Waterloo Schools pulled out of an event focused on promoting Black literacy over fears of losing federal funding under Trump’s new anti-DEI directives. In response, the 1619 Freedom School is stepping in to host its own event this Saturday.

On this special episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones. She’s the founder of the 1619 School, and she believes this exactly the work the school was created to do.

“What’s so appalling to me is we know that there’s a gaping achievement gap in Waterloo. That’s why the 1619 Freedom School exists. We know that the typical black student in Waterloo reads at one to two grade levels behind the typical white student,” Hannah-Jones said. “That you would not be able to hand out a book for a child to take home that affirms that child’s identity, that is an ugly society that does something like that.”

1619 Freedom School will host a free Community African American Read-In on Saturday, March 15th from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Waterloo West High School’s auditorium. The first 300 families attending Saturday’s event will receive tote bags containing books, including copies of “All Because You Matter.” The event is free and open to the public.

You can support the work of the 1619 Freedom School by donating here: https://www.1619freedomschool.org/donate

Guest:
Nikole Hannah-Jones is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering racial injustice for The New York Times Magazine and creator of the landmark The 1619 Project, now a Hulu original docuseries.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

Iowa's farmers and food producers are facing a crisis that's been brewing behind the scenes at the US Department of Agriculture. Since President Donald Trump took office and his number two billionaire Elon Musk has been taking a club to federal programs, the consequences have been mounting.

And now Iowa food growers are left with the bill.

The USDA has frozen nearly $7 million in promised funding, leaving hundreds of local farms and food businesses in limbo during the critical spring planting season.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Giselle Bruskewitz of Iowa Valley RC&D a group that administers the entire program that was to help build more resilient foodways, but now is leaving a lot of Iowans in the cold.

"It's a slap in the face. It's really devastating. It's the 11th hour. It’s past the 11th hour for some. The produce farmers already have seeds coming up in the greenhouses. The meat farmers have already booked locker dates,” Burskewitz said. “And so the sales projections and what these farmers have been planning all winter for this growing season is now putting them in a really precarious situation where they have to either find other markets.”

Join the conversation with Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers and Zach as they break down the what bills are dead and which bills shouldn’t be.

Links:
1. Iowa lawmakers introduced 1,500+ bills this session. Which survived the 'funnel' deadline? (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/03/09/iowa-legislature-2025-funnel-week-dei-ban-medicaid-work-requirements-vaccines-abortion/78026470007/

2. Here are the bills that advanced during the Iowa Legislature's first deadline of 2025 (Iowa Public Radio): https://www.iowapublicradio.org/state-government-news/2025-03-07/here-are-the-bills-that-advanced-during-the-iowa-legislatures-first-deadline-of-2025

3. What bills are still moving at the Iowa Capitol this year? (The Gazette): https://www.thegazette.com/state-government/what-bills-still-are-moving-at-the-iowa-capitol-this-year/

Guest:
Giselle Bruskewitz is the program director at Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

The Iowa Capitol is buzzing this week. It’s one of two so called “Funnel Weeks.” These are self imposed deadlines placed on the legislative process. The idea is that we’ve only got 110 days to get through the billbook. They need to focus up or risk being stuck in Des Moines all year.

In practice, Funnel Week is a cramming period. Where legislation of all kinds gets put through the committee gauntlet. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith speaks with DMARC’s Luke Elzinga about policies that could help hungry Iowans and why they’re unlikely to pass.

Join the conversation with Amie Rivers and hear about last week’s move by Iowa Republicans to remove civil rights from some Iowans and the games they played while they did it.

Links:
1. Iowa law rips up anti-discrimination protections for trans Iowans (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/24/republican-transgender-civil-rights/

2. Free menstrual products in public schools (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/03/03/free-tampons-public-schools-menstural-products/

3. Bill regulating transactions at Bitcoin ATMs (Iowa Starting Line): https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ga=91&ba=SF%20449

4. $1 billion unemployment tax cut proposal (The Gazette): https://www.thegazette.com/state-government/iowa-senate-republicans-advance-reynolds-1-billion-unemployment-tax-cut-proposal/

5. Teaching the Bible as curriculum (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/14/iowa-republicans-advance-public-school-bible-study-bill/

6. Iowa Republicans’ bill to criminalize vaccine providers advances amid funnel week chaos (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/03/03/republicans-anti-vaccine-legislature/

Guest:
Luke Elzinga is the policy and advocacy manager at Des Moines Area Religious Council.

