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After this past week's jam-packed Iowa Caucus weekend, we're starting to get a new sense of where things stand in the lead-off state. Campaigns demonstrated their organizing strength outside the Hall of Fame event, a new Des Moines Register poll got the chattering...
One of the most contentious issues in the Iowa Legislature this year involved the way the state’s judges are chosen. That process was established 57 years ago when voters amended the Iowa Constitution. It’s worth noting that Republicans held solid majorities then in...
Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer has taken a concern about Iowa workers’ safety directly to Gov. Kim Reynolds with a letter outlining recent assaults at state facilities and Reynolds' administration’s effort to reduce the number of public sector jobs. Finkenauer said in...
President Donald Trump traveled to Iowa yesterday to tout his administration's record on the economy, immigration, and rural America issues. Just before his visit, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann boasted about Trump's "ground-breaking policies that...
The way Joe Biden and President Donald Trump sparred Tuesday during their separate trips to Iowa, one might think they already were in the midst of a general election campaign. But it’s only June, and Election Day is more than a year away. Biden kicked off his...
Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell has a message for the presidential candidates visiting Iowa: expand the number of justices on the Supreme Court to protect basic, fundamental rights. She penned an op-ed in the Des Moines Register on the subject and spoke...
The Democratic field may still expand in the race to unseat Sen. Joni Ernst, but influential parts of national party leadership is quickly coalescing around one candidate. Theresa Greenfield, a small business owner from Des Moines, joined two other candidates in the...
Today's party gathering in Cedar Rapids was the largest crowd yet for an Iowa Caucus event, and 19 presidential candidates took the opportunity to impress the key activists who showed up. For many of the Iowans there, it was their first time hearing in-person from a...
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders marched with a crowd of hundreds to the Iowa Hall of Fame event in Cedar Rapids Sunday afternoon with striking McDonald’s workers from Des Moines and Cedar Rapids. The workers were demanding the right to unionize so they can raise their...
Senator Amy Klobuchar landed her second Iowa endorsement just in time for her speech at the Iowa Hall of Fame Dinner in Cedar Rapids this Sunday afternoon. State Representative Marti Anderson announced her support for Klobuchar, citing the senator's experience in...
It's the most important weekend of the Iowa Caucus yet, with 19 candidates descending upon Cedar Rapids to speak at a major fundraiser that nearly every key Iowa Democratic activist is at. The Hall of Fame Celebration is officially about honoring party activists and...
It's Pride Fest Weekend in Des Moines, and the 2020 presidential candidates are out in force to meet local Iowans and show their support for the LGBTQ community. A candidate forum is set for later today, and Iowa Safe Schools is holding a tailgate for visitors to meet...
Former Vice President Joe Biden is planning his second Iowa trip since announcing his candidacy for next week, touring blue-collar communities in Southeast and Eastern Iowa at the same time as President Donald Trump visits the state. The dueling Iowa appearances...
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand today became the first presidential candidate to weigh in on Democrats’ primary for the U.S. Senate, putting her support behind Theresa Greenfield. Greenfield, a farmer who grew up in a small Minnesota town and now runs a small...
Democratic presidential hopefuls will fan out across Des Moines' East Village this weekend to enjoy the Capital City Pride Fest. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Mayor Pete Buttigieg will kick off events Friday evening. Gillibrand is expected to make an appearance at...
Senator Bernie Sanders is unveiling his first slate of key endorsements from Iowa progressive leaders today. Among them are some local elected officials and party leaders who were first mobilized to activism from Sanders' previous presidential run, including LULAC...
Four and a half years ago, a group of friends and I gathered around a table in a downtown Des Moines bar to brainstorm what a new Iowa political blog could look like. I had just gotten finished with yet another exhausting campaign cycle, and was ready to do something...
Photos clockwise from top-left: Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer (IA-01), former State Senator Rita Hart (IA-02), Congressman Steve King (IA-04), Congresswoman Cindy Axne (IA-03. Not only is Iowa ground zero for the dozens of Democratic presidential candidates competing...
If you’re on the hunt for a new pair of off-brand Crocs or high-end work boots, look no further than Ringgold County, Iowa. But for the county's residents who are looking for anything in between, a 45-minute drive to Creston, the next county seat over, or an online...
There have been plenty of examples that raise questions whether government boards in Iowa truly understand they work for the people, not for government officials and employees --- and that they are supposed to be looking out for the best interests of taxpayers. The...
Senator Amy Klobuchar has so far seen a lower national profile in the 2020 race than some Midwestern Democrats may have hoped. But Iowa is her home field advantage. As more than a few candidates for president have already said – mostly in defense of their own...
Theresa Greenfield made it clear in her campaign launch video that she'll go toe-to-toe with Senator Joni Ernst over who the real "farm kid" is in the 2020 Senate race. A small business owner who grew up on a farm in a rural Minnesota town near the Iowa border,...
In a show of organizational strength, Rita Hart announced today the endorsements of 73 local leaders in Iowa's 2nd Congressional District for her campaign. It included people in all 24 counties across the district and nearly every local Democratic state legislator....
Des Moines coach and businessman Eddie Mauro is launching his run for the U.S. Senate today, aiming to be Democrats' nominee to take on Senator Joni Ernst next November. Mauro's been traveling the state for several months in advance of a possible candidacy, building...
With a presidential field that now numbers 23, Democratic candidates need every tiny advantage they can find in Iowa to deliver them delegates on caucus night. For a lucky few contenders, they come to the state with a special connection in their pocket thanks to...
In a May 5th guest article in the Des Moines Register, Senator Joni Ernst blamed the Army Corps of Engineers for lack of timely warning prior to the epic Missouri River flooding. She claimed we need better communication and warning about potential flood risk. Ernst’s...
A nonstop parade of presidential candidates has visited the good people of Iowa nearly every day this year. Turn around any weekend in a major Iowa county and you're likely to bump into a White House hopeful. However, not every corner of the state has received the...
Certain issues reach a political tipping point when timing, events or actions captures the public’s attention. One of the reasons that action on climate has skyrocketed to the top of the Democrats’ priority list is the actions of the world's youth. In March, over one...
He's back. Embarking on his third attempt to win the presidency, former Vice President Joe Biden returned to Iowa this week for public events in Cedar Rapids, Dubuque, Iowa City, and Des Moines. He enters the incredibly crowded 2020 Democratic primary as the clear...
The First Amendment isn’t long, but it certainly packs a lot of angst into those few words: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right...
