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Five 2020 Democratic candidates were peppered with questions in Waterloo, Iowa, on Friday, about their agendas for local America and asked how to lessen the disconnect between Washington and cities nationwide. Infrastructure, housing and economic development were...
The Local America Presidential Forum, welcomed to Waterloo by Mayor Quentin Hart, was hosted by Accelerator for America and the United States Conference of Mayors, and was sponsored by Iowa Starting Line and Mediacom. The forum connected the wide-ranging federal...
The President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, James Hoffa, is expecting more than 700 union members from across the nation to attend the Teamsters forum in Cedar Rapids Saturday, Dec. 7. "I don't know where we're going to put them all. We'll put them...
The December Democratic debate stage is back down to six contestants following Kamala Harris' surprise withdrawal from the race today. But there's several who could still slide in under the deadline to qualify. Tom Steyer did it just today by acquiring the number of...
While national attention is rightly focused on the 2020 primary race, that hasn’t stopped preparations for the general election in November. As with every election, people will focus on youth turnout, especially since young voters are a bloc of the voting population...
During a significant few weeks for the nation’s widening affordable housing needs, several federal bill proposals and candidate plans were rolled out to address the crisis. In her role as a California senator, 2020 Democratic candidate Kamala Harris introduced last...
Only 14% of civilian workers in the United States have access to paid family leave, making America the only industrialized country in the world without a federal paid leave policy. Instead, it's a state-level issue, with a mere seven states, and Washington, D.C.,...
The issues and challenges that Iowa cities face will get their time on the national stage early next month, as the U.S. Conference of Mayors and Accelerator for America brings a major presidential forum to Waterloo. Mayor Quentin Hart of Waterloo will welcome...
It is past time for more candidates to drop out of the presidential primary. Seventy-nine days out from the Iowa Caucus, we still have 17 Democratic contenders in the race. The total number started going in the wrong direction this past week with Deval Patrick's...
We're starting to enter peak advertising season here in the Iowa Caucus, as messages from presidential candidates compete with holiday ads on the TV screens. Starting Line counts eight different Democratic contenders with spots on Iowa TV this week, most of which are...
It began with an unexpected phone call from Beto O’Rourke. Radio reporter Bob Leonard of Knoxville, Iowa said he was in his office last March when he received the call, from a then-unknown number. “On the other end I heard, 'Hi Bob, this is Beto O’Rourke,’” Leonard...
On part one of this special episode, we have the first half of Democratic presidential candidate speeches from Friday's Liberty and Justice Celebration at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. Here are some time-markers to skip to particular speeches if you don't want...
Everyone who was in Wells Fargo Arena for the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Dinner last night can agree – it was loud. But how loud was it? In an effort to measure the degree of cheers and jeers of the night, I spent five hours looking at a decibel meter...
Thirteen Democratic candidates for president delivered 10-minute stump speeches Friday night to a crowd of more than 13,000 people packed into Wells Fargo Arena in downtown Des Moines. The Iowa Democratic Party Liberty & Justice Celebration was not only the...
Sen. Bernie Sanders still commands the youth vote in Iowa, according to today's Youth Caucus Straw Poll results as of late afternoon. Sanders nearly doubled the next-closest Democratic contender in the Iowa Secretary of State's annual survey of high school students,...
Al Gore still cares about climate change — now he’s meeting with Iowa farmers about environmentally-friendly farming practices. The former vice president gained international attention after his documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth," brought global warming more into...
As an incumbent Republican running in a swing state in the same year an unpopular president is up for reelection, Iowa's Joni Ernst already had a target on her back. In light of controversial comments on Social Security, a struggling farm economy and an impeachment...
The fourth presidential debate seemed to mark yet another new chapter in the Democratic primary, with Elizabeth Warren taking all the attention of a front-runner, and Pete Buttigieg debuting a more aggressive approach. Those new dynamics at play got plenty of ink in...
Team Starting Line fanned out to multiple debate watch parties tonight in Des Moines, tasked with gathering voters' reactions to the 12-candidate event. The three-hour debate featured the largest field of presidential candidates on one debate stage ever. Take a look...
While nearly all 2020 Democratic presidential candidates have released climate plans, and some frame their policies in the context of social equity, Elizabeth Warren today released a separate plan specifically about environmental justice. The Massachusetts Senator...
America’s most progressive generation wants a voice in the 2020 Presidential election. “Our political climate today is very unstable, and I feel like the only way we’re going to get change is if we educate ourselves,” said 17-year-old Suraj Moorjani, a senior at...
Polk County Democrats' largest Steak Fry in history featured 17 of the 18 serious presidential candidates vying for votes in 2020. More than 12,000 tickets were sold for the Saturday event at Water Works Park in Des Moines. In keeping with its name, it was a rainy day...
Iowans felt near record-breaking heat this summer, raising concerns the high temperatures may be lethal as well as uncomfortable. Reports indicate premature deaths in the Midwest will increase more than other parts of the country due to extreme summertime...
Democratic presidential candidates are standing behind nearly 50,000 General Motors United Auto Workers who are on strike. The workers are on the picket line demanding fair wages, better benefits, and are hoping to reopen a closed factory in Lordstown, Ohio. Ohio...
Amy Klobuchar may have an extra bounce in her step as she heads into this weekend's big Polk County Democrats Steak Fry event. A poll put out this morning by Focus On Rural America has her moving into 5th place in the Iowa Caucus, leap-frogging fellow senator Kamala...
The conversation about impeaching Brett Kavanaugh started shortly after his appointment, and in the wake of new reports about sexual assault accusations, it’s flared up again. At least six 2020 presidential candidates have specifically called for Kavanaugh’s...
As the old Iowa Caucus saying goes, once the Pumpkin Spice Lattes go on sale, it's decision time for Iowans. Or, wait, is the traditional dividing line Labor Day? Well, anyway, the point is that we've clearly moved into a new, more serious phase of the presidential...
From gun control legislation to immigration reform and health care policy, presidential candidates have no shortage of issues to talk with Iowa voters about as they traverse the state ahead of February's first-in-the-nation caucuses. End Citizens United, a nationwide...
Elizabeth Warren's early investment in Iowa is paying off. A new Iowa Starting Line-Change Research poll shows the senator opening up a commanding lead in the Iowa Caucus. Warren was the top pick of 28% of likely Iowa Caucus-goers in the poll, an 11-point lead over...
As the dust starts to settle following a grueling, 20-plus candidate week in Iowa, let's take an overdue look at the interesting lessons learned from all the activity. The State Fair gauntlet began with Joe Biden's visit last Thursday and ended with Pete Buttigieg's...
