On this episode, we talk with Iowa native and retired Green Beret John Paluska. He recounts the day he watched from his dorm roof in New York City as the second tower collapsed, his days of working at Ground Zero, his military career it inspired and the years-long effort to bring his Afghan Special Forces counterpart to safety. Then, University of Iowa historian Colin Gordon joins us to look at how 9/11 reshaped domestic spending and priorities over the last 25 years.
Gavin McGough
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Iowa Public Radio
Madeleine Charis King
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Iowa Public Radio
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Rock Valley will receive $22 million for flood buyouts from FEMA. City leaders say the long-awaited funding will help dozens of families close one chapter of recovery and begin another. -
The general election battle has begun in Iowa. On this Politics Day episode of River to River, analysis from political scientists Karen Kedrowski of Iowa State University and Wayne Moyer of Grinnell College on Rob Sand's pick for a running mate, the growing fight for Iowa’s open U.S. Senate seat, updates from the war in Iran and more. -
Sioux County resident Martha Hulshof helped resettle 150 Ukrainians. Now she says many face uncertainty as protections expire.
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Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal joins Ben Kieffer for a wide-ranging conversation on the U.S. economy and Ryssdal's career. (This episode was originally produced in November 2025.)
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As the Olympics near, we spotlight curling — a sport often forgotten outside of the winter games, but one that thrives year-round in eastern Iowa. We hear from Emily Nelson, marketing and communications coordinator for Cedar Rapids Curling, on the sport’s history, its Olympic influence and why watching elite curlers inspires local players. Then, Charity Nebbe goes out on the ice with Kari Kozak, a founding member and events coordinator of Cedar Rapids Curling, for a crash course in sweeping and throwing stones. Later, historian Ricki King joins discusses her work preserving Iowa’s Black history amid efforts to rewrite or erase it. -
After the devastating floods in the summer of 2024, northwest Iowa communities continue to wait for federal buyout funds for nearly 270 homes, leaving local leaders urging swifter government action.
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Students across the country took part in the “Free America Walkout” on Tuesday to protest recent ICE actions in Minneapolis. In Sioux City, where the school district is one of the most diverse in the state, a large group gathered outside North High School. -
Since its inception in 1965 in President Lyndon B. Johnson's "war on poverty," the federal Head Start program has served nearly 40 million children and their families in preparing to succeed in school and life. Head Start has faced a number of challenges in recent years, including flat funding, new mandates, attacks from the Trump Administration and a proposal to eliminate the program entirely. On this episode, we here from different Head Start stakeholders in Iowa about the services this program provides to young children and their families, how they are managing this changing landscape and what the future may hold for this program.
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U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon announced plans to ease some restrictions on federal education funding at a public school in western Iowa.
