Newsletters
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Iowa has a dire shortage of nurses. Here’s why
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. You probably already know Iowa has a problem getting qualified health care workers: We’re 44th in the nation for physicians to patients, or 30% worse than the national average; The problem is particularly bad in our nursing homes; Iowa Republicans passed…
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Iowa cancer survivors share their stories
The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa Share with a friend Gano Whetstone settled into the infusion chair at Des Moines’ Mission Cancer + Blood and asked for her usual: black coffee and a warm blanket. On treatment days, she takes the paratransit bus to the hospital, arriving early to wait in the lobby…
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1st West Nile case confirmed in northern Iowa
Your emails and Positively Iowa Share with a friend 🗣️ It’s Friday; time for reader replies! Fun fact of the day: William Britton “Bil” Baird was born on this day in 1904. A Mason City native and puppeteer, he created the beloved Charlemane the Lion character, though you might best remember him as the…
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Will Iowa Republicans cut IPERS?
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. The Iowa DOGE task force wants to cut IPERS for new hires, the public employee retirement system that thousands of teachers, corrections officers, and more rely on to get them through their golden years. This does not sit well with…
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We need more cancer research. What’s the holdup?
The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa Share with a friend Amie here. I’ve mailed out nitrate test strips to Iowans in 61 different cities; here’s a map of those cities. Glad to see folks from all around the state contributing! If a QR code isn’t your jam, here’s that response form. Now, for…
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🥘 The best things to eat at the State Fair
Your emails and Positively Iowa Share with a friend 🗣️ It’s Friday; time for reader replies! My take: I see Northern Dewatering, the Minnesota company that illegally drilled around 40 wells on the site of an under-construction Cedar Rapids data center, is being fined $20,000 by Linn County. They’re a private company, so…
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Are Iowa’s Ukrainian workers next to go?
News about and for the working class Share with a friend Amie here. What do you do if you’re the president, the economy is going south, and Americans are looking to you for leadership? Own it? (remember “the buck stops here”?) At least tell us your plan to fix it? LOL, not…
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The link between pesticides and cancer
The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa Share with a friend Amie here. I’m putting your nitrate test strips in the mail this week, so expect that. (If you get an envelope with your address handwritten on a label and no return address, that’s from me!) Inside, you’ll find: a test strip; instructions on…
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🧈 Heading to the Iowa State Fair? Here’s what to know
Your emails and Positively Iowa Share with a friend It’s Friday, Aug. 1, 2025. 🗣️ It’s Friday; time for reader replies! My take: I hate keeping the windows closed when it’s these fall-like temperatures. But it’s only nice out because Canadian wildfire smoke is keeping the heat at bay—and bringing us that lovely fine…
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Only Iowa’s big cities get hospitals now?
News about and for the working class Share with a friend It’s Thursday, July 31, 2025. Amie here. Have you read Zachary Oren Smith‘s latest story on what Medicaid cuts are doing to Iowans who rely on rural hospitals? Here’s a preview.👇 When Dr. Robin Plattenberger retired from her Washington County practice…
