Clay Masters
Clay Masters is Iowa Public Radio’s Morning Editionhost and lead political reporter. He was part of a team of member station political reporters who covered the 2016 presidential race for NPR. He also covers environmental issues.
Clay joined the Iowa Public Radio newsroom as a statehouse correspondent in 2012 and started hosting Morning Edition in 2014. Clay is an award-winning multi-media journalist whose radio stories have been heard on various NPR and American Public Media programs.
He was one of the founding reporters of Harvest Public Media, the regional journalism consortium covering agriculture and food production in the Midwest. He was based in Lincoln, Nebraska where he worked for Nebraska’s statewide public radio and television network.
He’s also an occasional music contributor to NPR’s arts desk.
Clay’s favorite NPR program is All Things Considered.
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Iowa's Political Landscape Looks Different Than When Trump Last VisitedPresident Trump returns to Iowa on Wednesday — a state he won comfortably in 2016 but is suddenly competitive amid the coronavirus pandemic and a struggling farm sector.
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U.S. Rep. Steve King, who's made racist remarks, next week faces a tight primary. His GOP challengers are focused on whether he can be effective now that he's lost his committee assignments.
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Some municipal water utilities are taking emergency measures to sequester some employees to assure that they can keep the water flowing as the coronavirus spreads.
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Iowans are waking up to a surprise turn in their first-of-the-nation vote: no results. Technical issues and inconsistencies have kept Democratic Party officials from reporting their results.
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State Auditor Rob Sand is often mentioned as a potential candidate for higher office but despite being courted by Democratic presidential campaigns, Sand says endorsements "barely" matter "at all." -
Democratic presidential candidates are attending a major party celebration in Iowa, which was the setting that helped launch Barack Obama on his way to the White House 12 years ago.
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Presidential Contenders Barnstorm Iowa; Poll Shows Warren Ahead Of BidenWhile Democratic presidential candidates were campaigning over the weekend in Iowa, a poll came out showing Elizabeth Warren taking the lead in the state. Former Vice President Biden had been leading.
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Presidential Candidates Make An Entrance At Polk County Steak FryDemocratic presidential contenders showed up for Saturday's traditional Steak Fry in Des Moines where they flipped burgers and made their case to voters.
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Farmers in the Midwest say they are struggling because of President Trump's ongoing trade war, and a recent decision on renewable fuels made from corn and soybeans that benefits the oil industry.
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The Iowa State Fair is a staple of presidential campaigns. It's often a spectacle, and that's been magnified with so many Democrats running in the 2020 campaign.