Iowa’s near-total abortion ban is in effect. Nonetheless, Iowans are still getting abortions. It’s just harder and more expensive, often requiring travel outside the state.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Iowa Abortion Access Fund's Lyz Lenz about the crisis unfolding six months after Iowa's six-week abortion ban took effect. Since July 2024, the number of Iowans needing abortion funding has tripled, with hundreds forced to travel to Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Kansas for care. Lenz argues that while the ban hasn't stopped abortions, it has made them more expensive, delayed, and dangerous.

Then get some facts on the abortion pill mifepristone, the newest target of Iowa Republicans’ crusade against reproductive rights.

Guests:
- Mica Chase is a resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

- Dr. Sarah Traxler is the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States.

- Lyz Lenz is the chair of the board of directors at the Iowa Abortion Access Fund.

You don’t win races you don’t run in. And because we’ve made getting involved such a slog, no one wants to run.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Blue Missouri’s Jess Piper about what happens when a party decides not to compete in our rural states.

In 2022, over 40% of legislative seats went uncontested. That dropped to just 18% in 2024. Competing isn’t winning, but Piper argues making the effort makes a difference.

Join the conversation with Amie Rivers and hear about a push to criminalize drag shows, the opacity of the state’s private school voucher program, and primary jockeying among Republicans for election years that haven’t begun.

Links:
1. Taking someone under 18 to a drag show would be a felony under Iowa House bill (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/13/iowa-house-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-take-minors-to-lgbtq-drag-show/78523064007/

2. State agencies block Auditor Sand during review of private school voucher program (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/18/sand-education-school-voucher-audit/

3. Former Republican state representative to challenge Kim Reynolds for Iowa governor seat (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/republican-brad-sherman-to-run-for-iowa-governor-against-incumbent-kim-reynolds-gop/78963619007/

Guest:
Jess Piper is the executive director of Blue Missouri and the host of Dirt Road Democrat podcast.

“I absolutely do not think that Lutheran Services (of Iowa) is a money laundering organization.”

Gov. Kim Reynolds took some heat last week after getting asked if she agreed with billionaire Elon Musk that Lutheran Family Services and its member organizations were laundering money. In a press conference, she blamed it on being taken out of context.

It took Raygun all of 24 hours to get this on up.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers play back the tape. Also here about a glowing profile in the Des Moines Register of Speaker of the House Pat Grassley. As well as a rally held against a bill that would limit lawsuits over pesticide-related illness.

Finally, many listeners had followup questions about last week’s discussion of Trump’s lawsuit against the Iowa Poll. We get some real insight from a national expert in defamation.

Links:
1. Lutherans decry Reynolds’ ‘failure to defend’ Lutheran Services of Iowa (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/07/lutherans-decry-reynolds/

2. How Pat Grassley keeps the Iowa House's sprawling GOP majority united. It's not always easy (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/10/pat-grassley-iowa-house-gop-majority-has-grown-heres-how/77493945007/

3. Iowa senators advance Bayer bill to limit lawsuits over pesticide-related illness (Iowa Public Radio): https://www.iowapublicradio.org/state-government-news/2025-02-06/iowa-senators-advance-bayer-bill-limit-cancer-pesticide-roundup-lawsuits

Guest:
Samantha Barbas is a legal historian and the author of Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan. She is a professor of law and the Aliber Family Chair in Law at the University of Iowa College of Law.

In 2020, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her seat by one of the closest margins in US history. This past year, she repeated, winning by less than point two percentage points. Leading Iowa political writer Laura Belin to say “there may be no luckier person in Iowa politics” than Miller-Meeks.

