WATCH: Why aren’t Republicans holding town halls?
Yet another one of Iowa’s members of Congress was caught in a major gaffe. Here’s what to take away from this one.
Oct
2025
8
Iowa Production Staff
Oct
2025
7
WATCH: Iowa GOP Rep. Miller-Meeks says she’ll hold a town hall ‘when hell freezes over’
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks told Johnson County Republicans at an August meeting that she would hold a town hall “when hell freezes over.”
A video of the full meeting was uploaded to YouTube, but the county party took the video down this week.
GOP congressional leaders told members in March not to hold public town halls, Politico reported. Constituents have been asking Rep. Miller-Meeks to go against party bosses.
The congresswoman has opted for closed door meeting with select groups instead of public town halls with her constituents.
Oct
2025
4
WATCH: Individual factors don’t fully explain Iowa’s cancer crisis
Several of Shannon Huey's family members have had cancer, many at young ages. Though genetics and personal choices can play a role in cancer risk, she thinks her family's long list of diagnoses means there's more to the story.
Oct
2025
4
WATCH: How are you caring for Iowa’s environment?
Over the last few weeks, our team has been drawing connections between pesticide usage, nitrate-contaminated water, a severe lack of regulations, and our state's cancer crisis. The reaction may be to freeze or flight, but the one that will make things better is fight.
How are you fighting for Iowa's environment? How can we build a system that values humans and nature over profit? Send us your videos of the actions you take or post them with #IowaActs to inspire other Iowans to do the same.
Oct
2025
4
WATCH: Big Ag corruption is ruining Iowans’ health
Corporations have plenty of strategies for manipulating government regulations, but how does it impact the governed?
On the latest episode of Cornhole Champions, investigative journalist Carey Gillam answers your question on how Big Ag is casting Iowans' health aside to make a profit.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/fovhopStD0c?si=E3tOIxZeh_CeCsmU
Oct
2025
3
WATCH: Trump float booed at Iowa City homecoming parade
Parade attendees expressed their frustration amid immigration crack downs in Iowa.
Oct
2025
3
WATCH: Des Moines students walk out after superintendent’s immigration arrest
Hundreds of students in Iowa’s largest school district walked out of class to protest Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts’ immigration arrest last week.
Oct
2025
2
WATCH: What policy could lower Iowa’s high cancer rates?
It’s true that personal health and habits drive up our risk of cancer, but they do not tell the full story. To take on Iowa’s cancer crisis, the government will need to take action.
Oct
2025
1
WATCH: Iowa’s $400,000 scandal: Research on ag pollution buried (w/ Carey Gillam) – Cornhole Champions #41
Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the nation, and it's getting worse. A million-dollar study confirmed what many suspected: agricultural pollution is poisoning our water and making Iowans sick. However, after scientists completed their research, the $400,000 set aside to tell Iowans about it simply disappeared.
On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with investigative journalist Carey Gillam, editor-in-chief of The New Lede and author of "The Monsanto Papers" and "Whitewash." She spent 17 years as a senior correspondent with Reuters international news service. Her work has been at the center of how powerful agricultural interests suppress critical public health research while Iowa families pay the price.
From EPA officials grilling pork chops with polluters to the revolving door between Big Ag and government regulators, we explore how corporate money corrupts the science that should protect us all.
Toss some bags at Iowa's cancer crisis cover-up… Trump's EPA reversing water protections… And why farmers are fighting back on their own…
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. It’s produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and show art by Desirée Tapia. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
00:00 - Iowa's Shocking Cancer Statistics: Second Worst in America
01:30 - The $400,000 Cover-Up: Public Health Funding Disappears
05:00 - Pattern of Suppression: Multiple Studies Buried by Officials
07:30 - EPA Chief Grills with Polluters at Iowa State Fair
09:00 - Big Ag's Corruption Playbook: Ghost Writing and Revolving Doors
12:30 - Trump EPA Reverses Water Protection for Iowa Rivers
16:30 - Farmers Fight Back: Real Solutions from the IDEA Network
19:00 - Why Voluntary Change Won't Save Iowa's Water
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Sep
2025
27
WATCH: Ashley Hinson offers loyalty to the GOP, not Iowans
Sooo... is it Hinson for Iowa or Hinson for Trump?
