Search
The Iowa Caucus isn't just about the presidential candidates. Every cycle a multitude of issue-based organizations pop up in Iowa to advocate for their priority. Some are just here for the caucus, while others use the excitement around the presidential race to build...
Climate change activists cheered last week as the Paris Climate summit produced a pact between 195 countries that aimed to reduce greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. But they were also cognizant of just how long it had taken the world to get to this point,...
The Des Moines restaurant scene has seen an explosion in fine dining options, craft breweries and quirky specialty joints in recent years. Reporters and campaign staff traveling to Iowa's capitol for the Iowa Caucus often come away pleasantly surprised. Sometimes,...
A little under eight years ago, a crew of Western Iowa Hillary Clinton staff and their best volunteers gathered after finishing their final task in Iowa, corralling Iowans into the Clinton corner at precincts across the county. Crowding around the TVs in a German beer...
It was finally the big night for Democrats with the their first presidential debate on CNN. Team Starting Line attended three different debate watch parties in the metro to see first-hand how Iowa Democrats felt about the candidates' performances. We hit up the...
An extensive new poll testing Iowans' opinions was released by Public Policy Polling, providing plenty to chew over for the politically-inclined. The poll tested Iowa Caucus candidate preferences for both Democrats and Republicans. DesMoinesDem just put up a good...
It's been a busy month for Bryce Smith. The owner of an Adel bowling alley was among five other small business owners to talk with Hillary Clinton at roundtable meeting in Norwalk on her first official campaign swing. His name and issues were the first mentioned by...
Ah, to live in Iowa. Two days after announcing her 2016 presidential bid, Hillary Clinton drove straight to Iowa to meet with small groups of voters to kick off a different type of campaign. Her advisers hope the focus on smaller events where Clinton can have real...
As the race for the White House begins to heat up on the Democratic side, politically-engaged Iowans' phones will soon start ringing with calls from potential presidential candidates. Which people are contacted and swayed will go a long way in determining how well...
With his early campaign launch last week, Ted Cruz has captured the majority of the media's presidential race attention the last two weeks, for better or for worse. Actually, mostly for worse for the Texas Senator. And that's a big problem for him, because if his...
Iowa Democratic activists hungry for a caucus conversation got a full serving of progressive populism from Martin O'Malley during his two-day Iowa swing this week. The former Maryland Governor and Baltimore Mayor railed against Wall Street greed and income inequality...
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...
Forget D.C. Every politico knows that Iowa is the place you want to be for the most exciting campaigns in the country with the Iowa Caucus. That's particularly true for young people and college students who want to get involved in politics. Nowhere else in the country...
Vice President Joe Biden returns to Iowa this week, raising questions as to whether the trip may be preparation for something bigger. Biden admitted recently to be considering a third bid for the presidency. Heading into the twilight of his long and successful career...
Iowa Democrats will get their chance to see a few of their party's presidential hopefuls in the upcoming months. Senator Bernie Sanders and former Governor Martin O'Malley both return to the Hawkeye state to meet potential caucus-goers. Sanders plans a three-day trip...
No campaign from Hillary Clinton until July? That's what a Politico report suggested late last week, setting off a fierce discussion among Democratic activists. Iowa Democrats, in particular, worried she may be taking her early lead for granted, and voiced concern...
The midterms before the Iowa Caucus provide an excellent opportunity for potential presidential candidates to visit the First in the Nation state. Early trips to Iowa can connect candidates with grass-top activists, pique interest in local and national media, and...
Sometimes the science moves faster than public policy. And it has real impacts on your health.
On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Orne Smith explores this gap with Dr. David Cwiertny, an environmental engineer at the University of Iowa.
Toss some bags at the science-policy gap… why we find chemicals everywhere we look… and what mass balance means for Iowa’s future.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and our show art is from Desirée Tapia.
