May
182020
Civil Eats: J.D. Scholten Wants to Transform Midwestern Farm Politics
In the campaign video J.D. Scholten released last summer, the camera finds him with his hands in the Iowa dirt. The 40-year-old paralegal and former minor-league baseball player had launched his second campaign for Congress in as many years, and it was clear—from this direct nod to agrarianism, as well as the footage of cows on pasture … Continue reading Civil Eats: J.D. Scholten Wants to Transform Midwestern Farm Politics
May
092020
The Economist: Steve King, Iowa’s most noxious politician, looks vulnerable
Giving offence is Steve King’s stock-in-trade. The congressman for Iowa’s fourth district has suggested heaven is off-limits to gay people, spoken up for white supremacy and posed with Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders and other far-right populists. He has likened immigrants to animals. Many are smugglers, he once said, adding that migrant men have “calves the … Continue reading The Economist: Steve King, Iowa’s most noxious politician, looks vulnerable
May
042020
The Hill TV: Iowa congressional candidate: ‘Travesty’ that meatpacking workers haven’t had protective equipment
J.D. Scholten, a Democratic congressional candidate in Iowa, called it a “travesty” Monday that meatpacking workers in the state haven’t had access to proper personal protective equipment (PPE) during the coronavirus pandemic. Scholten told Hill.TV that meatpacking plants’ setup allows for them to become hotbeds for the virus as employees “work in very close proximities.” … Continue reading The Hill TV: Iowa congressional candidate: ‘Travesty’ that meatpacking workers haven’t had protective equipment
Apr
302020
Unsanitized: J.D. Scholten on How to Revitalize Our Broken Food Systems
On Wednesday, Donald Trump signed an executive order that the press reported as intended to force open meatpacking plants using the Defense Production Act. It doesn’t actually force open meatpacking plants. It delegates to the Secretary of Agriculture and basically tells him to do something about it. It was more of a typical PR ploy from Trump, to show his base he … Continue reading Unsanitized: J.D. Scholten on How to Revitalize Our Broken Food Systems
Apr
302020
Iowa Starting Line: JD Scholten: Food Supply Chain Doesn’t Have to Be So Fragile
When it comes to the problem of outbreaks at meatpacking facilities and whether to temporarily shut them down, the workers at the plants and the farmers selling their livestock to plants are often pitted against each other. JD Scholten, who’s running for Rep. Steve King’s seat in Iowa’s Fourth District, rejects that premise. “It’s kind … Continue reading Iowa Starting Line: JD Scholten: Food Supply Chain Doesn’t Have to Be So Fragile
Apr
292020
The Intercept: SMALL FARMS, ALREADY STRESSED AND UNDERFUNDED, STRUGGLE FOR FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS RELIEF
BEFORE CORONAVIRUS HIT, farmers in the U.S. were already hurting from years of falling food prices, severe weather, and, more recently, President Donald Trump’s trade war. “We’ve had a record number of farm bankruptcies [in the U.S.], total farm debt is at $425 billion, [and farmer] incomes have fallen by about half since 2013,” said Eric Deeble, policy … Continue reading The Intercept: SMALL FARMS, ALREADY STRESSED AND UNDERFUNDED, STRUGGLE FOR FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS RELIEF
Feb
152020
Mother Jones: Is This the Year Democrats Finally Take Down Steve King?
On a Sunday evening in mid-November, J.D. Scholten stood in the Swaledale, Iowa, City Hall and spoke, as he often does, about sandwiches. Scholten, a Democratic candidate for Congress in the state’s once reliably red 4th Congressional District, was in the midst of a series of town halls he called the “Don’t Forget About Us” tour, … Continue reading Mother Jones: Is This the Year Democrats Finally Take Down Steve King?
Oct
312019
The Washington Post: For Trump, hints of trouble in ethanol country
Democratic congressional candidate J.D. Scholten rumbled his RV to a stop in the gravel a mile east of Pomeroy, Iowa, (pop. 612) on Tuesday. A man got out of a car blocking the road ahead and flagged down the aging Winnebago that serves as Scholten’s headquarters and road unit. John O’Brien of Fort Dodge marched up to … Continue reading The Washington Post: For Trump, hints of trouble in ethanol country
Oct
162019
Sioux City Journal: J.D. Scholten outraises Randy Feenstra, Steve King in latest quarter in Iowa 4th race
SIOUX CITY — Randy Feenstra moved past the half-million dollar mark in fundraising in his bid to unseat fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King. Meanwhile, J.D. Scholten, the sole Democrat in the Iowa 4th District race, scored the biggest campaign haul in the quarter. Scholten, who is seeking the seat for a second time after losing to King by … Continue reading Sioux City Journal: J.D. Scholten outraises Randy Feenstra, Steve King in latest quarter in Iowa 4th race
Sep
132019
Carroll Times Herald: Boost rural Iowa with modern tech jobs, Scholten, Khanna say
Between 2010 and 2017, 71 of Iowa’s counties lost population — most of them rural. J.D. Scholten and U.S. Congressman Ro Khanna of California believe the key to stop population loss and make large gains economically in rural Iowa is incumbent upon building a technological infrastructure. “We’ve got to bring technology to rural America and … Continue reading Carroll Times Herald: Boost rural Iowa with modern tech jobs, Scholten, Khanna say