Author

Kathie Obradovich
Iowa Capital Dispatch Editor Kathie Obradovich has been covering Iowa government and politics for more than 30 years, most recently as political columnist and opinion editor for the Des Moines Register. She previously covered the Iowa Statehouse for 10 years for newspapers in Davenport, Waterloo, Sioux City, Mason City and Muscatine. She is a leading voice on Iowa politics and makes regular appearances on state, national and international news programs. She has led national-award-winning coverage of the Iowa Caucuses and the Register’s Iowa Poll.
GOP presidential campaign messaging needs a reality check
By: Kathie Obradovich - June 7, 2023
It’s been a while since I attended an Iowa caucus cattle call. After spending most of Saturday at Sen. Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride event at the Iowa State fairgrounds, featuring eight GOP presidential candidates, I was most surprised by how little things change. In a lot of ways, it could have been the summer […]
Misinformation is deadly. What are we going to do about it?
By: Kathie Obradovich - April 27, 2022
Misinformation is deadly. It kills humans and democracy. All of us have some responsibility for this serious threat to society. All of us are affected by it, regardless of whether we use social media. And all of us need to do something about it. The examples are hard to ignore: An insurrection at the U.S. […]
Let’s not get fooled again: Fight the lies by learning to recognize the truth
By: Kathie Obradovich - January 15, 2021
We have a crisis of credulity in this country. We’ve become a nation of dupes. The inability of far too many Americans to separate fact from fantasy, and the people who are eager to take advantage of that failure, are the root of the rot in our country. The consequences, long evident, should now be […]
Grief over Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and dread for what comes next
By: Kathie Obradovich - September 28, 2020
Bereft. That’s the only word I can think of that fits how I felt at the news of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. It’s not just about the loss of a stalwart warrior for equality and justice for people like me. Without Ginsburg, perhaps our country still would not recognize a constitutional right against sex […]