The Daily Dome

Josh speaks with Friend of the Potluck Rep. Christina Bohannan about the bills that made it through the first legislative funnel and how she picks her battles at the Capitol. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh talks to Rep. Ras Smith (D-Black Hawk) about the voter rights bill, how to work in the minority, and the Iowa Workers Bill of Rights he is co-sponsoring this week. Links Iowa Workers Bill of Rights Follow. Rep. Smith on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh talks about the movement on the Iowa GOP's voter suppression bill and the bill to deny state aid to cities that don't maintain or increase their police budget. Josh then speaks to Ope PAC founder Amber Gustafson about the new organization dedicated to taking on Kim Reynolds in 2022. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Part 2 of Josh's conversation with Des Moines Black Liberation Movement activist Jaylen Cavil. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh sits down with Rep. Ross Wilburn (D-Story) about the big votes ahead in the house and his new role as Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh updates us on bills working their way through the legislature and then talks to Des Moines Black Liberation Movement activist Jaylen Cavil about the "Back the Blue" bill introduced in the Iowa Legislature earlier this session. Part 1 of a multi-part conversation. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh talks to Sara Anne Willette, founder of the popular Iowa COVID-19 Tracker website about the Governor's recent public health decisions and what to expect going forward. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh stayed up late to cover Governor Reynolds's 10:30pm proclamation allowing restaurants and bars across the state to open to capacity and ending her mask-wearing recommendations. No, really. Then, Josh speaks with House Assistant Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst about Speaker Grassley's ad-hoc enforcement of house rules, the effort to defund public schools, and the effort to publicly shame Des Moines Schools. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh talks to third grade teacher and Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek about the in-person education mandate signed by Governor Reynolds last week. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott (D-Polk) joins Josh to recap the work of the Iowa Legislature this month. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh covers the results of the special election in senate district 41, gives an update on legislation on safe in-person learning, abortion, and gender identity instruction in schools, and speaks with Then, Josh speaks with Rep. Tracy Ehlert, a retired educator, about those education bills making their way through the legislature. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Josh catches us up on the first few weeks of the legislative session and has a conversation with State Senator Tony Bisignano (D-Polk) about the two constitutional amendments being rammed through the legislature. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

New Daily Dome host Josh Cook talks to State Rep. Lindsey James about the first few weeks of the session and the bizarre priorities that have come out of GOP leadership. Links Rep. James's legislative page Follow Rep. Lindsey James on Twitter Follow Josh Cook on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Today we discuss Governor Kim Reynolds's Condition of the State address, and play a clip from a conversation with Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls of Iowa City. Senator Wahls spoke to us about the insurrection in Washington last week, how the legislature is adjusting to the ongoing pandemic, and the Democratic caucus's agenda for this session, specifically surrounding COVID recovery. Links: Subscribe to What a Week Sen. Zach Wahls Read Gov. Kim Reynolds 2021 Condition of the State speech (Des Moines Register) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

We cover the bullet points from House and Senate leadership's opening remarks and how they were all overshadowed by a superspreader event one floor below protesting things that don't exist. It's very cool and very sane. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

We're back for the Iowa's Legislature's 89th General Assembly and our third season. Today the leaders of Iowa's legislative branch outline their goals for the year and try not sigh too deeply because... pandemic. Still. Links: The Iowa Legislature What a Week: Treason, Terror, and a Silver Lining --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Outside of the Iowa Department of Public Health there may be no one who's more closely tracked the number of cases of COVID-19 than State Senator Rob Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids). He talks to Paige about the numbers he's seeing and Since the Iowa Legislature adjourned on Sunday this will be the last episode of Daily Dome for this season. Thank you for listening and we'll see you back in January! Links: Follow Senator Hogg on Twitter Follow Paige Godden on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Georgia journalist Rahul Bali from the Oconee Radio Group joins Paige to talk about the election issues in his state this past week and how voting early can prevent it happening here. Unfortunately for Iowans, the Senate just passed a bill making it harder to get a mail-in ballot and harder to cast it once they do. Links Iowa Senate bars secretary of state from mailing absentee ballot requests (The Gazette) Follow Rahul on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige spoke with members of the Des Moines Black Lives Matter Creative Collective on the five demands the movement has for state legislators. Unfortunately, no members were available to meet with them. Links: Contact your state legislator Follow DesMoinesBLM on Twitter Follow DesMoinesBLM on Instagram --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Back in March a group of LGBTQ+ students were removed from the Iowa Capitol by state police after complaints some students used the "wrong" bathrooms. They broke neither law nor rules of the Capitol but they were still forced to leave. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D-Des Moines) was one of the elected officials who met with them outside afterwards. She talks with us about what she saw that day and what needs to change to make our capitol and our state a more welcoming place for all. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige talks to Matthew Bruce, an organizer with the unofficial Black Lives Matter chapter in Des Moines about this weekend's actions and the demands of the movement. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige talks with Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen (D-Des Moines) about Democrats' legislative priorities before this weekend's second funnel. Links What is "the funnel" Follow Janet Petersen on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

