledge to do so. The resolution, which notes the city will achieve 24/7 carbon-free electricity, passed unanimously during Monday night’s meeting. “It is easy to fall into climate nihilism—that the problem is ‘too…

I’m hiking every beautiful place I can think of around my home state, to showcase the beauty Iowa has to offer. Follow along on social media using #AmieTakesAHike to pass along your suggestions and see where I’m headed next. On a hot, humid July day, taking a sweaty hike is a bit less appealing. The…

Neo-Nazi flyers pushing the “Great Replacement” conspiracy theory with antisemitic rhetoric were found hanging in an Oelwein city park in northeast Iowa recently. The “Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory”, long promoted by hate groups on the fringes of society, is now being pushed to more mainstream right-wing networks, emboldening such groups. Crew 319 describes itself on…

From Starbucks baristas in Iowa City to Grinnell college student workers, workers in Iowa—and across the US—are forming workplace unions at a pace we haven’t seen in decades. Maybe it’s the reality of low wages of workers versus the astronomical pay and stock packages of CEOs. Maybe the pandemic laid bare the differences between what…

What will Iowa’s road and bridges look like without enough construction workers to repair them? We could soon find out. Iowa’s new unemployment law goes into effect Friday and it limits workers to just 16 weeks of unemployment, a 10-week reduction from the previous 26. It also tries to push workers into lower-paying jobs—requiring job-seekers…