Laura Belin

Workshops: 1. Finding and Using Public Information. 2. Using Social Media Without Feeding the Trolls

Laura Belin has decades of political reporting experience, including 18 years at the independent Iowa website Bleeding Heartland. Des Moines City View’s “Civic Skinny” called her “probably the hardest-working — and perhaps the best — political reporter in the state” and “one of the best investigative reporters in the state.” The Fix at the Washington Post named Belin as one of Iowa’s outstanding political reporters in 2020 and previously named Bleeding Heartland among the “best state-based political blogs.” Politico put Belin on its list of “early state must-follows.” Charles Pierce of Esquire has called Bleeding Heartland an “essential Iowa political blog.” Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo wrote in 2025, “On Iowa I strongly recommend Laura Belin for a smart, skeptical look at the state’s politics.”

In addition to her work at Bleeding Heartland, Laura has been a part-time statehouse reporter for KHOI Community Radio in Ames since 2021 and has published on Substack since 2022.

After Governor Kim Reynolds’ staff stopped responding to public records requests during the COVID-19 pandemic, Laura was one of the plaintiffs in a 2021 lawsuit against the governor and her office. The Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling in Belin v Reynolds has since been cited in other state open records cases. In January 2024, the Institute for Free Speech represented Belin in a federal lawsuit over the Iowa House chief clerk’s repeated refusal to grant her press credentials. Several days later, the House chief clerk approved Belin’s application.

Learn more about Laura: https://www.bleedingheartland.com

Laura is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Subscribe to her Substack column here:  https://laurabelin.substack.com

Workshops:

“Finding and Using Public Information.” Topics covered include: How to look for material that’s already in the public domain, doing your research before you file a public records requests, the basics about seeking public records and some pitfalls to avoid, plus some tricks Laura has learned from many years of seeking information from state and local government bodies.

“Using Social Media Without Feeding the Trolls.” Topics covered include: Identifying your goals and which social media platforms will help you reach them, how much time to dedicate to social media, how to build a following and find people with common interests, and how to engage with sincere commenters—but not trolls.

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