The Hawk Eye
In late April, the New York Times published a front-page article about Iowa politics that centered around Burlington and its flip from blue to red in 2016.
As the article circulated throughout town, residents called the radio station to take issue with its portrayal of Burlington, including an insinuation that locals had to drive several hours to get shoes.
“Look right here,” said Terry Davis, chairman of the Des Moines County Republican Party, as he sat in the parking lot of Dicks Sporting Goods on Agency Street. There are two places to buy shoes.”
It was not long ago that Davis sat in the parking lot with a Trip Gabriel, a reporter from the Times. The plan had been to drive around town, talking politics along the way. But the reporter said staying in the parking lot was fine, so the men climbed into Davis’ 2017 white pickup truck and talked about why Davis thought Republicans had been successful in flipping Des Moines County from blue