Amie Rivers - Iowa Starting Line

If you've got a kid on Medicaid and have had trouble finding them a dentist anywhere in Iowa, I'm looking to talk to a couple folks about that frustration for a story.

Going forward, if you'd like to keep up with my and my colleagues' work at Iowa Starting Line (and don't like the other social media platforms), give our two weekly newsletters a try. (I write both of them and there's a fair amount of snark, just FYI.)

One is the regular one -- all the best/craziest Iowa news in bite-sized chunks: https://iowastartingline.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=3a7e1d1538f20fff193f91966&id=4f1121769f

The other is my baby -- the first newsletter in the state solely focused on how workers are doing in this economy, *not* how corporations are doing. https://couriernewsroom.us20.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=3a7e1d1538f20fff193f91966&id=f56dd0b64e

I may not be posting much on FB anymore (Iowa Starting Line will continue of course) but wanted y'all to stay in the loop! Thanks again for following along, I appreciate everyone's support.

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Did you know there's a special election in Black Hawk County tomorrow (March 7)?
-Waterloo Ward 4 special election (contested!)
-$35M bond issue for
-$1.25M bond issue for new emergency management building in Gilbertville

More info (and where you can vote) here:

blackhawkcountyelections.iowa.gov

Rep. Shipley's so-called "Butter Bill" advanced out of a subcommittee earlier today. The legislation would ban the use of margarine or vegetable oil in school meals.

Read the full bill here: https://bit.ly/3Kvq047.

Egg prices are high because of avian flu, right?

In Iowa, the No. 1 egg-producing state in the US, avian flu definitely hit farmers.

But overall, hens in the US actually overproduced eggs last year, meaning the egg supply was relatively constant, according to the big players in the industry.

So egg prices are high because of inflation, right?

Cal-Maine, which controls 20% of the US's egg supply, said their costs went up by 22% last year.

But prices for a dozen eggs at the grocery store didn't go up 22%. They went up 150%.

Maybe you'll guess where this is going....

What Really Drove Up Egg Prices - Iowa Starting Line The egg prices are too damn high. And perhaps there's something more than just a deadly bird flu to blame.

A hiring fair specifically for justice-impacted individuals (those who served time in jail or prison) is happening today (Feb. 15) in Des Moines -- and there's a lot more than just jobs on offer:

Des Moines Will Host Job Fair For Formerly Incarcerated Workers - Iowa Starting Line A job fair specifically for people who were formerly serving time in jail or prison is happening this week in central Iowa.

Republicans angry the party they voted for was giving companies tax credits to take farmland to build carbon capture pipelines let their representative know it at her first town hall of the year.

Rep. Ashley Hinson said she'd "take a look at" the millions in tax credits the companies would get from the pipelines. But she also noted the state was "like it or not," dependent on the ethanol industry.

(She's also gotten thousands in campaign donations from the head of one of the pipeline companies.)

Hinson Talks Abortion, Marriage Equality And Land Rights At Town Hall - Iowa Starting Line Rep. Ashley Hinson got pushback from angry Republicans over the carbon-capture pipeline that's taking farmers' land.

Shop union this Super Bowl with our guide of union-made d***s and snacks.

A bill that would grant unpaid family and medical leave to more Iowa railroad workers sailed through its first hearing yesterday, despite heavy opposition from the railroads.

Watch: https://www.tiktok.com//video/7197916355268480299

The bill: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/legislation/BillBook?ba=HSB116

Iowa Starting Line on TikTok A new bill would grant unpaid family and medical , but companies don’t like it.

“There’s so many beautiful stories—it’s beauty in the struggle."

Watch: why is important not just at the University of Northern Iowa but for all Iowans, from UNI BSU co-president Lexi Gause:

Iowa Starting Line on TikTok How is the Black Student Union at the whitest public university in Iowa celebrating Black History Month? Let Lexi Gause, one of the organization’s presidents, tell you herself.

UNI’s undergraduate student population was 81.9% white in 2020, compared to 72.7% at Iowa State and 72.2% at the University of Iowa. While UNI’s student body is more diverse than the state as a whole (90.1% white), it is less diverse than the county that surrounds it (Black Hawk County was 78.4% white as of the 2020 census).

But within those numbers is an opportunity for education, said Lexi Gause, co-president of UNI’s Black Student Union. UNI BSU

“There’s so many beautiful stories—it’s beauty in the struggle,” she said. “Getting educated about it, no matter what skin you’re in, is truly important [to learn] how we got to this point and how we are going to pave the way for the next generation.”

At Majority-White UNI, Highlighting Black History 'Extremely Important' - Iowa Starting Line At the state's whitest public university, the Black Student Union hopes to use Black History Month as a jumping-off point to "open up doors for the strong and needed conversations."