skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, December 2, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Heavy lake-effect snow dumps more than 5 feet over parts of Great Lakes region; Study: Fish farms consume far more wild fish than previously thought; Maryland's federal workers prepare to defend their jobs; Federal investments help bolster MA workforce training programs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

President-elect Trump's pick to lead the FBI says he'll eradicate the "deep state," Democrats say President Biden's pardon of his son could haunt them and new allegations surface regarding the man Trump has tapped to lead the Pentagon.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Residents in Colorado's rural communities face challenges to recycling, climate change and Oregon's megadrought are worrying firefighters, and a farm advocacy group says corporate greed is behind high food prices in Montana.

Iowa ramps up push to register young voters

play audio
Play

Thursday, February 22, 2024   

Election officials in Iowa are upping their efforts to increase political participation among the state's youngest voters. A registration event has netted thousands of new voters - who are teens.

Iowa law requires high schools to conduct two voter registration drives every year to educate students.

This year, Secretary of State Paul Pate set aside a single day to turn the education into action, and get eligible high school students registered.

In Iowa, 17-year-olds who will be 18 by November of an election year can vote in primaries, and Pate travels the state to teach kids how government affects them.

"I ask young people, 'How many of you work a part-time job?' And hands go up," said Pate. "And I go, 'Well then, you're paying taxes right now - and you have no voice in how much you should be paying and where it goes.' Really, state and local government has a huge impact on these young people. So, we start with that message."

Pate said 4,500 17-year-olds are registered to vote as a result of the efforts. That's 1,100 more than were registered six months ago.

Pate said often, getting students registered to vote is the hard part. Once they're signed up, it's important for them to learn about the issues - and that happens in ways new and old.

"Still, the number one influencer is their family, so they're still having that conversation around the dinner table," said Pate. "And of course, the second one coming into it is social media - and their friends coming right in, close to third. So those are the audiences we have to play to, to instill in them why they need to be voters."

In yet another effort to encourage participation, Iowa held a straw poll for teens just before the state's first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses last month. Six thousand students cast ballots.

Donald Trump came out on top in the Republican contest - and Marianne Williamson, who has since dropped out of the presidential race, won on the Democratic side.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




get more stories like this via email

more stories
If New York established an unemployment bridge program, 750,000 workers would be eligible for its benefits. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrant New Yorkers want lawmakers to create an unemployment bridge program. It would support unemployed workers who are ineligible for state …


Social Issues

play sound

A New York organization believes universal public childcare can be implemented in five years. New Yorkers United for Child Care is using its newly …

Social Issues

play sound

Federal investments are helping the city of Boston develop greater workforce training programs. The city received $23 million in 2022 to develop …


Fourteen states prohibit transgender people from using the restroom consistent with their gender identity, according to Human Rights Campaign. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

By Andrew Tobias for Signal Cleveland.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Ohio News Connection reporting for the Signal Ohio-Public News Service …

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient.Broadcast version by Kathryn Carley for Maine News Service reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collabora…

Animal nutritionists confirm sugar is a key energy source for cows, due to its concentrated and rapidly digestible nature. (Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

By Jessica Scott-Reid for Sentient Climate.Broadcast version by Danielle Smith for Keystone State News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public Ne…

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakotans passed Amendment F on Election Day, opening the door to impose work requirements on people who qualify for expanded Medicaid benefits…

Social Issues

play sound

For some, apprenticeships provide more than just a job, they offer a career path. Industry leaders are working around the clock, not only on their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021