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Nov 11, 2024 | 
thenation.com | Dave Leshtz
Activism / November 11, 2024 Here in Iowa, the Fight Goes OnIn Johnson County, a record-breaking 87,012 people voted on Tuesday. Democrat Christina Bohannan beat the Republican incumbent by over 35,000 votes—just 800 shy of what she needed.
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Sep 25, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Randy Evans |Laura Belin |Ed Tibbetts |Dave Leshtz
Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes openness and transparency in Iowa’s state and local governments. He can be reached at [email protected]. Thirty-three years ago on a snowy Friday in November, the nightmare of mass school shootings shocked Iowa like it has never been shocked before.
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Sep 24, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Brooklyn Draisey |Laura Belin |Ed Tibbetts |Dave Leshtz
Brooklyn Draisey is a Report for America corps member covering higher education for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared. The Iowa Board of Regents is working with board staff and state universities to analyze diversity, equity and inclusion programs and positions and ensure their compliance under a state law set to take effect next summer.
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Sep 22, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Ed Tibbetts |Dave Leshtz |Stephen G. Bloom
While running for state treasurer, Republican State Senator Roby Smith touted his attendance record, noting in digital and television advertising that he “never missed a vote” during his twelve years in the legislature. But since being sworn in as state treasurer in January 2023, it’s not clear whether Smith has regularly worked at the state capitol.
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Sep 20, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Dave Leshtz |Stephen G. Bloom |Rick Morain |Nick Covington
Dual readings in Tama remind us: Iowa's state capitol is not a church Friday, Sep 20 2024 0 Comments Dave Leshtz is the editor of The Prairie Progressive. The mind is its own place, and in itselfCan make a heaven of hell, a hell of heaven. –John Milton, Paradise LostIt was a beautiful day for a drive, with big clouds billowing in a vast Iowa sky. My destination was the town of Toledo, where an “Iowa 99 County Bible Reading Marathon” was taking place on September 16.
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Aug 17, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Bill Graham |Dave Leshtz |Ed Tibbetts
A legal challenge to a “giant step backward” for Iowa women ended this week. Planned Parenthood of the Heartland, the Iowa City-based Emma Goldman Clinic, and Dr. Sarah Traxler, the chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood North Central States, on August 15 asked a Polk County District Court to dismiss their lawsuit challenging Iowa’s near-total abortion ban.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Bill Graham |Dave Leshtz |Ed Tibbetts |Laura Belin
Bill Graham is Vice-Chair of the Iowa State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers. That committee released the following statement on August 16: “The Iowa State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers Opposes Attacks on Iowa State Judges and Justices.”The Iowa State Committee of the American College of Trial Lawyers (ACTL) opposes attacks on individual judges and justices based upon recent opinions released.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Dave Leshtz |Ed Tibbetts |Laura Belin |Robin Opsahl
Dave Leshtz is the editor of The Prairie Progressive. In August 2023, Bleeding Heartland published my memories of the Hamburg Inn. The venerable Iowa City diner that I had patronized for more than five decades was on the verge of going out of business. Michael Lee, the absentee owner, had returned to his home in China when COVID-19 struck, leaving the restaurant in the hands of inexperienced staff who struggled to keep it alive, even after the pandemic subsided.
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Apr 30, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Laura Belin |Dave Leshtz |Stephen G. Bloom |Rick Morain
Republican Party of Iowa state chair Jeff Kaufmann is tired of talking to party activists who aren’t ready to commit to supporting Donald Trump in November. In an animated speech to the Jones County Republicans on April 25, Kaufmann repeatedly reminded his audience that they “picked a team” and now need to get on board with the party’s presumptive presidential nominee.
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Apr 27, 2024 | 
bleedingheartland.com | Dave Leshtz |Laura Belin |Robin Opsahl |Ralph Rosenberg
Dave Leshtz is the editor of The Prairie Progressive, where this essay first appeared. Earlier this year, State Representative Josh Turek wrote an excellent Des Moines Register guest column on why “Iowa is not a good place to be disabled.” He cited long waiting lists for in-home and community-based care, severe restrictions on Medicaid eligibility, legislative efforts to dismantle services for special education provided by our Area Education Agencies, and more.
