You don’t win races you don’t run in. And because we’ve made getting involved such a slog, no one wants to run.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith speaks with Blue Missouri’s Jess Piper about what happens when a party decides not to compete in our rural states.

In 2022, over 40% of legislative seats went uncontested. That dropped to just 18% in 2024. Competing isn’t winning, but Piper argues making the effort makes a difference.

Join the conversation with Amie Rivers and hear about a push to criminalize drag shows, the opacity of the state’s private school voucher program, and primary jockeying among Republicans for election years that haven’t begun.

Links:
1. Taking someone under 18 to a drag show would be a felony under Iowa House bill (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/13/iowa-house-bill-would-make-it-a-felony-to-take-minors-to-lgbtq-drag-show/78523064007/

2. State agencies block Auditor Sand during review of private school voucher program (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/18/sand-education-school-voucher-audit/

3. Former Republican state representative to challenge Kim Reynolds for Iowa governor seat (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/17/republican-brad-sherman-to-run-for-iowa-governor-against-incumbent-kim-reynolds-gop/78963619007/

Guest:
Jess Piper is the executive director of Blue Missouri and the host of Dirt Road Democrat podcast.

In 2020, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks won her seat by one of the closest margins in US history. This past year, she repeated, winning by less than point two percentage points. Leading Iowa political writer Laura Belin to say “there may be no luckier person in Iowa politics” than Miller-Meeks.

But apparently getting lucky isn’t enough for our congresswoman.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers chat about the weirdness of Miller-Meeks decision to pile-on. Also hear about the Scott County Attorney’s decision not to pursue charges against landlord Andrew Wold after his building collapsed killing three people and displaced hundred more.

Finally, hear from Cindy Yelick, the director of Heartland AEA, about the tough road ahead her AEA and the students it serves.

Links:
1. Congress member, ex-Iowa senator join Trump suit over Des Moines Register Iowa Poll (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2025/02/04/us-rep-mariannette-miller-meeks-former-state-sen-brad-zaun-join-trump-lawsuit-over-iowa-poll/78183537007/?tbref=hp

2. No charges in Davenport building collapse; “Nothing about this fact pattern … constitutes a crime” – Scott County attorney (The Quad-City Times): https://qctimes.com/news/local/crime-courts/davenport-building-collapse-2023-no-criminal-charges-andrew-wold/article_7c8832dc-e28b-11ef-9aa6-1701cb54be34.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

3. Heartland AEA begins dramatic restructuring following Republican’s AEA changes and cuts (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/31/heartland-aea-cuts-education/

Guests:
Cindy Yelick is the chief administrator of Johnston-based Heartland AEA which serves 11 counties in central Iowa.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

It’s week one of the Trump presidency. If the fat reem of executive orders didn’t bother you, than the 11 trillion dollars dressed as people on the inauguration stage should. These are the people with the president’s ear and the rest of us can’t even get inside to watch the inauguration.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions—after making a big to-do about being a local podcast—we’re thinking about the inauguration, the election and the billionaires that defined it. Hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers dig through executive orders and why mutual aid can do a lot in times like these.

Hear from state Rep. J.D. Scholten and Sen. Zach Wahls about why corporate interests and its political power should worry you. And why Austin Frerick says corporate consolidation in the agriculture and food sector is making our lives worse and less tasty.

Links
1. Trump versus the US Constitution (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/20/trump-executive-orders-day-one/

2. We care for us: Iowa places to support as another Trump presidency looms (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2024/11/06/we-care-for-us/

3. ‘Best seats’ for billionaires at Trump’s inauguration (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/20/trump-inauguration/

4. J.D.’s latest on the new Gilded Age and the billionaires that run it all: (You’re Probably Getting Screwed): https://screwed.substack.com/p/youre-probably-getting-screwed-by-011?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=894466&post_id=155347468&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1etoi4&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email

5. Trump’s Gender Order Won’t Affect Existing Passports — Unless They’re Renewed (NOTUS): https://www.notus.org/whitehouse/trump-gender-sex-order-passports

Guests:
– Rep. J.D. Scholten of Sioux City is a Democrat representing State House District 1.

– Sen. Zach Wahls is a Democrat representing State Senate District 37.

– Austin Frericks the author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food.

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

Once again, Reynolds has been mum about her priorities for the Legislature. The rough strokes of her plan finally got a public recounting Tuesday with the Condition of the State address.

To a packed Iowa House floor and repeated standing ovations, Gov. Kim Reynolds rattled through childcare and energy, Medicaid regulations and cancer research.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith chats with Iowa Starting Line’s community editor Amie Rivers about important takeaways form the governor’s proposals.

Links
1. Read Gov. Kim Reynolds full speech (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/01/14/kim-reynolds-condition-state_full/

2. Child care gaps in rural America threaten to undercut small communities (Iowa Capital Dispatch): https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2024/01/02/child-care-gaps-in-rural-america-threaten-to-undercut-small-communities/

3. March of Dimes report on maternity care deserts in the US (March of Dimes): https://www.marchofdimes.org/peristats/data?reg=99&top=23&stop=641&lev=1&slev=4&obj=9&sreg=19

4. Quad-Cities schools restrict cell phone use to recapture learning time (The Quad-City Times): https://qctimes.com/news/local/education/cell-phones-in-schools-quad-cities-new-policies-restrictions/article_e841cb28-5668-11ef-95e3-1b15b48d8b30.html