The Iowa legislature is back after a 3 month hiatus due to COVID-19 and we're right back with them. Paige talks to Rep. Ras Smith (D-Waterloo) about the protests in Waterloo over the death of George Floyd and police brutality and the legislation to reform police departments he'll be announcing on June 4th. Links: Rep. Smith's legislator page Follow Rep. Smith on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Well, it happened. The Iowa Legislature has suspended for at least 30 days, likely until the COVID-19/Coronavirus crisis is over. Since nothing (literally) is happening at the Capitol, our mics will go quiet. Once they come back, so will we. Wash your hands and stay safe. Thanks for listening. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Though the bill didn't make it through the the legislative funnel, Rep. Ras Smith (D-Waterloo) joined us to talk about his push allow Iowa's student athletes to receive monetary compensation for their likeness. Links: The Gazette: Pay for play? Iowa lawmakers propose college athletes be paid Rep. Ras Smith's legislator page Follow Rep. Smith on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

John Forbes is a pharmacist from Urbandale who supports allowing Iowans to use cannabis products for medicinal purposes. Lucky for those Iowans, he's also a State Representative. The background: Governor Reynolds vetoed a medical cannabis bill last year that passed with bipartisan support. There was a discrepancy in the amount of THC these products could contain. The Medical Cannabidiol Board recommended a limit of 4.5 grams per every 90 day prescription, the Legislature's bill contained a 25 gram limit. The bill discussed today would set the cap at that 4.5 gram amount. Links: Rep. John Forbes's legislator page Follow Rep. Forbes on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige is joined by Rep. Tracy Ehlert of Cedar Rapids to talk about the bipartisan push for more affordable child care across our state. Links: Rep. Tracy Ehlert's legislator page --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Fresh off their Moral Monday speech, Lana Shope from Iowa Community Action Association and Mary Nelle Trefz from the Child and Family Policy Center talk with Paige about two bills working their way through the legislature that could make it harder for Iowans to receive assistance. Links: Iowa Community Action Association Child and Family Policy Center Moral Mondays Iowa --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige sits down with reporter Josh Cook, who covered health care and rural issues for Iowa Starting Line to talk about Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mark Smith's rural health care tour and how Democrats could (and should) approach small town and rural Iowa and make sorely needed gains there. Links: Follow Josh Cook on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Paige sits down with the new chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, Representative Mark Smith. Rep. Smith is embarking on a multi-city tour to talk about health care and the choice in November's US Senate election here in Iowa. Links: The Gazette: Iowa Democratic leader on the road to attack Joni Ernst's on health care Rep. Mark Smith's legislator page Follow Rep. Smith on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Rep. Chuck Isenhart (D-Dubuque) is the Ranking Member on the Agriculture and Natural Resources Appropriations Subcommittee. Paige talks to him about what that subcommittee does, what his priorities are this session, and how Iowans can help. But first, a bit about our new host! Links: Save REAP on Facebook Rep. Chuck Isenhart's legislator page --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Daily Dome's new host Paige Godden sits down with Rep. Mary Wolfe to discuss the push to restore voting rights to those convicted of a felony since 2011 when then-Governor Terry Branstad rescinded his predecessors' executive order that automatically restored those rights. According to the Brennan Center for Justice, "Iowa is the only state to impose permanent disenfranchisement for all people with felony convictions, unless the government approves individual rights restoration." Links: Voting Rights Restoration Efforts in Iowa [Brennan Center] Rep. Mary Wolfe's legislator page Follow Rep. Mary Wolfe on Twitter Follow Paige Godden on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

