River to River

After 16 years, Iowa has elected a Democratic governor. On this Politics Day episode, political scientists Jim McCormick and Donna Hoffman weigh in on Gov.-elect Sand's transition into office and what Iowa's new members of Congress face when they get to Washington, D.C. They also discuss President Donald Trump's mixed signals on his immigration policy following the election, the latest in the war in Iran and more.

The world of environmentalists seems to include only those on the left, but conservation has a bipartisan history. There are conservatives working today to conserve natural resources and mitigate the effects of climate change. This is the subject of a new documentary, 'The Conservatives,' which features Ray Gaesser, an Iowa agricultural leader who died in September. On this episode, Ben Kieffer talks with the filmmakers, Nadia and Dominic Gill. Then, NPR 'Midwest Newsroom' reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga talks about her reporting on long waits for Medicaid waivers. One of the parents impacted, Iowan McKayla Muniz, shares her experience.

Trash volumes increased by over 10% at Linn County's landfill in the last fiscal year, which is largely attributed to the data center projects underway. On this episode, we discuss the increase with IPR's Gavin McGough. We also talk with Mae McDonough of the University of Iowa Tippie College of Business about how this issue influenced them to update their Data Center Decision Tool, released earlier this year, to help guide Iowa communities approached with data center proposals. Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency interim director Joe Horaney also joins to discuss landfill capacities in Linn County and statewide. Then, Drake University politics professor Rachel Paine Caufield checks in from the United Kingdom, where she's teaching this semester abroad. She shares reactions from across the pond to last week's midterms.

After Tuesday's gubernatorial and congressional losses, Republicans' hold on Iowa has been severely shaken. On this episode, Ben Kieffer talks with long-time Republican strategist Eric Woolson about what went wrong and where the GOP should go from here. He also reviews Tuesday's results with IPR's Tom Barton, discusses a new setback for the University of Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom with The Gazette's Vanessa Miller and covers Iowa's measles outbreak with the state medical director. Then, we learn what makes Ames water taste so good, and Tressa Glass grooves us into the weekend.

Iowa Democrats had a big night Tuesday. On this episode, we discuss what happened in our neighboring states in the midterm elections. We hear from Makenzie Huber of South Dakota Searchlight, Rich Kremer of Wisconsin Public Radio, Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio, Peter Cox of Minnesota Public Radio, Fred Knapp of Nebraska Public Media, and Ben Szalinski of Capitol News Illinois.