Open enrollment starts in 2 days. And 137,000 Iowans are about to see their healthcare premiums double—or worse. Rep. J.D. Scholten and Senate Democrats are sounding the alarm. Here's what's at stake.
More uninsured Iowans means more medical debt, more crowded rural ERs, more families paying healthcare costs on credit cards.
The government shutdown is holding up food assistance. Health care subsidies threaten to make the Affordable Care Act unaffordable for many Iowans. State Senate hopeful Renee Hardman of West Des Moines says she is running to protect the supports many Iowans depend on.
Hardman is running in a Dec. 30 special election for Iowa Senate District 16, a seat left vacant following the death of Sen. Claire Celsi.
Iowa's DOGE task force recommended changes to the public employee pension system.
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.
If democracy is really backsliding, what takes its place? In this week's Civics 101 series, written by COURIER Newsroom's Ryan Pitkin and voiced by Iowa Starting Line's Amie Rivers, we explore the different flavors of oligarchy.
It's no secret that many industries lean on undocumented workers to meet their needs. In an era of mass deportations, wage theft is still occurring and some employers are counting on workers being too scared to come forward.
If the government shutdown continues through Nov. 1, millions of Americans will lose SNAP benefits and access to affordable health care.
November 1st marks the start of ACA open enrollment — and this year, it's one of the most unaffordable and uncertain periods we've seen. Republicans refuse to come to the table and extend subsidies that have made health care more affordable for 140,000 Iowans.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to talk about how this is part of a bigger story of taking away resources form normal people.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line with music by Avery Mossman and show art by Desirée Tapia. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.
*SHOW RUNDOWN:*
0:00 – ACA open enrollment starts November 1st: what you need to know
1:00 – Chase and Liz on being self-employed and relying on the ACA
3:00 – Why the ACA is a Band-Aid solution (but losing it makes things worse)
4:00 – Amber Gustafson's story: paying out of pocket before the ACA
6:00 – Republicans shut down the government over healthcare subsidies
7:30 – Premiums are jumping 114% when subsidies expire
9:00 – The false choice: "illegal alien healthcare" vs feeding kids
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It's easy to miss what's happening in Iowa when you're scrolling past headlines. GDP down 6.1% in Q1. Soybean markets shipped to Argentina. A $20 billion bailout that somehow bypassed the farmers who needed it most. But this isn't just about tariffs or trade policy. It's about who holds power in Iowa and who gets left behind.
On Cornhole Champions, host Zachary Oren Smith sat down with Chase Seibert and Liz Fleming to unpack the New York Times story everyone should be reading: how Trump's economic policies hit Iowa harder than almost anywhere else in the country.
Toss some bags about Iowa’s economic woes… health insurance costs going up… and some reflection on a year of Cornhole Champions.
Cornhole Champions is a weekly politics and policy podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line, hosted by Zachary Oren Smith and produced by Rebecca Steinberg, with music by Avery Mossman and art by Desirée Tapia.
SHOW RUNDOWN:
0:00 – Cold open and Zach's cryptic note about chips
1:30 – Marinette Miller Meeks refuses town halls: "When hell freezes over"
4:30 – Welcome to Cornhole Champions and what's coming today
6:30 – The New York Times story Iowa needs to read: Trump's policies hit hard
9:00 – Why bailouts don't help small farmers and Argentina gets our markets
11:00 – John Deere layoffs, tariffs, and what it means for the Quad Cities
12:00 – Immigration crackdowns devastate Iowa's meat packing industry
*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
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