State Politics
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Heroic Perry principal dies from injuries sustained during shooting
By all accounts, Dan Marburger was a hero even before his valiant final act. The Perry High School principal died at 8 a.m. Sunday, 10 days after a lone 17-year-old shooter opened fire in the school and wounded Marburger, who tried to talk him down. “Principal Marburger acted selflessly and placed himself in harm’s way…
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Nikki Haley says another Trump presidency would bring chaos
In her last event before the Iowa Caucuses, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said the United States can’t afford to elect former President Donald Trump a second time. “President Trump was the right president at the right time,” Haley said on Sunday. “I agree with a lot of his policies, but—rightly or wrongly—chaos follows…
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Haley stumps in Cedar Falls as temperatures continue to drop
Nikki Haley played up the brutally cold weather conditions and general campaign fatigue during an in-person event Saturday morning in downtown Cedar Falls as the Iowa caucus continues to wind down. “Two days ’til caucus,” Haley, who is campaigning for the top of the Republican presidential ticket, told an overflow crowd packed into Second State…
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Climate change protesters disrupt Ron DeSantis event
Climate protesters disrupted a Gov. Ron DeSantis campaign event in Ames on Thursday night. Three protesters were escorted out of the room at Jethro’s BBQ after asking the presidential candidate about the money he takes from the oil industry. Paul, one of the protestors, confirmed to Starting Line that all three are members of the…
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Haley: ‘Don’t complain’ about general election if you don’t pick me
Nikki Haley tried a last-ditch appeal to Republican caucus voters during a campaign appearance in Cedar Rapids Thursday just before a blizzard warning went into effect across Iowa. The Republican candidate for President recently polled at around 20% of likely GOP caucusgoers in Iowa—a distant second place behind former President Donald Trump’s 54%, but ahead…
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Evangelical leaders predict huge caucus turnout, downplay endorsements
Iowa caucus candidates have racked up big-name endorsements—including a notable last-minute flip flop—but one evangelical leader said none of that will matter come Monday. “We think endorsements are overrated generally, but they’re particularly overrated in Iowa,” said Ralph Reed, the founder and chairman of the national Faith & Freedom Coalition and a senior advisor on…
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Iowa Senate Dems leader concerned about further privatization of public education
Iowa Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque) fears Iowa Republicans are ramping up efforts to privatize education in a state that was once said to have the best public schools in the country. “I honestly hope I’m wrong, but this is how I see this playing out,” she said. The 2024 legislative session began Monday…
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Kim Reynolds wants to bump teacher pay, but is there a catch?
Gov. Kim Reynolds formally announced her intention to increase teacher pay in Iowa during her 2024 Condition of the State address on Tuesday, which Democrats and education officials lauded but said was long overdue. “We want younger Iowans to see the teaching profession as something to aspire to,” Reynolds said. “It’s one of the highest…
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Students rally at Iowa Capitol to demand change on guns
Monday marked the start of the 2024 Iowa Legislative session and Iowans kicked it off by demanding lawmakers listen to what they want and put the people of Iowa first this year. Two events ran together, one hosted by the Iowa chapter of March For Our Lives (MFOL) and the other hosted by multiple Iowa…
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Trump tells Iowa crowd US Civil War could have been negotiated
Donald Trump told a jam-packed crowd he thinks the US Civil War could have been solved through negotiation and that without it we wouldn’t know who Abraham Lincoln was. Trump made the remarks Saturday—on the third anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol by his supporters—during a rally at the DMAAC Newton Campus about…
