Clay Masters
Clay Masters is Iowa Public Radio's Morning Edition host 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.
Climate change is making it harder to provide clean drinking water in farm country
The largest water utility in Iowa is sounding alarms that it won't be able to keep up with cleaning the water for more than 600,000 customers as extreme weather swings become more common.
Regional Interests
MLB's 'Field Of Dreams' Game Brings Baseball To Iowa
The New York Yankees and Chicago White Sox are playing the first Major League Baseball game in Iowa on Thursday — in the small town of Dyersville, where the 1989 movie Field of Dreams was shot.
Iowa Plans Events To Attract Large Crowds Just Like Pre-Pandemic Occasions
Public health experts in Iowa are concerned that officials might be moving too fast to reopen the state with big events since demand for COVID-19 vaccinations has weakened.
Trial Begins For Reporter Who Was Arrested Despite Identifying Herself As Media
The trial started Monday for the Des Moines Register reporter, Andrea Sahouri, who was arrested while covering a protest after George Floyd's death even though she identified herself as media.
Iowa Sees Pressure To Reopen Schools, But Safety Fears Persist
Iowa's governor is ordering K-12 schools offer students 100% in-person learning. But Iowa doesn't have a mask mandate, all teachers and staff aren't vaccinated and social distancing is a challenge.
Democrats Weigh Whether Iowa Should Stay 1st In Line For 2024 Election
Iowa's decades-long lock on the nominating process has been under threat since last year's disastrous caucus, when results were delayed for days in part because of a faulty smartphone app.
Democratic National Committee Will Examine Future Of Iowa Caucuses
Members of the DNC have their first meeting of the Biden era on Thursday. They will consider whether Iowa should keep its place at the front of the presidential nominating process.
Pandemic Promotes Unexpected Music Collaborations
The pandemic has affected many musicians' lives. While they've been forced off busy touring schedules and out of concert halls, some have completed projects for which they needed some extra time.
'So Skeptical': As Election Nears, Iowa Senator Under Pressure For COVID-19 Remarks
The race for Joni Ernst's seat could help determine control of the Senate. At a recent campaign event, the GOP lawmaker echoed a debunked conspiracy theory about the pandemic's death toll.
You Haven't Heard The Last Of Iowa This Election Cycle
After disastrous Democratic caucuses earlier this year, both Republicans and Democrats are giving the state a lot of attention and money in the run-up to November.