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.
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The Iowa caucuses, closely watched during presidential election years, have more of a local focus during midterm election years but aren't totally devoid of presidential chatter.
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In Iowa, a state senator is trying to keep his seat after leaving the GOP because of Donald Trump. Sen. David Johnson's bid illustrates the promise and perils of independent runs.
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To save money, Iowa recently turned over its Medicaid recipients to private managed care companies. Now, some companies are losing money and some people say they're not getting necessary care.
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Many conservative lawmakers and pundits are critical of President Trump for talking to Democrats about immigration. But Trump's voters don't seem to mind.
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The trailer in a human smuggling case in Texas that left 10 people dead belonged to a small-town trucking company in Iowa. The incident has helped raised awareness among truckers.
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Distrust in the media has become a oft-cited trope in the cable news cycle. But one staple of American journalism seems to have avoided the "fake news" characterization — small-town newspapers.
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Iowa's freshman Sen. Joni Ernst hosted a herd of potential Republican presidential candidates for her first-ever Roast and Ride event, asserting herself as a force in presidential politics.
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Three albums into his folk rebirth, the former rocker feels like he's finally come into his own.
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The singer was once known as the first crossover Christian indie-rock musician. His band Pedro the Lion sold hundreds of thousands of records. But then Bazan began questioning the God he grew up with and sang about — and alienated many of his fans in the process.