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.

Once again, Reynolds has been mum about her priorities for the Legislature. The rough strokes of her plan finally got a public recounting Tuesday with the Condition of the State address.

To a packed Iowa House floor and repeated standing ovations, Gov. Kim Reynolds rattled through childcare and energy, Medicaid regulations and cancer research.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers about important takeaways form the governor’s proposals.

Links
1. Read Gov. Kim Reynolds full speech (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/14/kim-reynolds-condition-state_full/

2. Child care gaps in rural America threaten to undercut small communities (Iowa Capital Dispatch): https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/02/child-care-gaps-in-rural-america-threaten-to-undercut-small-communities/

3. March of Dimes report on maternity care deserts in the US (March of Dimes): https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/data?reg=99&top=23&stop=641&lev=1&slev=4&obj=9&sreg=19

4. Quad-Cities schools restrict cell phone use to recapture learning time (The Quad-City Times): https://qctimes.com/news/local/education/cell-phones-in-schools-quad-cities-new-policies-restrictions/article_e841cb28-5668-11ef-95e3-1b15b48d8b30.html

Half a million students are enrolled in Iowa’s public schools. And because Iowa charges students for meals, some rack up lunchroom debt and others go hungry. Studies show hunger impacts academic performance, classroom behavior, as well as overall health and even test scores. But so far, the powers that be in Iowa aren’t interested.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Sen. Janice Weiner (D-Iowa City) about why year-after-year this policy goes nowhere in the Iowa Legislature which convenes again next week. Also, hear from Democrat Mike Zimmer who is running to flip a Clinton County Senate seat blue.

This week, Chase Seibert guest hosts offering the analysis he’s becoming famous for on TikTok (@burnerlearner) and Insta (@theseibert).

Links
1. Chuck Grassley: Iowa's veteran lawmaker once again third in line for presidency (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2022/10/19/chuck-grassleys-political-career-is-older-than-barbie-the-grammys-and-more/

2. Rita Hart reelected to lead Iowa Democrats in 2025 (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/04/rita-hart-chair-democrats/

3. Iowa Republicans want to cut property taxes (The Gazette): https://www.thegazette.com/state-government/iowa-republicans-want-to-cut-property-taxes-heres-what-it-could-mean/

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.

Politics has a short memory. And consequently, it’s challenging to remember that the movement for reproductive rights does not begin with Dobbs or even Roe v. Wade. People here in Iowa and elsewhere have been locked in a fight for reproductive freedom that far predates any of us.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Dr. Lina-Maria Murillo, a scholar of power and reproductive rights.

Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers joins to talk about Sen. Joni Ernst’s sudden warmth towards Trump’s Pete Hegseth, Iowa Democrats return to Summer EBT, and Food and Water Watch’s new analysis on the disparity between polluters and the people who drink the water.

Links
1. Amid pressure, Ernst says she’ll ‘support’ Hegseth through nomination process (Iowa Starting Line): http://xn--amid%20pressure,%20ernst%20says%20shell%20support%20hegseth%20through%20nomination%20process-gc82dscn/

2. Democrats will return to Des Moines with legislation to feed Iowa kids during the summer (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/12/11/democrats-summer-ebt-legislature/

3. Iowa Factory Farms Penalized Less Than $750K For 10 Years Of Illegal Pollution, New Analysis Finds (Food & Water Watch): https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2024/12/09/iowa-factory-farms-penalized-less-than-750k-for-10-years-of-illegal-pollution-new-analysis-finds/

4. Iowans removing fallopian tubes, getting long-term birth control as threats to reproductive freedom loom (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/12/06/birth-control-tube-removal/

Guest:
Dr. Lina-Maria Murillo is an assistant professor in Gender, Women's & Sexuality Studies and History at the University of 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.

State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott of Windsor Heights was cold-calling the local school district. An employee was among a group of new citizens who Secretary of State Paul Pate targeted for additional screening. If the employee didn’t show additional IDs to the auditor, their vote wouldn’t count.

The Democrat from Windsor Heights was out curing ballots after her opponent called for a recount. She had known about the ballots Pate challenged. But she found many people whose ballots were challenged had incomplete or incorrect information on how long they had to fix it.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Trone Garriott about her recount and the impact the Secretary of State’s targeting had.

Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers joins to talk big developments in carbon capture pipelines, the governor’s call for a new Farm Bill, a case of child labor being in Sioux City and the official certification of the 2024 election results.

Links
1. Wolf Carbon Solutions withdrawals bid for eastern Iowa CO2 pipeline (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/12/02/wolf-carbon-solutions-adm-capture-co2/

2. GOP governors urge reauthorization of Farm Bill, call 2018 bill ‘outdated’ (Iowa Capital Dispatch): https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/briefs/gop-governors-urge-reauthorization-of-farm-bill-call-2018-bill-outdated/

3. Sanitation contractor for Sioux City pork plant fined for using child labor (The Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2024/12/03/investigation-finds-contractor-hired-11-children-at-iowa-pork-plant-seaboard-triumph-sioux-city/76661898007/?utm_source=desmoinesregister-newsalert-strada&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsalert&utm_term=hero&utm_content=pdem-des-moines-nletter04

4. Miller-Meeks’ narrow win, rest of Iowa’s 2024 election results officially certified (The Gazette): https://www.thegazette.com/campaigns-elections/miller-meeks-narrow-win-rest-of-iowas-2024-election-results-officially-certified/

Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott is a Democrat reelected to represent Senate District 22.

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. For more, check out its roundup of local writers: https://iowawriters.substack.com/

When the Iowa Legislature returns to Des Moines in January, the chambers will only have gotten redder. Iowa Democrats did not have many successes this November. Meanwhile, Republicans expanded their majorities. The Iowa Senate will have a 35-15 Republican majority; the House will have a 67-33 majority.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith spoke to House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, a Democrat from Windsor Heights, about what levers of power are available to the minority.

Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers joins to talk about Iowa’s refusal to make use of existing support for hungry Iowans and new data on abortion in Iowa.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. For more, check out its roundup of local writers.

Links
1. Hundreds of Iowans had additional barriers to clear before they could vote this year. And a survey of nearly every county auditor found that the majority of people who came into vote were eligible to vote (The Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/26/iowa-secretary-of-state-paul-pate-challenged-voter-citizenship-how-many-voted-election-2024/76432448007/

2. The Iowa Hunger Coalition and other anti-hunger advocates called on Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to apply for Summer EBT after the federal government rejected her alternate program (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/25/summer-ebt-iowa/https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/25/summer-ebt-iowa/

3. The new data show a monthly average of 400 clinician-provided abortions in Iowa in the first six months of 2024. After the six-week ban went into effect on July 29, the number of abortions dropped to an estimated 250 in August, a decrease of 38% from the average over the first six months of the year (The Guttmacher Institute): https://www.guttmacher.org/news-release/2024/iowa-had-nearly-40-drop-clinician-provided-abortions-first-month-six-week-ban

Rep. Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights is the House Minority Leader in the Iowa Legislature.