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News broke this week that a number of central Iowa private schools on Friday were vaccinating their staff, and for some public educators fed up with school privatization and in-person learning efforts from the Legislature, it was the last straw. West Des Moines...
In what’s been described as a “disastrous week in education” by public school advocates, the Iowa Senate last Thursday pushed forward a sweeping school privatization bill, followed by Gov. Kim Reynolds signing on Friday a requirement that schools now offer a 100%...
Iowa this week moved into the second phase of its vaccine rollout while the state’s stockpile remains low just a few days after it hit a new record amount of COVID deaths. First responders, educators and Iowans age 65 or older are now able to join healthcare workers...
Iowa Starting Line has some temporary good news to share with our readers — we are restarting the website and publishing for at least the next two months. We acquired some funding to keep Starting Line active for February and March while we work through some bigger...
As a very, very long 2020 winds down to a close, I thought it would be good to take a look back at what Iowa Starting Line accomplished in our most successful year yet. One thing I don't always do a good job of is publicly touting our successes — I'm always cautious...
Rural Iowa didn’t get to know Theresa Greenfield well enough this year, at least that's how some Democrats in rural Iowa are reconciling with their candidate's loss to Sen. Joni Ernst. In a race peppered with competitive polling and record fundraising for Democrats,...
State Rep. Heather Matson’s Nov. 3 loss of her Ankeny-based House seat signified a stunning reversal in Democrats' fortunes in suburban Iowa and was a sign of how far the party has to go to break full Republican control of state government. The freshman legislator won...
State Rep. Heather Matson’s Nov. 3 loss of her Ankeny-based House seat signified a stunning reversal in Democrats' fortunes in suburban Iowa and was a sign of how far the party has to go to break full Republican control of state government. The freshman legislator won...
State Rep. Heather Matson’s Nov. 3 loss of her Ankeny-based House seat signified a stunning reversal in Democrats' fortunes in suburban Iowa and was a sign of how far the party has to go to break full Republican control of state government. The freshman legislator won...
Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican in Iowa, the way races played out up and down the ballot Tuesday night was surprising. The “blue wave” Democrats were counting on after four years of President Trump was in fact a red one that swept through the Des Moines...
Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican in Iowa, the way races played out up and down the ballot Tuesday night was surprising. The “blue wave” Democrats were counting on after four years of President Trump was in fact a red one that swept through the Des Moines...
While campaigning across the state for down-ballot GOP candidates last week, Republican elected officials repeatedly highlighted a reason to hold onto all chambers of Iowa government: so as not to halt their agenda. Gov. Kim Reynolds, Iowa House Speaker Pat Grassley...
Democrat Theresa Greenfield is a scrappy farm kid who knows the price of corn. Republican Joni Ernst is a member of President Donald Trump’s inner circle, working with him to defeat a dangerous liberal agenda. That’s how the U.S. Senate candidates sold themselves to...
Democrat Theresa Greenfield is a scrappy farm kid who knows the price of corn. Republican Joni Ernst is a member of President Donald Trump’s inner circle, working with him to defeat a dangerous liberal agenda. That’s how the U.S. Senate candidates sold themselves to...
In campaign advertisements across many Iowa legislative districts, Democrats are attacking Republicans’ vote to shield nursing homes from liability lawsuits over COVID-19 safety negligence. Nursing home protections became a hot-button topic at the end of the 2020...
In campaign advertisements across many Iowa legislative districts, Democrats are attacking Republicans’ vote to shield nursing homes from liability lawsuits over COVID-19 safety negligence. Nursing home protections became a hot-button topic at the end of the 2020...
On Thursday, as Iowa reported record numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations and its largest number of counties with high positivity rates over 15%, Vice President Mike Pence held a campaign rally in Des Moines, boasting about the Trump administration and Iowa Gov. Kim...
During a stop at a Central Iowa farm yesterday, Democratic Senate candidate Theresa Greenfield said that if elected, she’d work closely with Sen. Chuck Grassley and won’t focus on adding seats to the Supreme Court. While touring a family farm in Boone County Iowa on...
It was a Friday afternoon in Maquoketa, and state Rep. Andy McKean was huddled around a piano with a longtime local radio broadcaster in the town’s historic Decker House Hotel for some “good old fashioned campaigning.” Good old fashioned campaigning looks the same as...
It has been an eye-opening experience to witness how these elections have been handled by the Iowa Democratic Party, now led by their new chair Mark Smith. I must say it is refreshing to see that the party is finally giving the Latino community the place and relevance...
Second-time Iowa House District 95 candidate Christian Andrews gathered supporters and fellow candidates last weekend for a socially distanced campaign rally—with about two weeks until election day, Andrews said all needed to intensify efforts to finally flip the Iowa...
Second-time Iowa House District 95 candidate Christian Andrews gathered supporters and fellow candidates last weekend for a socially distanced campaign rally—with about two weeks until election day, Andrews said all needed to intensify efforts to finally flip the Iowa...
The largest Joe Biden sign in the country was unveiled this weekend in Tama County, Iowa. A 30-acre piece of ‘crop-art’ on Saturday was completed on a family-owned plot of land in Clutier, Iowa after an aerial field artist and dozens of local volunteers labored for...
With just 17 days until election day, six-figure ad buys have begun popping up across Iowa’s major media markets for Iowa House races — in total, Starting Line found $2.2 million worth of buys on network TV for state legislative races for the House in the first three...
While now on hold, the potential state review of an Iowa government insurance program could undermine a Decorah state representative’s chance for reelection in an already competitive rematch race. House District 55 Rep. Michael Bergan sits on the board of directors...
Iowa House District 37 candidate Andrea Phillips, a Democrat, wants to debunk several claims made in attack advertisements approved by her opponent John Landon and paid for by the Republican Party of Iowa. Mailers and a TV ad currently circulating the suburban...
A prominent political action committee of Republicans devoted to defeating President Donald Trump and his “enablers” said they’re looking with renewed focus at Sen. Joni Ernst’s race with 31 days until the election. The Lincoln Project, founded and run by...
Iowa House District 98 candidate Joma Short in a past episode of her TV talk show made a number of homophobic and transphobic remarks. The Republican vying for the Clinton-based seat said in a 2017 episode of Nazirites Rising, her show which no longer airs but...
House District 60 candidate Ryan Howard is running to represent a suburban, blue-trending district on staunchly right, sometimes radical views. The Cedar Falls resident is vying for the Black Hawk County seat in a swing district with more Democrats currently...
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is incentivizing school districts with looser quarantine guidelines if they increase mask-wearing, but remains adamant about not enforcing facial coverings in the state. During a press conference Tuesday morning, Reynolds and Iowa medical...
