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Activists, union members, and a worker who says she is owed tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid overtime protested in front of an Iowa City burger restaurant Monday. Rita, who requested Starting Line not use her last name, said she worked for the past 13 years at...
Iowa's exploding COVID-19 outbreaks at state universities in Ames and Iowa City are now disasters that can only be fully measured on a global scale. Ames holds the distinction this morning as the worst coronavirus outbreak in the entire United States, while Iowa City...
Iowa's exploding COVID-19 outbreaks at state universities in Ames and Iowa City are now disasters that can only be fully measured on a global scale. Ames holds the distinction this morning as the worst coronavirus outbreak in the entire United States, while Iowa City...
After Waterloo, Iowa, retiree Rosetta Robinson’s daughter had a baby, the two moved out of the small apartment they shared together, expecting to get a more spacious home within a few months. That was last year, and the women are still living in temporary living...
On her trip Friday to Iowa City, 16-year-old Swedish Climate activist Greta Thunberg echoed local organizers’ pointed calls for leadership to embrace climate reform. Thunberg joined Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton, student organizers Massimo Biggers and Alex Howe and...
Home to the state's largest college, the University of Iowa, Iowa City features the greatest variety and quality of bars and restaurants than anywhere else in the state, save for Des Moines. There's no shortage of sports and dive bars, and the University of Iowa has...
Judge: City’s arrest of critic is ‘quintessential viewpoint discrimination’ by Clark Kauffman, Iowa Capital Dispatch February 23, 2026 Declaring that a citizen was “targeted because he criticized the police department and city leadership,” a federal judge has ruled...
Iowans will soon head to the polls to cast their votes in the 2025 city council and school board elections.
In case you missed it: Iowa’s city and school elections are on Nov. 4.
Renee Hardman of West Des Moines is a Democrat running in the December special election to fill a state Senate seat. The vacancy was left following the death of Democrat state Sen. Claire Celsi. The special election is December 30.
Leaders of a dozen food pantries across Iowa are sounding the alarm about a "soaring number" of Iowans seeking help at food banks, putting these already stretched organizations into a "crisis situation." The leaders and other advocates recently issued a joint press...
Staff members for the nonpartisan Iowa board that oversees the integrity of political campaigns received numerous threats related to the city and school elections that took place earlier this month. During Thursday’s Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board meeting,...
An Open Letter to Governor Kim Reynolds: You recently signed legislation SF 496, which bans books from schools, limits education on gender identity and sexual orientation, and wants staff to “out” students whose preferred pronoun is different than their biological...
A new bill introduced by Sen. Brad Zaun (R-Urbandale) would make Iowa’s historically nonpartisan city council and school board elections into partisan races complete with primaries. SF23 would affect city council, school board, and merged area elections, but school...
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...
Iowa is known for its rich soil, and a group of Mormon researchers hope that same soil holds the secrets to a lost sacred city. The Heartland Research Group thinks it may have found the site of Zarahemla—a notable city in the Book of Mormon—outside of Montrose, a...
One Iowa community literally painted the town to tell its story. Rock Rapids is home to 36 murals that depict notable events and people from the Lyon County seat situated in Iowa’s northwest-most corner. The community is so proud of these accomplishments that one of...
To help the country rebound from the economic and human devastation caused by COVID-19, President Joe Biden and Congress have allocated significant funding support from the federal government. The American Rescue Plan includes money for states and local governments to...
Pat Rynard brings episode #3 on the road for a Perkins-inspired edition of the Iowa Starting Line Podcast to cover the special election for Iowa House District 6 and Democratic challenger Rita DeJong. To learn more about what's been going on on the ground, Pat is...
Who's ready for yet another special election? The Iowa Legislature will see its sixth race to fill an open seat since the 2016 election in January, this one in Sioux City for House District 6. Voters will choose Republican Representative Jim Carlin's replacement - he...
Democrats in Iowa got some encouraging news with a special election city council win last night in the small, rural town of Solon. The race in rural Johnson County certainly wasn't the biggest campaign battle ever, but it proved that relatively new, progressive...
Some folks have misconceptions about Northwest Iowa's population center, but I would actually rank Sioux City 3rd in the state (behind Des Moines and Iowa City) as the best city for a fun restaurant, bar and entertainment scene. Once a major manufacturing center,...
The best festivals in Iowa this spring and summer range from food-centric events to those that support marginalized voices. Here are 11 you won’t want to miss.
Iowa Worker’s Almanac news briefs and layoffs for Feb. 26, 2026:
Protests, rallies, and events across Iowa for Feb. 24-Mar. 3, 2026
Kava has been consumed for thousands of years, and now you can try it across Iowa. Check out exactly what it is and why you’ll want to seek it out.
Feeling restless this winter? From tropical escapes to trivia nights, here are the best ways to beat the winter blues in Iowa this season.
Iowa Worker's Almanac news briefs, Feb. 19, 2026: Back to work, for some: John Deere last week rehired 245 laid-off workers in Iowa, with 150 of them going back to work in Waterloo alone. Good news for those folks, but that's less than half of the 598 workers the...
Looking to get involved this week? You can join ICE Out rallies and response trainings, connect with fellow insufferable wenches at a Sip n’ Chat, and show up for community events, such as a Black History Film Screening, immigrant rights rallies, and LGBTQIA+ visibility actions.
Here’s our weekly round-up of upcoming events and actions:
If you’re from the Des Moines area, you probably know the name Evelyn K. Davis. But who was she, and why does her legacy still matter for working Iowans today?
