Ty Rushing

Ty Rushing is the former Chief Political Correspondent for Iowa Starting Line. He is a trail-blazing veteran Iowa journalist, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker, and co-founder and president of the Iowa Association of Black Journalists.


Latest from Ty Rushing

  • Politics

    Here’s who is running, so far, for Congress in Iowa in 2024

    Iowa’s 2024 congressional races are starting to take shape as all four Republican officeholders have at least one Democratic challenger and, in one instance, a primary challenger. So who’s running for what office and where? Here’s a simple overview of Iowa’s four congressional districts, the incumbents who represent those districts, and the candidates who want…


  • Politics

    Iowans welcome news of Moms for Liberty school board defeats

    Candidates backed by Moms for Liberty, an organization that has supported private school vouchers, anti-LGBTQ legislation, and book bans in Iowa, lost in school board races across the state Tuesday. Since its inception, Moms for Liberty has helped fuel national right-wing culture war attacks on public schools, teachers, and students in Iowa and elsewhere. The…


  • Politics

    Right-wing candidates lose in Linn-Mar despite national push

    For more than a year, outrage over a policy to protect transgender and nonbinary students hung a black cloud over the Linn-Mar School District, but Tuesday’s school board elections served as a referendum for supporters of the policy that was later gutted by state lawmakers. Incumbents Barry Bucholz (4,637 votes, or 14.46%), and Brittania Morey…


  • Politics

    Moms for Liberty candidates lose in Dallas Center-Grimes school board race

    Three left-leaning candidates and a moderate defeated a three-person conservative bloc to win four open seats on the Dallas Center-Grimes School Board, according to Tuesday’s unofficial results. There were two at-large seats open and three candidates. Incumbent Ryan Carpenter, the moderate, won reelection with 1,563 votes (42.36% of the vote). Left-leaning candidate Shaylee Vander Velden…


  • Politics

    Progressives capture four seats on Ankeny School Board

    Progressive candidates—Katie Claeys, Shelly Northway, Amber Romans, and Amy Tagliareni—won four out of five open seats on the Ankeny School Board in Tuesday’s election, according to unofficial results. Conservative candidate Stephanie Gott also won a seat. Eight candidates were vying for four at-large seats with four-year terms, including a four-person bloc of right-leaning candidates and…


  • Politics

    Trump: Reynolds and DeSantis are dead to the MAGA movement, voters

    Donald Trump’s feud with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reached new heights on Sunday as multiple media outlets reported that she plans to endorse Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s top challenger in the GOP presidential primary. As first reported by the Des Moines Register, Reynolds plans to formalize her DeSantis endorsement at a Des Moines rally…


  • Politics

    Nearly $150,000 spent so far in Ankeny, Johnston school board races

    As Iowa school board elections have become more political, the costs associated with running for a volunteer position that decides everything from budgets to bus routes have also increased. Campaign disclosure reports for city and school board candidates, city and school political action committees, and local ballot issue committees were due by 4:30 p.m. Thursday,…


  • Politics

    Dallas Center-Grimes parents worry about school board candidate’s right-wing ties

    When Sean Cully launched a Facebook page for his Dallas Center-Grimes (DCG) School Board campaign, his intro stated that he wanted to “protect students, parents and educators from wokeism!” Shortly afterward, Cully scrapped that language. In the new intro, Cully said he wanted  “To champion students with my 20+ years of experience in leading and…


  • Politics

    Ankeny School Board candidate Amber Romans was almost a teacher. Now she wants to fight for them

    Sometimes the only standing between you and following in your father’s footsteps is a broken leg—or at least that was the case for Amber Romans. Romans’ father became a teacher after his time in the US Navy. She initially went to college intent on becoming an educator too, until a leg injury forced her to…