Gov. Kim Reynolds’ staff estimates Iowa taxpayers would spend $341 million annually to pay for students’ private school tuition and related expenses once her voucher plan is fully phased in starting with the 2026-27 school year—and over half of that could be doled...
Adam Zabner only thought it was natural that what he thinks is Iowa’s youngest house district be represented by someone who is close in age to its primary constituents. The 23-year-old is the new representative for Iowa House District 90 in Iowa City, which...
The wife of a Woodbury County Supervisor and a well-known local Republican activist in her own right has been charged with 52 federal indictments related to voter fraud. According to federal court documents that were unsealed on Thursday, Kim Phuong Taylor, 49, of...
A new bill introduced by Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale) would make Iowa’s historically nonpartisan city council and school board elections into partisan races complete with primaries. SF23 would affect city council, school board, and merged area elections, but school...
For the third legislative session in a row, Gov. Kim Reynolds has introduced another version of her private school voucher bill, but the latest proposal is her boldest, biggest, and most expensive one to date. Reynolds was successfully reelected to another...
In 176 years, there had never been an Arab American serving in the Iowa Legislature until this week when Sami Scheetz was sworn in. The 26-year-old Cedar Rapids Democrat represents House District 78, which covers the southeast portion of his hometown and boasts a...
A few days after publicly announcing he won’t seek a second term as chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, Ross Wilburn is at peace with the decision, although with a few caveats. First of all, contrary to how some outlets reported, he is not stepping down from the...
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Ross Wilburn will not be seeking a second term as head of the state party. Wilburn announced that decision this morning during the party’s State Central Committee (SCC) meeting in Ankeny. "As the leader of the party, I have worked to...
C. J. Petersen described his experience at the White House on Tuesday as a “full circle” moment. The Templeton, Iowa, resident and his husband, Luke, were in Washington, DC, to see President Joe Biden sign the Respect for Marriage Act today, a bipartisan bill that...
As 2022 comes to a close, there were more than a few stories the Starting Line team covered that collectively made us and readers go “WTF.” A lot of those stories revolved around attacks on public education, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups. Some...
