In 2008, 47% of Iowa’s college students planned to stay in the state after graduation. That dropped to 41% in 2024. That’s a big concern in a state where many businesses are already seeing a worker shortage. We talk about the factors that seem to be driving brain drain and how to combat it. (This episode was originally produced July 30, 2025.)
James Kelley
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Iowa Public Radio
Natalie Krebs
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Iowa Public Radio
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Gov. Kim Reynolds’ Iowa DOGE Task Force is floating government efficiency ideas that include paying teachers based on their performance and reducing state employee benefits to align with the private sector. -
In recent decades, growing numbers of young educated people have been leaving Iowa, with far fewer coming in. -
As a new Postmaster General with ties to FedEx assumes control of the agency, postal workers and their customers are bracing for either scenario, especially as corporate America weighs in.
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In recent decades, Iowa has seen growing numbers of young and educated people leaving the state, with far fewer coming in. As the gap grows, it becomes a pattern known as “brain drain,” which can lead to a loss of skilled workers and strain on public services. In response, a new taskforce in eastern Iowa is trying to plug the area’s brain drain. -
A proposal to remove Medicaid income and asset limits for Iowans with disabilities who work was passed out of House and Senate subcommittees Tuesday with bipartisan support. -
Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill that aims to improve access to health care across the state cleared its first hurdle in the Iowa Legislature Wednesday with bipartisan support.
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Iowans with disabilities are asking state lawmakers to loosen Medicaid income limits so they can advance their careers and get married without risking the loss of health care services they rely on.
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ bill to offer paid parental leave to state employees advanced in the Senate Tuesday, as she tries for a third year in a row to get Republican lawmakers to pass it. -
The federal government is looking at doing away with a program that allows employers to pay people with disabilities less than the minimum wage.
