Newsletters
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ICE in Iowa: West Liberty man detained with no record
Share with a friend It’s Wednesday, July 2, 2025. It’s happening in Iowa. Pascual Leonardo Pedro-Pedro, 20, of West Liberty, went to a routine annual immigration check-in yesterday (Tuesday)—abiding by what the government is asking him to do as an immigrant—and was detained by ICE. Pedro-Pedro was brought to the US as…
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Rallies, protests, town halls, and Trump
Plus: A photo of a cute baby Share with a friend It’s Monday, June 30, 2025. Amie here. If you’ll indulge me (you have no choice), my brother and his wife are publicly sharing baby photos now, so here’s lil’ Nico! Tiny baby hands! OK, back to our regularly scheduled newsletter! Amie Rivers Newsletter Editor,…
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💜 School bus crash survivors thriving in Sioux City
Time for reader emails! Share with a friend It’s Friday, June 27, 2025. 🗣️ It’s Friday: Time for your takes! My “hot” take: It’s hot and humid out there. For outdoor workers, that combination can get downright dangerous. Starting Line intern Victor Robbins explains what the WBGT is, how to spot heat exhaustion…
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📈 Are you worried about higher food prices?
Share with a friend It’s Wednesday, June 25, 2025. Iowans are worried about food prices. But they’re especially worried that the policies of the Trump administration (namely, his tariffs on foreign goods) will cause prices to rise further. That’s not some left-leaning think tank study, by the way; that’s according to the latest…
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☀️ Your guide to summer fun in Iowa
Share with a friend It’s Tuesday, June 24, 2025. These Fourth of July fireworks shows in Iowa will have you “ooh-ing” and “ah-ing.” (Arthur Chauvineau/Unsplash) We just survived our first heat wave—must be officially summer in Iowa now! So here’s a quick guide of some of the best ways to enjoy it. Like:…
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Why are queer Iowans leaving the state?
Share with a friend It’s Monday, June 23, 2025. Amie here. I talk about loss and grief sometimes here (normalize it, right?), so I wanted to also take time to share my joy: Over the weekend, my brother and his wife had a child: my new nephew! The squishy newborn photo is my brother’s…
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💜 Fairfield photographer wins top prize
Share with a friend It’s Friday, June 20, 2025. 🗣️ It’s Friday; time for the takes! My take: Juneteenth was yesterday, the anniversary of when our country actually granted freedom to all. I’ll be celebrating at the 30th annual Waterloo Juneteenth this weekend (while trying to stay cool amid this heat wave). If…
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Tenants union in Johnson Co. goes on offense against private equity
Share with a friend It’s Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Remember the 2023 story of mobile home residents in Johnson County whose parks were bought by investment company Havenpark Communities, then had their services taken away while their lot rents were jacked up? They started a couple of tenants’ unions—the Iowa Manufactured Home Residents…
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Investigating Iowa’s growing cancer rate
Share with a friend It’s Monday, June 16, 2025. Amie here. We’re starting a big project at Iowa Starting Line that I’m really excited about: Investigating why Iowa’s cancer rates are so high, and growing so fast. We’re looking for your stories. I’ll start with mine. My mom with her mother and father,…
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Regents try their own diversity ban. Professors fight it
Share with a friend It’s Friday, June 13, 2025. If you haven’t already, please take our short survey about Iowa Worker’s Almanac. Thanks! ~Amie The Iowa Legislature passed a bill this session banning diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and trainings by “public entities,” including Iowa’s public universities. And they spelled out exactly…
