New edition of KHOI radio's "Capitol Week" is online

Bleeding Heartland takes up most of my professional energy, but for the last year and a half I’ve had a side gig as the statehouse reporter for KHOI Community Radio in Ames. When we signed our employment agreement soon after the 2020 general election, I thought I would regularly call in to other talk programs with updates on political and state government happenings.

Instead, KHOI offered Dennis Hart and me the chance to host our own show. Since February 2021, “Capitol Week” has aired live from 7:00 to 7:30 pm Central on Mondays, and is rebroadcast on Wednesdays at noon. Producer Mike Murphy uploads the audio files as well, so anyone can listen to any of the 70 shows we’ve recorded anytime on KHOI’s website.

During the July 25 edition, Dennis and I talked about topics including President Joe Biden coming down with COVID-19, some newsworthy findings from Ann Selzer’s latest Iowa Poll for the Des Moines Register, important Congressional votes last week, and statewide candidate fundraising.

Dennis has contributed to KHOI’s local and state news coverage for several years. The station’s website notes that he “volunteers his services in his retirement, after spending a lifetime reporting news for both radio and television and teaching journalism at various venues around the country, including the Greenlee School of Journalism at Iowa State University.”

Working with Dennis is a blast—even though he won’t let me forget that I predicted state lawmakers wouldn’t agree on a new bottle bill! We start planning topics a few days ahead of time but often end up rearranging the show to incorporate Monday’s breaking news. Dennis keeps the discussion moving and makes sure we always go out on time.

Mike Murphy handles the technical side of things, so for me, “Capitol Week” is all the fun of having an Iowa politics podcast without much extra work.

I'm planning to send the link to each radio show with my Substack subscribers every week. If you know anyone who might be interested, please pass this post along.

Speaking of sharing, this Substack has 40-some subscribers now. When the list hits 100, I will put up my first “ask me anything about Iowa politics” discussion thread.

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To avoid conflicts of interest, I don’t accept monetary support from Iowa elected officials, candidates, or paid campaign staff or consultants on Iowa campaigns.