Iowa's public schools are hemorrhaging students while 157 districts now depend on budget guarantees to survive. Meanwhile, the state is dismantling 168 years of history by closing Iowa City's Historical Society research center to save money.

On this episode of Cornhole Champions, Zachary Oren Smith, Amie Rivers, and Avery Staker connect three stories that reveal how Iowa systematically undermines the foundations that could keep families here.

Toss some bags at declining school enrollment... the coming loss of a historical archive in Iowa City... And how the 1986 Deere strike connects to today's tariff layoffs...

Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. This podcast is produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg. Our music is by Avery Mossman and our show art is from Desirée Tapia.

RUNDOWN:

07:00 - 157 School Districts on Budget Guarantee: The Enrollment Crisis Explained
11:00 - Why Moving 6th Grade Back to Elementary Is Just a Band-Aid Solution
14:00 - Iowa City Rally: Fighting to Save 168 Years of Historical Archives
16:30 - Meskwaki Nation Artifacts at Risk: What 60% Collection Loss Really Means
19:00 - The Intangible Cost: How Archive Closures Kill Student Curiosity
24:00 - 39 Years Ago Today: The Longest John Deere Strike in History Began
26:00 - $600 Million in Tariff Costs: How Trump's Trade War Hits Iowa Workers
29:00 - Waterloo's Five John Deere Plants: When Layoffs Devastate Entire Communities

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