{"podcast":{"title":"Talk of Iowa","slug":"talk-of-iowa-414017","podcast_index_feed_id":414017,"rss_url":"https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa/rss.xml","website_url":"https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa","image_url":"https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/9a61a0c/2147483647/strip/false/crop/3000x3000+0+0/resize/2000x2000!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Ffc%2F1e%2F9934f5954530b07ce5909731db38%2Ftalk-of-iowa-podcast.png","author":"Iowa Public Radio (digitalservices@iowapublicradio.org)","episode_count":100,"summary":"Talk of Iowa is a place for Iowans to connect to our shared culture and what it means to live in Iowa. Host Charity Nebbe brings a mix of regular guests and a range of experts to discuss the arts, history, literature and everything else happening in Iowa. Every day brings something new — even if it's in a recurring segment like Talk of Iowa Book Club or comes from a familiar voice on Horticulture Day.","last_synced_at":"2026-08-01T16:19:10.782815+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-of-iowa-414017"},"episode":{"title":"Funding cuts threaten public libraries across Iowa","slug":"funding-cuts-threaten-public-libraries-across-iowa","published_at":"2026-07-24T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-of-iowa-414017/funding-cuts-threaten-public-libraries-across-iowa","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-of-iowa-414017","url":"https://www.iowapublicradio.org/podcast/talk-of-iowa/2026-07-24/funding-cuts-threaten-public-libraries-across-iowa","audio_url":"https://traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/4c9587f2-e550-4709-b293-ad0300ce922d/3385bb4b-899e-431e-86a1-ad6b00d98a32/c0e9e968-577f-45cc-b48a-b49001480366/audio.mp3","summary":"In 2023, the Iowa Legislature overhauled our property tax system with overwhelming bipartisan support. Part of that overhaul changed the way that many Iowa libraries and museums are funded, and the consequences of that change are making themselves known. On this episode, we talk with Billie Bailey, the retired executive director of the Grout Museum District in Waterloo, and Cindy Wells, president of the Board of Trustees for the Waterloo Public Library. Over 90% of the affected libraries and museums are at risk of budget cuts before the end of the 5-year sunset period, according to a report compiled by Bailey and Wells. Then, when tractors replaced horse-drawn implements, it revolutionized agriculture, and competition among tractor makers was fierce. We talk with Peter Tubbs, producer of Tractor Wars and Tractor Wars II from Iowa PBS, which tells that story. (Iowa PBS is an underwriter of IPR.)","meta_description":"In 2023, the Iowa Legislature overhauled our property tax system with overwhelming bipartisan support. Part of that overhaul changed the way that many Iow…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2869,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/talk-of-iowa-414017/episodes/funding-cuts-threaten-public-libraries-across-iowa/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/talk-of-iowa-414017/funding-cuts-threaten-public-libraries-across-iowa.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}