August 29 edition of KHOI's "Capitol Week" is online

Student loan relief, Iowa's U.S. House races, and more

Welcome to new subscribers! My main work is covering Iowa politics for Bleeding Heartland, but since early 2021, I’ve had a side gig as the statehouse reporter for KHOI Community Radio in Ames.

Every Monday, Dennis Hart and I discuss the latest Iowa political happenings for “Capitol Week”, which airs live from 7:00 to 7:30 pm Central on Mondays. KHOI rebroadcasts the show on Wednesdays at noon, and producer Mike Murphy uploads the audio files, so anyone can listen to any of the 70+ shows we’ve recorded anytime on the station’s website.

During our August 29 broadcast (audio file), Dennis and I discussed:

• The substance of President Joe Biden’s student loan relief plan, and Iowa political reaction;

• The latest tv ads and candidate messages in Iowa’s first, second, and third U.S. House districts (I was surprised to see Democratic challengers Christina Bohannan and Liz Mathis on the air before the GOP incumbents in those races) CORRECTION: Apparently Hinson has been running tv ads for a few weeks; LATER CORRECTION: Those other spots must have been paid for by some other group. Hinson’s campaign launched its first tv ad on September 7;

• The politics of key Inflation Reduction Act provisions, such as boosting funding for the Internal Revenue Service;

• U.S. Senator Tim Scott headlining a fundraiser for U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson;

• Governor Kim Reynolds touting a reduction in the business tax that funds Iowa’s unemployment trust fund;

• Democratic candidate for governor Deidre DeJear’s education funding plan;

• My exclusive reporting on the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board’s advance approval of the governor delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union address from a state government building (months of FOIA work went into this piece);

• The state of play in Iowa’s attorney general race, which pits Republican Brenna Bird against longtime incumbent Tom Miller;

• The Spirit Lake school district approving a plan to allow some staff to carry weapons in schools.

The link to the whole 30-minute program is here. You can listen to this week’s show and any past editions of “Capitol Week” at your convenience on KHOI’s website.

I enjoy working for KHOI immensely and encourage readers to support their diverse talk and music programming, if you are able.