Radon exposure is fueling Iowa’s deadliest cancer
Iowa has the highest radon levels in the nation, and doctors say the gas is causing hundreds of lung cancer deaths every year.
Sep
2025
3
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.
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.
Aug
2025
29
Iowa Worker’s Almanac: Layoffs and news briefs, Aug. 29
Iowa Worker's Almanac: Layoffs and news briefs, Aug. 29
Aug
2025
22
Iowa Worker’s Almanac: Working class news and upcoming layoffs, Aug. 21
Muscatine construction worker and victim of crime jailed: Jesús Hernández was shot when two people tried stealing his car. After a hospital stay, he went to pick up his car—and immigration enforcement officials detained him for being undocumented. Congress created...
Aug
2025
22
Iowa has a dire shortage of nurses. Here’s why
(This story first appeared in the Iowa Worker's Almanac, and is a subscriber exclusive.) You probably already know Iowa has a problem getting qualified health care workers: We're 44th in the nation for physicians to patients, or 30% worse than the national average;...
Aug
2025
20
Facing cancer in Iowa: Patients share their stories
Cancer in Iowa isn’t just about treatment—it’s about surviving the system, asking why it happened, and living with the aftermath. Five Iowans share their stories.
Aug
2025
18
From the Iowa Worker’s Almanac: Layoffs and news for the working class, Aug. 14, 2025
Fox guarding the henhouse: A former Tyson executive now oversees the safety of the US meat supply. (Sentient Media) Designed to discriminate: By gutting the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, Trump is making it easier for federal contractors to...
Aug
2025
18
Iowa DOGE recommends cutting public worker IPERS for new hires
The Iowa DOGE task force wants to cut IPERS for new hires, the public employee retirement system that thousands of teachers, corrections officers, and more rely on to get them through their golden years. This does not sit well with those workers, the unions they're...
Aug
2025
13
The future of cancer research in Iowa is uncertain—and lives are on the line
Iowa cancer patients are desperate for better screenings, treatments, and cures. Researchers are desperate to find them. So what's the holdup?
Jul
2025
30
The link between Iowa’s worsening water quality and rising cancer rate
Iowa's rising cancer rate has many causes. Our worsening water quality is one.
Jul
2025
25
Iowa working class news you can use: July 25
Iowa Working Class News You Can Use: Iowa’s farmers are left with rising bills and few guarantees as President Donald Trump's second trade war brews—creating a storm of financial pressure in the heart of the state’s farm economy that could ripple beyond 2025,...
