News
New organization pushes for more Latino elected officials
Noticing a lack of Latino elected officials in the state of Iowa, two Des Moines residents plan to launch a new initiative to shed light on the issue...
Latino organizers look to go Irish on Iowa politics
A conversation I’ve had with a number of Latino politicos and community activists in Iowa through the years starts like this on my end: “The Latino community needs to learn from the Irish immigrants of a century and a half ago. When met with the infamous ‘Irish...
New Group Wants More Iowa Latinos to Run for Office
A new group, called Latino Political Network, aimed at increasing the number of Latinos running for elected office in Iowa holds its first meeting. Currently there are no Latino members of the Iowa legislature and this group wants to change that......
Rhetoric against Latinos: We’re better than this, Iowa
Demagogue (noun): a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument. Two years ago, Congressman Steve King made headlines for saying that undocumented immigrants had calves the size of...
Electing more Iowa Latinos, one council and board at a time
MARSHALLTOWN, Ia. — I sat across the table from Jose Zacarias and Maria Mayorga. Zacarias, 60, already is ingrained in local politics as a city councilman and school board member in West Liberty. More than 30 years ago he left his native Mexico, where he had been...