*SHOW RUNDOWN:*
0:00 – Welcome: Iowa’s cancer rates and chemical safety evolution
2:30 – Mass Balance Principle: Why chemicals never really disappear
5:00 – Neonicotinoids: The pesticides painted on seeds
8:00 – Atrazine Study Reversal: Same research, opposite conclusions
11:30 – The Science-Policy Gap: 20-year lag between discovery and action
14:00 – Why Simple Answers Don’t Exist for Complex Problems
16:30 – Living in the “Gray Area” of Chemical Safety
18:30 – Alternative Agriculture: Different models, same profitability
*LISTEN AND SUBSCRIBE TO CORNHOLE CHAMPIONS:*
– YouTube – https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2LsUFhizO07jdk5Wav4mOT7tArltF8z5&si=FryZd7N7tG5tJ5Ju
– Substack – https://cornholechampions.substack.com/
– Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cornhole-champions-podcast/id1779497714
– Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/5rzNpiA4IwgLmxbyrhETY6?si=6c4a527fa9ad4f64
– PocketCasts – https://pca.st/74atty1j
… and everywhere you listen to podcasts
*FOLLOW ZACHARY OREN SMITH ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://x.com/zacharyos
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/zacharyosmith
– Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/zacharyos.bsky.social
– Threads – https://www.threads.com/@zachosmith
– LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/zacharyos/
*FOLLOW IOWA STARTING LINE ON SOCIAL MEDIA:*
– Twitter – https://twitter.com/iastartingline
– Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/IowaStartingLine
– TikTok – https://www.tiktok.com/@iowastartingline
– Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/iowastartingline
– YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@UCXN791Qw5opBRLyvTWYl43w
“I absolutely do not think that Lutheran Services (of Iowa) is a money laundering organization.”
Gov. Kim Reynolds took some heat last week after getting asked if she agreed with billionaire Elon Musk that Lutheran Family Services and its member organizations were laundering money. In a press conference, she blamed it on being taken out of context.
It took Raygun all of 24 hours to get this on up.
On this episode of Cornhole Champions, hosts Zachary Oren Smith and Amie Rivers play back the tape. Also here about a glowing profile in the Des Moines Register of Speaker of the House Pat Grassley. As well as a rally held against a bill that would limit lawsuits over pesticide-related illness.
Finally, many listeners had followup questions about last week’s discussion of Trump’s lawsuit against the Iowa Poll. We get some real insight from a national expert in defamation.
Links:
1. Lutherans decry Reynolds’ ‘failure to defend’ Lutheran Services of Iowa (Iowa Starting Line): https://iowastartingline.com/2025/02/07/lutherans-decry-reynolds/
2. How Pat Grassley keeps the Iowa House’s sprawling GOP majority united. It’s not always easy (Des Moines Register): https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2025/02/10/pat-grassley-iowa-house-gop-majority-has-grown-heres-how/77493945007/
3. Iowa senators advance Bayer bill to limit lawsuits over pesticide-related illness (Iowa Public Radio): https://www.iowapublicradio.org/state-government-news/2025-02-06/iowa-senators-advance-bayer-bill-limit-cancer-pesticide-roundup-lawsuits
Guest:
Samantha Barbas is a legal historian and the author of Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom of the Press in New York Times v. Sullivan. She is a professor of law and the Aliber Family Chair in Law at the University of Iowa College of Law.
Gamers will take over Kinnick Stadium this weekend to compete in a College Football 26 tournament for charity.
The race for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District is shaping up to be the most competitive in 2026. And US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks' first quarter fundraising gives her plenty to celebrate, thanks largely to PACs and out-of-state money. Less than 8% came from Iowa...
Iowans come together in times of crisis, and we’re going to have to come together a lot more if Reynolds continues to get her way.
Republican legislators advanced a bill requiring schools to show students in grades 7-12 videos about the stages of fetal development, without any requirements that the videos be scientifically or medically accurate.
A bill requiring educators to teach students that life begins at conception was passed through a Senate subcommittee on Thursday by Sens. Jeff Taylor (R-Sioux Center) and Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville).
As we take stock of what happened in 2024 and prepare for the road ahead, the results in the 1st Congressional District show some interesting trends. Here are some key takeaways from Tuesday's election. In Iowa’s southeastern congressional district, not only do we not...
Heather Sievers wasn’t planning to run for office, but then Republicans in the Iowa Legislature ignored the pleas and experiences of thousands of Iowans and changed how Iowa’s Area Education Agencies are run. The agency helps many families with students with special needs.
Discover everything you need to know about August’s Full Blue Moon, the first Supermoon of the year, including what it is and what makes it so special.
Chief Political Correspondent Ty Rushing bids farewell to Iowa Starting Line. After 11 years—minus a six-month stint in corporate communications—my grind as a daily news reporter will come to an end Friday on what will be my last day as a full-time member of the Iowa...
Harvard University President Claudine Gay was feeling the heat nationally after failing to say straight out in congressional testimony that calling for Jewish genocide would violate Harvard’s bullying and harassment rules. It depended on context, Gay responded to a...
Grammy-winning, Hall-of-Fame thrash metal rockers Metallica are making marching band competitions cool for a whole new crowd. In April, the band announced a marching band competition, "For Whom the Band Tolls," offering instruments and equipment music programs at high...
