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Did you know that voluntary scary experiences increase your mood? This is especially true for those who are challenging or facing their fear when they enter a haunted house or other scary attraction. That's according to a team of researchers from the University of...
Sen. Chuck Grassley holds a pristine A+ rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund while Mike Franken, his Democratic challenger, has an F rating, which should give a clear indication of where the two stand on the issue of gun control. During a Columbus Junction town...
Over the last few months, the Starting Line team has noticed an interesting trend in Iowa social media: Stories about electric vehicles drive huge engagement and draw intense debate among supporters and detractors, mostly on Facebook. And while wild comment threads on...
Corn is king in Iowa. Look out any window or drive outside of the city, and it is the landscape. While it is used in a variety of products ranging from corn syrup to livestock feed to ethanol, another other important corn product is made in Iowa: Popcorn! Iowa is one...
After finding out that Pieper Lewis, a 17-year-old sexual assault survivor from Des Moines who killed her rapist, would have to pay $150,000 in restitution to his family, thousands of people across the internet raised close to $400,000 to free her of a burden they...
Residents of Zearing, Iowa, won't pay property taxes this fiscal year, but they aren’t exactly happy about it. “I hope the taxpayers in this town understand that, ‘yes,’ your taxes were reduced, ‘yay, we got some more money in our pockets,’’” said one Zearing woman...
Christopher Smith wants you to know two things. One: A nationwide railroad strike is the last thing his Sheet Metal, Air, Rail, and Transportation (SMART) members, some 700 of whom work for Iowa's rail carriers, want. For the last three years, and through an arduous...
The group of Nazis who spread anti-semitic messages around Des Moines on 9/11 got their feelings hurt by Democratic Senate candidate Mike Franken yesterday. After Starting Line reported on how a member of the "319 Crew," a Northeast Iowa Nazi organization, drove...
Polls show that Iowans' support of legalizing recreational marijuana has reached new highs, but where do Iowa's two US Senate candidates stand on the issue? Michael Franken, the Democratic candidate from Sioux City, has been vocal about legalizing cannabis at the...
NARAL Pro-Choice America endorsed Deidre DeJear for Iowa governor on Thursday. “Iowa needs Deidre DeJear, a leader who will boldly fight for reproductive freedom,” said NARAL President Mini Timmaraju in a statement. “Gov. Reynolds has made no secret of her plans to...
As a free state bordering a slave state, Iowa was poised to play an important role in the Underground Railroad, and many Iowans risked their safety to serve as conductors. Tensions ran high between the two states, with Missourians sometimes coming over the state line...
After a fight to hire him in the first place, Louis Fountain resigned as the Johnston Community School District's director of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Fountain resigned on Aug. 26 and during a regular Johnston School Board meeting on Aug. 29, the board...
In what some might consider a stunning upset, Des Moines and not Lake Okoboji is considered the weekend getaway destination of choice for Iowans, according to a poll conducted on behalf of Iowa Starting Line. According to the poll, 28% of respondents said Des Moines...
Turns out, Iowa is home to a few homegrown food chains, some of which span across the country. From mouth-watering burgers and pizzas to fast-casual burritos, Iowa restaurateurs have done their part to feed the masses and it’s time we celebrate them! Here are the...
State Sen. Zach Nunn softened his tune on abortion bans recently, despite video evidence of him agreeing that all abortions should be illegal without exception. On Aug. 19, the Des Moines Register published an op-ed from Nunn, the Republican running against Rep. Cindy...
Depending on your primary news sources, I’m either an “elitist” or one of the 429,000 Iowans burdened with a collective $13.3 billion in student loan debt who will have a portion of it forgiven by an executive order from President Joe Biden. Biden announced Wednesday...
Gov. Kim Reynolds blasted President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive small amounts of federal student loans for individual borrowers—$20,000 is the highest amount that can be forgiven for certain borrowers—and tied it to inflation. “At a time of skyrocketing inflation,...
Congressional hopeful Zach Nunn said a portion of the Inflation Reduction Act that provides the IRS additional funding is an attack on people like Iowa businessman Mark Daggy, which is somewhat true considering Daggy has over 5 million dollars in assets across Iowa...
As families are squeezing in last-minute shopping to get ready for back-to-school, Iowa schools are also scrambling to get ready. Across the state, shortages for positions such as bus drivers and classroom teachers still persist, and getting those positions taken care...
We all know the Iowa State Fair: Corn dogs, Ferris wheel, teenagers persuading ornery animals to walk around a ring in pursuit of an FFA championship. But it turns out that those in pursuit of natural places can find those among the hundred-thousand fairgoers as well!...
Gov. Kim Reyolds and nearly all the top Iowa Republicans were over the moon after Thursday’s Major League Baseball (MLB) held at the “Field of Dreams” movie site outside Dyersville. “Such a fun time at the Field of Dreams last night. Incredibly proud to see Iowa shine...
The private school voucher program pursued by Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Republican leaders in the legislature doesn’t have widespread support from Iowans. Conversations during the legislative session showed widespread pushback to the proposal, and Data for Progress...
A strong majority of Iowans oppose efforts to restrict abortion access. And yet, Iowa's Republican leaders, including Gov. Kim Reynolds today, continue pushing to implement new government restrictions and bans on women and others' health care decisions. According to...
Kansas, a conservative-majority state in the Midwest, will continue to protect abortion access in the state constitution. That’s because, on Tuesday night, Kansas voters broke turnout expectations to resoundingly oppose a Republican amendment meant to remove the right...
When Daniel Gutmann won the special election for a seat on the Urbandale School Board, he did it despite significant challenges from the right. Gutmann is an openly gay elementary school teacher, a member of the teacher’s union, a Democrat, and an outspoken supporter...
Gov. Kim Reynolds announced Justice David May as her newest Iowa Supreme Court appointment. May is replacing retiring-Justice Brent Appel, who was appointed in 2006 by Gov. Tom Vilsack. Iowa code requires judges to retire at 72, and Appel hit that mark on July 12. All...
Three people were killed in an early-morning shooting at Maquoketa Caves State Park's campground, and the alleged gunman later took his own life a short distance away, officials said Friday morning. Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge of major crimes with the Iowa...
Another strike could be looming—this time at a tire plant in Des Moines. United Steelworkers Local 310 (USW 310) said contract negotiations with Bridgestone have effectively stalled, and are now shoring up support among elected officials and community leaders to push...
Every year, volunteers from across the state and beyond work together to pull, drag, dig and carry trash out of an Iowa river chosen by the leaders of Iowa Project AWARE (A Watershed Awareness River Expedition). And this year, I joined them for a day on the West Fork...
The City of Waterloo committed to using only renewable energy sources citywide by 2035, only the fourth city in the US to pledge to do so. The resolution, which notes the city will achieve 24/7 carbon-free electricity, passed unanimously during Monday night's meeting....
