Bleeding Heartland
An independent website about Iowa politics
 Bleeding Heartland
The farm in Cass County, Iowa where Matt Russell's dad was born, Matt and his brother grew up playing in the creek, and their parents continue to farm

How Democrats can win the Iowa secretary of agriculture race


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Screenshot from "Delivering for Iowa" ad, paid for with official funds

Miller-Meeks touts praise from Trump in taxpayer-funded ads


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Iowa helping Trump administration build national citizen registry


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Peyote plant

Iowaska Church seeks federal exemption to Controlled Substances Act


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Politicians do nothing as Social Security cliff approaches


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Why Sarah Trone Garriott is the right choice to win back IA-03


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Liberty for one drug lord, death sentences for others


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Iowa Methodist Medical Center critical care nurse Alex Wilken is a leading advocate for the unionization of nurses in the UnityPoint Health system. (photo courtesy of Alex Wilken)

2,000 central Iowa UnityPoint nurses to vote on unionization


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Public school teachers' plates are overflowing


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Laura Belin in the state capitol law library, January 2024 (photo by Greg Hauenstein)

Why I write about Iowa politics


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Talking turkey: Healthy Kids Iowa fed fewer kids than Summer EBT


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Black-eyed Susans near the state capitol, November 2025 (all photos by Jeff Ewoldt)

Iowa wildflower Wednesday: November stragglers


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Photo of Robert Lundin, published by the Des Moines Public Schools when he was hired in 2024

School district owes explanation for this goodbye gift


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Vice President Dick Cheney takes the oath of office on January 20, 2005

Vice presidents weren't always major political figures


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President Donald Trump with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (left) and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick

Trump policies ignore basic business principles, threaten U.S. economy


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Screenshot from ad created by the Fund for Economic Independence

Conservative group attempted image makeover for Brenna Bird


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Screenshot from official White House video of November 14 gaggle

Reporter Trump called "Piggy" has an Iowa connection


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The Gazette's new task: maintain local confidence, journalism


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Landscape at Waterman Prairie (all photos by James Enright except where indicated)

A prairie lover's guide to the Glacial Trail Scenic Byway


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American Gothic House, where funding from the USDA's Rural Housing Service will support a Community Education Classroom project

Funding bill includes $16 million for earmarked Iowa projects


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