But apparently getting lucky isn’t enough for our congresswoman.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers chat about the weirdness of Miller-Meeks decision to pile-on. Also hear about the Scott County Attorney’s decision not to pursue charges against landlord Andrew Wold after his building collapsed killing three people and displaced hundred more.

Finally, hear from Cindy Yelick, the director of Heartland AEA, about the tough road ahead her AEA and the students it serves.

Links:
1. Congress member, ex-Iowa senator join Trump suit over Des Moines Register Iowa Poll (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2025/02/04/us-rep-mariannette-miller-meeks-former-state-sen-brad-zaun-join-trump-lawsuit-over-iowa-poll/78183537007/?tbref=hp

2. No charges in Davenport building collapse; “Nothing about this fact pattern … constitutes a crime” - Scott County attorney (The Quad-City Times): https://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/davenport-building-collapse-2023-no-criminal-charges-andrew-wold/article_7c8832dc-e28b-11ef-9aa6-1701cb54be34.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

3. Heartland AEA begins dramatic restructuring following Republican’s AEA changes and cuts (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/31/heartland-aea-cuts-education/

Guests:
Cindy Yelick is the chief administrator of Johnston-based Heartland AEA which serves 11 counties in central Iowa.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

Maria Gonzalez was high school student when a neighbor called. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement was conducting a raid at the meat packer her mom worked at. The neighbor said her mom, an undocumented immigrant, got caught in the roundup.

“It hit me. Oh my God. How do I protect my mom?’ "Gonzalez said. “I kind of just froze. And I remember turning to look at my brother who is two years younger than me and saying, ‘I think they’re going to deport mom.’ ”

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith talks with Gonzalez and Maria Acosta, two migrant organizers in Iowa about what he road looks like under President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers and reproductive rights reporter Nikoel Hytrek join to talk about a move to remove requirements for blood lead level tests for Iowa children and the renewed interest in Baby Olivia.

Resources:
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice is encouraging folks to learn their rights. They are also maintaining a hotline for reporting ICE enforcement actions: 515-505-8805

Links:
1. IA Republicans advance bill to make schools teach that life begins at conception (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/24/conception/

2. Iowa lawmakers advance proposals affecting homeschooling (The Gazette): https://www.thegazette.com/k/iowa-lawmakers-advance-proposals-affecting-home-schooling/

3. Vandals deface two Muscatine restaurants with swastikas; owners stand firm: ‘We do not know fear’ (Little Village): https://littlevillagemag.com/vandals-deface-two-muscatine-restaurants-with-swastikas/

Guests:
- Baby Olivia is a fictional character based on bad science.

- Maria Gonzalez of Marshalltown is an organizer with Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice.

- Maria Acosta of Des Moines is an organizer with Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

It’s week one of the Trump presidency. If the fat reem of executive orders didn’t bother you, than the 11 trillion dollars dressed as people on the inauguration stage should. These are the people with the president’s ear and the rest of us can’t even get inside to watch the inauguration.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions—after making a big to-do about being a local podcast—we’re thinking about the inauguration, the election and the billionaires that defined it. Hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers dig through executive orders and why mutual aid can do a lot in times like these.

Hear from state Rep. J.D. Scholten and Sen. Zach Wahls about why corporate interests and its political power should worry you. And why Austin Frerick says corporate consolidation in the agriculture and food sector is making our lives worse and less tasty.

Links
1. Trump versus the US Constitution (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/20/trump-executive-orders-day-one/

2. We care for us: Iowa places to support as another Trump presidency looms (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/06/we-care-for-us/

3. ‘Best seats’ for billionaires at Trump’s inauguration (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration/

4. J.D.’s latest on the new Gilded Age and the billionaires that run it all: (You’re Probably Getting Screwed): https://screwed.substack.com/p/youre-probably-getting-screwed-by-011?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=894466&post_id=155347468&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1etoi4&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

5. Trump’s Gender Order Won’t Affect Existing Passports — Unless They’re Renewed (NOTUS): https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/trump-gender-sex-order-passports

Guests:
- Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City is a Democrat representing State House District 1.

- Sen. Zach Wahls is a Democrat representing State Senate District 37.

- Austin Frericks the author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America's Food.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.