Videos
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WATCH: The common good and the establishment (w/ Chris Jones) – Cornhole Champions Interview
Iowa uses more pesticides per capita than any other state—nearly 54 million pounds annually. But according to research engineer Chris Jones, we might be focusing on the wrong chemicals when it comes to cancer risk. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with Jones, author of “The Swine Republic” and president…
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WATCH: Iowa’s DOGE task force recommends cutting public worker pension IPERS
Iowa’s DOGE task force just released 45 recommendations for the state government. Unsurprisingly, they want to cut more social services.
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WATCH: Iowa cancer research funding cut by $33 million under Trump (PT 3) – Cornhole Champions #35
Iowa faces the nation’s worst cancer crisis, and now federal funding cuts are shaking up promising research. The Trump administration has slashed over $33 million in cancer research funding at the University of Iowa alone. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker explore how these cuts are devastating…
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WATCH: Josh Turek Challenges Joni Ernst for Senate (PT 2) – Cornhole Champions #35
Iowa’s two-time Paralympic gold medalist Josh Turek is taking on Senator Joni Ernst. The Council Bluffs Democrat has won twice in Trump territory and thinks he knows how to beat Republicans statewide. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith sits down with State Rep. Josh Turek to discuss his Senate bid, his personal…
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WATCH: Iowa Republicans’ task force targets teacher, police retirements (PT 1) – Cornhole Champions #35
Iowa Republicans are coming for the public employee retirement system—again. Despite promising to “protect and defend” IPERS in 2018, Gov. Kim Reynolds’s handpicked DOGE task force now wants to eliminate pensions for new state employees. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker break down how wealthy business executives…
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WATCH: Iowa hospitals brace for impact as federal Medicaid cuts loom
Federal Medicaid cuts are expected to strip health care from 86,000 Iowans over the next ten years, but one rural hospital administrator warns the impacts could be felt in four to five months.
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WATCH: Long-term impacts of Iowa’s abortion ban
New data reported by abortion providers show the impacts of Iowa’s six-week ban have been felt far and wide.
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WATCH: When science moves faster than policy (w/ David Cwiertny) – Cornhole Champions Interview
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…
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WATCH: 🌽 53 million pounds of pesticides: Iowa’s cancer crisis (PT 2) – Cornhole Champions #34
53 million pounds. That’s how much pesticide gets sprayed across Iowa every year—more than any other state in the country. With Iowa having the second-highest and fastest-growing cancer rates in America, the science is connecting some uncomfortable dots between what’s in our fields and what’s happening to our neighbors. On this episode of Cornhole Champions,…
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WATCH: 🌽 Iowa lost $17.6 BILLION to brain drain (PT 1) – Cornhole Champions #34
Iowa is hemorrhaging talent at an alarming rate, and the economic impact is staggering. A new report reveals that 34% more college graduates leave Iowa than stay, with the 2023 cohort alone representing a devastating $17.6 billion loss in potential income for the state. On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers,…
