Tag Archives: Austin Baeth

A love letter

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LOVE LETTER
Once in a while, an email arrives reminding me that my work is not in vain. Here’s one:

Dear Ed,

I came across mention of your radio show recently and realized I owed you a thank-you that’s roughly twenty-five years overdue.

In the early 2000s, I was a high school student in Des Moines who’d gotten it into his head to get involved in state and local Democratic politics. The experience was mostly bruising. Leonard Boswell brushed off a question I’d asked about Iran’s nuclear program with “Well, boy, that’s a big question from a young mind.” Preston Daniels, asked how a kid could get more involved at the state and local level, answered: “Don’t.”

You were the exception. I have a clear memory of walking a District 70 neighborhood with you, handing out flyers, and being treated — for the first time by an elected representative — like someone whose attention was worth earning rather than enduring. It was the first time anyone in that world had given me a real conversation instead of a brush-off. Continue Reading →

What’s causing Iowa’s high cancer rates?

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State Rep. Austin Baeth (D-Des Moines) is an internal medicine physician. He’s helping lead the charge at the Statehouse to address Iowa’s disturbing cancer numbers. Across the state, Iowa continues to see an increase in cancer, especially breast cancer, even as other states are seeing declining rates.

Smoking is part of the problem, along with obesity, binge drinking, and radon. There’s also concern that modern agricultural practices, including the use of chemicals like atrazine and glyphosate, contribute to Iowa’s disturbing numbers.

One of the initiatives Baeth plans to push this year with like-minded Republican colleagues is a detailed study of what’s behind this increase. That in itself would be a significant accomplishment. But it’s just a start.

“We need folks from across Iowa, we need a grassroots movement to get legislation across the finish line. It’s still in its infancy, trying to get this grassroots network going,” said Baeth on my program. If you want to help build that network, contact Rep. Baeth at austin.baeth@legis.iowa.gov. Continue Reading →