There have been a number of stories lately from around Iowa about mobile home owners and renters seeing huge hikes in rent for their home or the land on which it is parked. After hearing from stakeholders, the legislature has decided to take action. When issues like these rent hikes arise, one place that ends up getting phone calls is the Iowa Attorney General's office. My 2008 Obama Campaign Buddy Nate Blake is Deputy Attorney General and gave me the run down on his office's involvement with this bill. Links: Mobile home park owners, tenants weigh in on proposed Iowa regulation [Cedar Rapids Gazette] House File 2351 Follow Nathan Blake on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

What in the blue blazes is "Funnel Week" and why is it going to keep our legislators up all night all week long? We talk to Rep. Liz Bennett of Cedar Rapids about what it is, how a bill survives it, and what issues she's fighting for (and against) this week. Links: Rep. Liz Bennett's legislative page Follow Liz on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

On Wednesday morning, nine Republicans in the Iowa House introduced House File 2164, which would amend the Iowa Civil Rights Act to remove all mentions of gender identity. Literally erasing them from the law. We spoke with Senator Rob Hogg, an attorney, and Damian Thompson of Iowa Safe Schools about their reactions and how a bill like this could affect our state. Then, everything changed. Links: Text of House File 2164 Iowa House Judiciary Committee Iowa Safe Schools Bleeding Heartland: How you can stop the effort to roll back transgender equality in Iowa --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Ever wonder who those folks are sitting next to legislators in the House and Senate? They're legislative assistants, sometimes called clerks. Your humble host was a clerk back in 2012 and our guest today, Lauren McElmeel was one in 2017. We swap stories and talk about the duties these civil servants perform on behalf of their bosses. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Senators Boulton and Zaun want student athletes to be able to be paid for the use of their name, image, or likeness rights and the Human Resources Committee approves a bill capping the price of insulin. Links: SF2058 by Sens. Boulton and Zaun HSB501 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

We're joined this morning by Senator Claire Celsi (D-21) to discuss last week's hearing on a constitutional amendment stating Iowans have no rights to seek an abortion and why that measure may not see a vote on the Senate floor. Links: Follow Claire on Twitter --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

The speeches are over and boy, are we off to the races already. Remember that constitutional amendment we talked about earlier this week from Gov Reynolds speech? No, not the good one on voting rights... the other one. Yeah, it's on the move. We'll talk about that plus some bills that were introduced this week. Links: Subscribe to What a Day --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Iowa House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard is our guest for this entire episode as we discuss Acting Chief Justice Wiggins Condition of the Judiciary, Governor Reynolds's Condition of the State, and some of the priorities Democrats have for the upcoming legislative session. Links: Follow Todd Prichard on Twitter Representative Prichard's legislative bio page --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Governor Kim Reynolds gave her third Condition of the State address before a joint session of the Iowa legislature. Her priorities included constitutional amendments banning abortion and restoring voting rights to those convicted of felonies, cutting income taxes but raising sales taxes, $20 million dollars for flood relief and more. Links: Text: Governor Reynolds's address Auditor decries ‘bad data' on Iowa Medicaid home health care --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Day 1 of the legislature saw speeches from the leadership of both parties from both chambers. We have clips of the best moments. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Welcome to the Daily Dome. Our goal is to get you up to speed on what's happening in the Iowa Legislature Monday through Friday in 15 minutes or less. We're going to talk about the bills being introduced, the debates on those bills, and talking with the key players in those debates As it's only Day 1 of the 2020 session we have no bills to discuss so we're giving you a brief rundown of who's who in the House and Senate leadership this session. Links: Find your legislator. Contact them. Hit us up with your questions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok at @potluckfm. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message

Hi there! My name is Greg Hauenstein and I am the host of the Daily Dome podcast. The Daily Dome covers the Iowa Legislature. In 15 minutes or less you'll get a rundown of the most important bills introduced in each chamber, how they could affect you, and the occasional chat with the lawmakers and key players behind those bills. I also want to answer your questions about our state government. Each Monday I'll take the questions you send me throughout the week and answer them. DM your questions to @potluckfm on Twitter and Instagram, message us through the Potluck Media Facebook page, or email us. daily@potluck.fm The 2020 legislative session begins on January 13th and so will we. So click that subscribe button and join us Monday through Friday on the Daily Dome. The Daily Dome is a product of Potluck Media which is a project of Progress Iowa. To learn more visit Potluck.FM --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/daily-dome/message