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Suspect held after woman set on fire in NY subway car dies; Trump threatens to take back Panama Canal over 'ridiculous' fees; A year of growth for juvenile diversion programs in SD; The ups and downs of combating rural grocery deserts in ND; Report: AZ one of eight Western states that could improve conservation policies.

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Congress passes a last-minute budget stopgap. Trump's second-term tariffs could harm farmers, and future budget cuts could reduce much-needed federal programs.

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Rural folks could soon be shut out of loans for natural disasters if Project 2025 has its way, Taos, New Mexico weighs options for its housing shortage, and the top states providing America's Christmas trees revealed.

IA group offers successful messaging as national blueprint

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Monday, February 5, 2024   

An Iowa advocacy group has won a high-profile award from the Analyst Institute, which measures how well a group's message reaches citizens.

Progress Iowa says it is meticulous about its research and how the group shares what it learns. An ad about revitalized housing in Ottumwa won an award.

Another example is the website 'IowaAtWork.com.'

It provides granular detail on how the $13.5 million in federal infrastructure money has been spent in Iowa, down to the smallest projects in the tiniest towns.

Progress Iowa Executive Director Matt Sinovic said the website is a blueprint for how other communities could share information.

"We worked with local messengers," said Sinovic, "to really provide a clearer picture about the impact of Biden administration policies on peoples' day-to-day lives, and the research we used proved that it worked."

Critics of progressive and liberal politics, and of the current administration, attack efforts like these as just raw politics.

Sinovic said Progress Iowa teaches other organizations about effective ways to use social media.

It also launched a crowd-sourcing website, called 'IowaVoices.org,' where people can report their communities' successes at the grassroots, local level.

Sinovic said 'IowaVoices.org' marks the next step in Progress Iowa's research campaign, by asking Iowans to describe whether the infrastructure money is making a difference in their communities.

"Our focus was on local messengers," said Sinovic. "We wanted to communicate our values, and share the impact that these Biden administration have been having, by encouraging people to use their own voice to tell their own story in their communities."

Sinovic offers a 10% increase in President Joe Biden's approval rating in the state as evidence of the effectiveness of Progress Iowa's messaging.



Disclosure: Progress Iowa contributes to our fund for reporting on Budget Policy & Priorities, Environment, Health Issues, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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