Des Moines
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Increasingly desperate Iowans stretching food banks to capacity
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 release about “a rising number of Iowans experiencing food insecurity” in the past…
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Happy National Beer Day! Here are Starting Line’s favorite Iowa breweries
For those unaware, April 6 is New Beer’s Eve, because it leads up to National Beer Day on April 7. Why April 7? On that day in 1933, the Cullen-Harrison Act went into effect, making it legal for some low-alcohol beer and wine to be sold in the United States. The law was the first…
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7 Iowa events for Transgender Day of Visibility 2024
Transgender Iowans need joy these days. Eight separate bills have been considered in the latest session of the Iowa Legislature specifically targeting transgender youth, contributing to Iowa Republicans’ 40 anti-LGBTQ bills in total. Fearmongering legislation—like bills banning people from school bathrooms, or erasing LGBTQ history—has led to further stigmatization of the transgender community. That’s contributed…
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What will happen to 1,276 laid-off Tyson workers in Perry?
What will happen to the 1,276 Iowans who will lose their jobs when the Tyson pork processing plant in Perry closes in June? Roger Kail, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 1155, represents workers at that plant, and that is something he is working to figure out. Things had been going…
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1,276 people to lose jobs when Tyson plant in Perry closes in June
1,276. That’s how many people in and around the central Iowa town of Perry will lose their jobs by the end of June, after Tyson announced Monday it would permanently close its longtime pork processing plant there. That’s a HUGE number of workers (and the largest employer in Perry): It’s more than 12% of Tyson’s…
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15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day events across Iowa in 2024
They say Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday held this year on Jan. 15, 2024, should be “a day on, not a day off.” So in that spirit, here are some events coming up honoring—and furthering the legacy of—one of this country’s greatest civil rights leaders. (For an even more comprehensive list of…
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Rightwing trolls quickly took advantage of Perry tragedy
Even before the identity of the student who shot multiple people at Perry High School was confirmed by law enforcement Thursday afternoon, right-wing misinformation on social media was filling the void. Posts from verified and other accounts on Twitter (X) in the early hours after the shooting that killed one and injured five others were…
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UPDATE: Sixth-grader killed in Perry shooting identified
A sixth-grader is dead and six others injured—one critically—after a school shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. On Friday, authorities identified 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff as the slain child. His cause of death was three gunshot wounds. The incident happened just after 7:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 4, 2024, the first day back for students.…
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Feeling charitable? Donate to an Iowa nonprofit that’s Iowan-approved.
It had to be the most popular question we’ve ever asked: Which charity helping Iowans should folks donate to this year? Hundreds of worthy causes across the state were mentioned.
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Shop your values: Get holiday gifts made at these Iowa small businesses
Looking for a special Iowa-made gift? We’re here with inspiration from fellow Iowans, who told us their favorite local places to shop at the holidays. As a bonus, we’ve added the causes those businesses support—so you can see how your gift goes further than anything you can buy on a big box site. Follow the…
