This November, Iowans will decide whether it should take two-thirds of the legislature — not a simple majority — to raise the state income tax. Guests explain what yes and no votes really mean. Then we meet an Iowa teenager who is building an award-winning, low-cost prosthetic hand.
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'Urban Mining' explores how discarded electronics and wind turbines are being turned into a domestic source of rare earth elements. We hear from the filmmaker behind the documentary and two of the Iowans at the center of this work. The film will be showing at 4 p.m., Saturday, June 27 at the Interrobang Film Festival in Des Moines. -
The Des Moines Gay Men's Chorus sings music with a message. On this episode of Talk of Iowa, we hear from two members as the chorus turns 25 years old. Then, we hear from the founder of 'The Healing Obituary.' She teaches how to write obituaries and makes the case for why they should be done by humans. -
The City of Cedar Falls is moving forward with plans to build a new gas power plant. Cedar Falls Utilities, which is behind the project, says the plant will support the city's energy independence as the region's electrical grid is increasingly strained.
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Parents are pushing back against screens in the classroom and in Iowa, the law is now on their side. We get insights from an Iowa City parent, a pediatrician and a coordinator with the University of Northern Iowa's TEACH Studio, who shares where technology fits into the classroom. Then, we hear from a family medicine physician about the physician shortage in Iowa and what's being done about it.
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At the first reading of a proposed data zoning ordinance, residents of Palo and nearby communities raised concerns over the negative impacts future data centers could have on water and traffic, as well as light and noise pollution. Many people asked for the city to tighten regulations, while several others asked the city to table the ordinance completely. -
The legality of geofence warrants, where law enforcement can access the data of people in a geographic area, is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court. University of Iowa Technology Law Clinic director Megan Graham walks us through the case. Also, fellow Iowa law professor Bethany Berger talks about the 1884 case being incorrectly cited in the Trump Administration's birthright citizenship case. Then, Cornell College's Megan Goldberg walks us through the 1st Congressional District primary races.
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With U.S. electricity demand expected to grow significantly by the end of the decade, and the U.S. Department of Energy trying to achieve net-zero emissions in the power sector by 2035, more clean power will need to come online. In eastern Iowa, the potential restart of a nuclear plant could signal what’s ahead for the country. -
All over the country, tech giants are rushing to build massive data centers to support AI-driven demand, and it’s forcing local governments to reckon with how such resource-intensive projects could bring billions in regional investment. One proposed data center in eastern Iowa has become the subject of a standoff between two local jurisdictions. -
Cindy Cohn, originally from Newton, Iowa, became one of the country's foremost digital rights lawyers. Her new memoir is titled "Privacy's Defender: My Thirty-Year Fight Against Digital Surveillance." Part legal history, part personal story and part rallying cry, it's front-row account of the legal battles that shaped the internet we use every day. Ahead of her visit to Iowa City, she joins the show the book, growing up in Iowa, your rights online and more
