Iowa’s senators criticize Democrats for COVID-19 relief bill negotiations
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
August 6, 2020
Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, criticized congressional Democrats this week on their role in negotiations on the upcoming coronavirus relief bill. Grassley said Democrats aren’t compromising on their goals for the bill, and are not accepting any of the Senate Republicans’ p...
Joe Biden rallies Iowa Democrats 100 days out from general election
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 26, 2020
Former Vice President Joe Biden was one of a few Democratic presidential hopefuls not to speak at last year’s packed Hall of Fame Celebration, which drew 19 of the party’s nearly two dozen candidates. This year, he headlined the event as the party’s presumptive presidential nominee. The Iowa Democratic Party’s summer f...
Republican committee’s claim about the estate tax isn’t the whole story
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 23, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Lyle Muller and Rylee Wilson If your time is short: A new ad in Iowa claims the estate tax forces family farms and small businesses ...
Federal unemployment assistance will be reduced in phase four coronavirus relief bill, Grassley says
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 22, 2020
Federal unemployment assistance will likely continue in Congress’s phase four coronavirus relief package, but it will be reduced from the current mark of $600 a week, according to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa. Grassley held a press call with reporters Wednesday where he discussed the details of...
Ernst outlines goals for phase four coronavirus relief
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 21, 2020
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said she wants to focus on essential workers and agriculture in planning for an upcoming phase four coronavirus relief bill. Congressional leaders are in talks on the details of further federal assistance for people impacted by the pandemic, following the $2.2 trillion ...
Grassley says closing bars, mandating masks unnecessary in Iowa
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
July 6, 2020
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he doesn’t think Gov. Kim Reynolds needs to close bars or mandate masks to limit coronavirus spread, though he praised the governors of other states taking similar measures. Grassley said that from what he’s seen, the coronavirus situation isn’t as bad in...
Despite the Supreme Court ruling on DACA, uncertainties for the program remain
Mary Hartel, News Reporter
June 24, 2020
On June 18, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the Trump administration unlawfully attempted to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program – though the ruling is only a temporary reprieve for DACA recipients in Iowa City. Jessica Malott, an immigrat...
Gov. Kim Renyolds requests federal assistance for Iowa’s egg farmers
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
June 3, 2020
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and other officials signed a letter Wednesday asking for egg producers to be included in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s recently revealed Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. The letter, addressed to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, highlighted large l...
Theresa Greenfield’s no-corporate-PAC pledge needs some explanation
Caleb McCullough, Summer Editor
May 28, 2020
PolitiFact Iowa is a project of The Daily Iowan’s Ethics & Politics Initiative and PolitiFact to help you find the truth in politics. Edited by Lyle Muller and Sarah Watson If your time is short: Theresa Greenfield says she has not taken money from corporate political action c...
From 2016 election to 2020 caucuses, political process inspires UI graduates
Caleb McCullough and Julia Shanahan
May 10, 2020
Graduating Hawkeyes have benefited from a front-row view of the nation’s presidential-nomination process, as many came onto campus months before the 2016 election and are leaving not long after the 2020 first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses. University of Iowa senior Alex Byrnes served as Iowaâ...
Progressives in Iowa are disappointed by Biden’s nomination – but most still plan to vote for him
Rylee Wilson, Politics Reporter
May 5, 2020
Iowans who caucused in February for younger or more progressive candidates are grappling with the reality of Joe Biden’s status as the Democratic nominee, but a handful The Daily Iowan spoke with said they plan to vote for him. The DI spoke with voters and former caucusgoers from a variety of age r...
Iowa lobbying group pushes for coronavirus drug price controls
Caleb McCullough, Assistant Politics Editor
April 29, 2020
Some advocates in Iowa for lowering pharmaceutical prices are worried that once drug companies enter the market, COVID-19 drugs and treatment will be largely unaffordable without intervention from Congress. Iowa Citizens Action Network, in conjunction with the national organization Lower Drug Pri...