Best of Bleeding Heartland

Best of Bleeding Heartland’s original reporting in 2023

Best of Bleeding Heartland’s original reporting in 2022

Best of Bleeding Heartland’s original reporting in 2020

(more links to individual posts from earlier years are below)

State legislative coverage

Who’s who in the Iowa House for 2024

Who’s who in the Iowa Senate for 2024

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2024 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2023 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2022 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2021 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2020 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2019 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2018 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2017 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2016 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2015 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2014 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2013 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2012 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2011 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2010 session

Posts about the Iowa legislature’s 2009 session

Election coverage

All posts tagged 2022 elections

Absentee ballot numbers 2022 (updated daily)

“Lessons of 2022” (series analyzing the 2022 election results in Iowa)

All posts tagged 2020 elections

“Lessons of 2020” (series analyzing the 2020 election results in Iowa)

“Lessons of 2018” (series analyzing the 2018 election results in Iowa)

28 Iowa House races to watch in 2020, with ratings

All posts tagged 2018 elections

Absentee ballot numbers 2018 (updated daily)

Absentee ballot numbers 2016 (updated daily)

Absentee ballot numbers 2014 (daily tables for comparison)

Absentee ballot numbers 2012 (daily tables for comparison)

Iowa caucuses

“How the Iowa caucuses work” series (2016 version)

Other 2016 elections

2014 elections

2012 elections

2010 elections

2008 elections

“How the Iowa caucuses work” series from 2007 and 2008

Iowa wildflowers

Full Iowa wildflower Wednesday archive

The Iowa wildflower Wednesday origin story

Links to individual posts

From 2022:

Series of exclusive reports about the Public Employment Relations Board

Governor was comped state building for SOTU response

Federal auditors reviewing CARES Act funds for governor’s staff salaries

Iowa trooper crash investigation details remain secret (by John Morrissey)

Governor’s action cost Iowans $141 million in food assistance

Iowa governor not even close to keeping one campaign promise

Iowa’s new garbage search law looks unconstitutional

New Iowa absentee rules disenfranchised hundreds in 2022 primary

How Iowa Supreme Court’s McDermott, Oxley have decided big cases

How Iowa Democrats could have saved the caucuses

Iowa Supreme Court’s abortion reversal may cast long shadow

Miller-Meeks used taxpayer funds for large radio ad buy

Gannett prints fake newspapers at Des Moines Register plant

From 2021:

Redistricting:

The Iowa court ruling that could stop a Republican gerrymander

First look at finalized Iowa maps, with incumbent match-ups

First look at Iowa’s new House, Senate seats in larger metro areas

Exclusive investigative reporting:

Governor fast-tracked COVID tests for firm linked to major donor

Test Iowa vendor gave officials talking points for PR video

Iowa approved CARES Act funds for governor’s office software switch

Governor taps American Rescue Plan for IT project predating pandemic

Other agencies covered $900K in governor’s office costs

From 2020:

COVID-19 related:

Iowa governor used CARES Act funds to pay staff salaries

Iowa’s state medical director received 45 percent pay raise

Iowa’s COVID-19 website has backdated some cases for months

Iowa’s COVID-19 website rewrites history every day

Iowa governor’s COVID-19 strategy more faith-based than data-driven

The Iowa COVID-19 peak that wasn’t

Iowa legislature:

Why did these House Republicans reject an easy win for Iowa taxpayers?

Ashley Hinson dodged Iowa House debates on high-profile bills

Iowa’s Ag Gag 3.0 may get past courts

Republicans found shortcut around Iowa Supreme Court on abortion

Iowa caucuses:

Iowa Democrats need new state chair–and new attorney

Deep dive on Iowa Democratic Party’s vote to certify 2020 caucus results

From 2019:

Reynolds, GOP killed way to reduce racial, economic disparities in Iowa courts

How one Democrat’s work will let Iowa Republicans pack the courts

Leader quits Iowa civil rights enforcement agency

Why was Jerry Foxhoven worried?

Reynolds/Miller deal could encourage future Republican power grabs

When politicians become assignment editors

Mueller’s findings on Sam Clovis and a top Chuck Grassley staffer

MidAmerican’s bid to crush small solar creates strange lobbying bedfellows

From 2018:

How Kim Reynolds got away with violating Iowa’s constitution (topped the list of eighteen posts I worked hardest on in in 2018)

Lessons of 2018: Mid-sized cities bigger problem for Democrats than rural areas (part of a series of posts analyzing results from the 2018 elections)

Rod Blum’s internet business, other firms tout identical “success stories”

A close look at Waterloo’s new, improved use-of-force policy

From 2017:

Kim Reynolds misled public about Iowa attorney general’s view of her powers (topped the list of seventeen posts I worked hardest on in 2017)

Early clues about the Kim Reynolds leadership style are not encouraging

How Iowa could have lost three Supreme Court justices in 2016

One White House reporter’s stunning inside view of access journalism

From 2016:

Posts about Iowa State University President Steven Leath’s airplane scandal

(part of a series of posts about felon voting rights during the Branstad administration)

“The View from Nowhere” in Iowa legislative news coverage (topped the list of
sixteen posts I worked hardest on in 2016)

Cedar Rapids Gazette lets reporters grab other people’s scoops without attribution

Memo to journalists: Craig Robinson’s firm makes money off the Iowa caucus campaign

From 2015:

One reader’s feedback for new Des Moines Register publisher David Chivers (topped the list of fifteen posts I worked hardest on in 2015)

Posts about the hiring of Bruce Harreld as University of Iowa president

Insurance company insiders knew about Iowa’s Medicaid privatization plans long before public

Excessive demands for personal attention hurt the Iowa caucuses (where I first used the phrase “prairie prima donnas”)

Overreacting to criticism is not good for the Iowa caucuses

Steve King doesn’t understand American Jews. The feeling is mutual

From 2014:

Q: When do Iowa Democrats talk like Steve King?

Chutzpah alert: Branstad as defender of the separation of powers

“No Labels”? More like, “No point”

From 2013:

IA-Gov: Branstad/Reynolds switcheroo easier said than done

Iowa House: Birthplace and graveyard for marriage and abortion bills

From 2012:

Iowa Democrats becoming the party of local control?

Adventures in liberal excuse-making

Iowa Senate ad watch: Water bottles (really)

From 2011:

Adventures in cynical finger-pointing

From 2010:

“Heated sidewalks”: A lie coming to a statehouse race near you

Flowerpots, trolleys and kayaks, oh my!

No, Virginia, there’s no billion-dollar budget gap

Exploring Paul McKinley’s fantasy world

From 2009:

Could Clinton or Edwards have beaten Obama in Iowa?

Why don’t Iowa leaders do more to protect the environment?

I dodged a teachable moment last week

My case against Hanna Rosin’s case against breastfeeding

Iowa atheists have amazing powers

From 2008:

The Democrats on the Iowa Utilities Board let us down