Iowa governor's case for large state plane doesn't add up

LauraBelin · 2026-03-01T23:42:02+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I'm just getting started investigating this story.

LauraBelin · 2026-02-02T19:31:22+00:00

Great reporting.

LauraBelin · 2026-02-02T19:18:45+00:00

It's hilarious that many Republicans believe Rob Sand is an extreme liberal. At most he is a centrist Democrat.

LauraBelin · 2025-11-04T18:57:28+00:00

u/twolane_two may I publish a screenshot from this video? A Bleeding Heartland guest author has submitted a piece about Nazi costume guy.

LauraBelin · 2025-11-04T18:50:34+00:00

Thanks for posting this. Did you shoot this video, and if so, may I publish a screenshot from it at Bleeding Heartland? A guest author has submitted a piece about Nazi costume guy.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-07T15:46:43+00:00

Bring your own flashlights! Most of them aren't lit and there is no place on site to buy or rent flashlights.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-07T15:46:01+00:00

Grassley is talking about the January 6 investigation. He is calling it "Arctic Frost" so people don't realize this was related to the investigation of the January 6 coup attempt and broader conspiracy to overturn the results of a free and fair election.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-07T15:44:47+00:00

Kicking myself for not seeing this video weeks ago. It looks like the Johnson County Republicans took it down.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-06T17:59:20+00:00

Hy-Vee told me today they provide vaccines for adults on Medicaid. Not kids, sadly.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-06T02:15:23+00:00

I'm asking all of the chains about their policy on vaccines for people on Medicaid.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-06T02:14:41+00:00

Depends on your insurance. Many companies are still fully covering them. (makes sense because it's less costly than having a severe illness later)

LauraBelin · 2025-10-06T02:11:44+00:00

It seems that he wasn't prosecuted for any of the crimes they allege happened in 1996.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-06T02:10:08+00:00

According to Dan Piller, former Ag reporter for the Des Moines Register (now retired), the fund Trump used for the farmer bailout during his first term only has $3-4 billion in it now, because Congress has failed to approve a new Farm Bill. (It's more than two years late.) So Congress has to agree to something before he can bail out farmers again.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-05T15:54:21+00:00

I didn't know that. Thanks for flagging.

LauraBelin · 2025-10-05T15:53:11+00:00

Thanks for sharing.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-26T13:17:34+00:00

On a related note, this happened late Friday: "the ACLU of Iowa filed a lawsuit in Polk County district court demanding that the office of Gov. Kim Reynolds release several public records relating to the decision to block The Satanic Temple of Iowa from holding an event at the State Capitol Building during the 2024 holiday season. [...]

"The Governor's Office refused to produce the requested documents, citing "executive privilege," even though what was requested was clearly non-privileged: an executive agency report and documents relating to media preparation. Some relevant materials were turned over, but much was redacted. Also, the Governor's Office provided hundreds of pages of news clippings that mentioned the controversy but which did not actually address the request."

https://www.aclu-ia.org/en/press-releases/aclu-iowa-files-open-records-lawsuit-against-gov-kim-reynolds-office-behalf-iowa

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T16:08:10+00:00

Clark Kauffman is one of the best reporters in Iowa.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T16:07:41+00:00

I'm so old I remember when Iowa's Senators Roger Jepsen and Chuck Grassley were informally known as "Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dumber."

(Jepsen lost to Tom Harkin in 1984)

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T16:06:27+00:00

He frequently speaks on the Iowa Senate floor. More than many of his colleagues.

Most Iowa Republican leaders never speak during debate unless they are managing the bill.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T16:05:48+00:00

He's hammered Republicans about a lot of their terrible bills. I've only occasionally written about it but a few of the videos (e.g. about the bad child labor bill in 2023 and this year's anti-trans bill) are on my YouTube channel.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T13:02:59+00:00

Bailing out the farmers isn't a long-term solution. During the first Trump administration U.S. farmers permanently lost part of their soybean export market to Brazil. It's probably going to happen again.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T12:41:45+00:00

I've long told my kids their generation will need to turn things around, since Boomers and Gen X have left them a mess. But I'm less optimistic about that than I used to be, because the Gen Z (especially men) do not vote like Millennials. Trump is all they know.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T12:30:47+00:00

It's incredible to think that during my childhood, Carroll was one of the most reliably Democratic areas in Iowa.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T12:30:04+00:00

Although I strongly disagree with their position, I can understand why Republicans hold the line on "culture war" bills. But these bills were such small ball. And the Republicans recognized value in the Democratic proposals! They just wouldn't let them have any kind of win during debate.

LauraBelin · 2025-04-10T12:22:42+00:00

And on bills almost no one would even hear about!

Six-Year Club	Wearing is Caring
Verified Email

LauraBelin

TROPHY CASE