With contract negotiations starting up next week, the National Association of Letter Carriers is holding nationwide rallies to ask for a fair contract. Here's what they're asking for, and how you can support.
Could Iowa phase out private school vouchers someday?
That’s what a grassroots group is working toward.
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) wants to get rid of vouchers and put the tax money that goes to private schools back into the public school system.
CCI is organizing people to urge their local school boards to pass a resolution that demands the governor and state legislature end vouchers, plus provide a 5% annual increase in public school funding.
So far at least 10 of Iowa’s 327 school districts have unanimously passed resolutions, including the Cedar Rapids Community School District.
That’s where Kelly McMahon is a kindergarten teacher.
✏️: Salina Heller
Students at all public Waterloo high schools—East, West, Expo, and the Career Center—plan to jointly walk out of class Friday, Feb. 6 at 12:30 p.m. to protest the unconstitutional tactics of ICE and other federal agents. They say they're protesting for immigrant classmates who are too scared to speak out.
Residents told Iowa Starting Line about long-term issues with unclean water and soil erosion that has become so serious it's beginning to impact important supports for their homes.
Havenpark Communities owns mobile home parks across Iowa and the country. Residents' rents are climbing. Services are getting cut.
Case New Holland says it will close its Burlington plant by the middle of next year. Workers say it's not because of money—which the company has plenty of—but because they want to break the union.
Sign the petition to keep CNH in Burlington here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/tell-case-new-holland-invest-in-burlington-protect-our-plant?source=direct_link&&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Iowa%20Worker%27s%20Almanac%2011-13-25&utm_term=Iowa%20Starting%20Line%20-%20Workers%20Almanac
For more stories like this directly to your inbox, subscribe to the Iowa Worker's Almanac.
It's easy to miss what's happening in Iowa when you're scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn't just about tariffs or trade policy. It's about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: how Trump's economic policies hit Iowa harder than almost anywhere else in the country.
Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
0:00 – Cold open and Zach's cryptic note about chips
1:30 – Marinette Miller Meeks refuses town halls: "When hell freezes over"
4:30 – Welcome to Cornhole Champions and what's coming today
6:30 – The New York Times story Iowa needs to read: Trump's policies hit hard
9:00 – Why bailouts don't help small farmers and Argentina gets our markets
11:00 – John Deere layoffs, tariffs, and what it means for the Quad Cities
12:00 – Immigration crackdowns devastate Iowa's meat packing industry
*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
- YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
- Substack - https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
- PocketCasts - https://pca.st/74atty1j
... and everywhere you listen to podcasts
*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
- Twitter - https://x.com/zacharyos
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This is one of the last episodes of Cornhole Champions for 2025. We're taking November and December off, coming back in January with fresh ideas. But before we wrap, it felt right to step back and talk about what this year has been — and what 2026 might bring.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to talk about the future of the podcast and of the state it was created to serve.
Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.
*SHOW RUNDOWN:*
0:00 – Taking a break: last episode of 2025
1:30 – What it's like building a podcast in Iowa
3:00 – Why the news cycle moves too fast for weekly shows
4:30 – The difference between videos and podcasts as mediums
6:30 – Why human connection matters more than traditional media
7:00 – Creating space that shows what life in Iowa could be
11:00 – Legacy media vs. new platforms: who's doing the work?
13:00 – Writing stories about Iowans for Iowans
14:30 – What stories should we cover in 2026? Send us your ideas
15:00 – Thank you for a year of Cornhole Champions
*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
- YouTube - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
- Substack - https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
- Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
- Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
- PocketCasts - https://pca.st/74atty1j
... and everywhere you listen to podcasts
*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
- Twitter - https://x.com/zacharyos
- Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/zacharyosmith
- Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social
- Threads - https://www.threads.com/@zachosmith
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyos/
*FOLLOW IOWA STARTING LINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
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- YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@UCXN791Qw5opBRLyvTWYl43w
On this day in 1977, gay rights activist Thom Higgins pied anti-gay media personality Anita Bryant at a press conference in Des Moines. Bryant was in town promoting her ongoing campaign against LGBTQ+ rights, including a plan for a network of conversion therapy centers.
This video was posted to social media amid a growing presence of ICE across the nation.
Follow Iowa Starting Line for more.
