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Steffen W. Schmidt

Lucken Endowed Professor of Political Science, Iowa State University
Steffen Schmidt earned a PhD in Public Law and Government from Columbia Univesirt, New York. He is a founding and sustaining member of LULAC Council 307 in Iowa, one of the oldest Hispanic community and leadership organizations. He also served as the Chair of the Iowa Governor's Spanish Speaking Commission (later renamed Dept. of Latino Affairs.) He was born and grew up in Cali, Colombia.

He is the author of 10 books including two on identity theft. Co-author of American Government and Politics Today: 19th Edition. Author of many articles and columns on Latin America, US issues, Cyber threats, the politics of Disruption (keynote), and women in politics. Frequent politics commentator of American and international media. Recipient of the Iowa Governor's Volunteer Award for work with the Latino community and former chair of the Iowa Governor's Spanish Speaking Commission (Department of Latino Affairs.)

US under Trump Series

Why the race for the presidency begins with the Iowa caucus

Dec 31, 2019 06:31 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The first and most visible test of candidate support in the 2020 presidential election is the Iowa presidential caucus, which takes place on Feb. 3. While Iowa does not control who becomes the candidate of each party,...

Democrats can't count on Latinos to swing the midterms

Oct 29, 2018 20:01 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Democrats are ready to turn out in record numbers for Novembers midterm elections, surveys show, particularly women and older voters. But not all members of the party are as motivated. Democrats have a Latino...

4 reasons why anti-Trump Latino voters won't swing the midterms

Aug 21, 2018 16:23 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The Democratic Party shouldnt count on Latinos swinging many midterm races their way this year. Approximately 27.3 million U.S. Latinos are eligible to vote in Novembers midterm elections 12 percent of all eligible...

Economy

Japan's Private Sector Growth Slows in March Amid Rising Costs and Middle East Uncertainty

Japans private sector expansion lost steam in March 2025, with both manufacturing and services activity cooling as geopolitical tensions in the Middle East drove up business costs and dampened confidence, according to the...

Australia-EU Free Trade Deal Signed After Years of Negotiations

Australia and the European Union have officially signed a landmark free trade agreement, marking the end of years of negotiations and opening a new chapter in economic relations between the two regions. The deal gained...

Suspicious Oil Market Trades Precede Trump's Iran Peace Post by 15 Minutes

Financial markets are buzzing with controversy after a report by the Financial Times revealed that roughly $580 million in oil futures were traded just 15 minutes before President Donald Trump published a post on Truth...

U.S. Futures Slide as Iran Denies Nuclear Talks with Washington

U.S. stock index futures declined Monday evening after Iran officially denied engaging in any diplomatic discussions with Washington, contradicting earlier statements from President Donald Trump that suggested progress...

Oil Prices Rebound as Iran Denies U.S. Talks, Middle East Tensions Persist

Oil prices climbed in early Asian trading on Tuesday after Irans parliament speaker flatly denied that any negotiations with the United States had occurred since the start of the war directly contradicting statements made...

Politics

U.S. Senate Confirms Markwayne Mullin as New Homeland Security Secretary

The U.S. Senate has confirmed Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, successfully passing his nomination with a majority vote. Mullin steps into the role vacated by Kristi Noem, taking...

Palestinian Activist Leqaa Kordia Released from U.S. Immigration Detention After Judge's Order

Palestinian activist Leqaa Kordia, 33, has been released from a U.S. immigration detention facility in Texas following a federal judges ruling, marking the end of over a year in custody. Kordia, who grew up in the...

TSA Absences Surge During Government Shutdown as ICE Agents Prepare Airport Deployment

Airport security across the United States is facing a serious staffing crisis as the partial government shutdown enters its fifth week. The Department of Homeland Security reported that Transportation Security...

Iran Threatens Gulf Infrastructure as U.S.-Israel War Enters Critical 48-Hour Window

Tensions in the Middle East have reached a dangerous new flashpoint after Iran threatened to strike energy and water infrastructure across Gulf nations if the United States carries out President Donald Trumps warning to...

Trump Links DHS Funding to Voter ID Legislation

President Donald Trump declared Sunday that he would block any Department of Homeland Security funding agreement unless Congressional Democrats first pass the Save America Act a bill that would require Americans to show...

Science

SpaceX Pivots Toward Moon City as Musk Reframes Long-Term Space Vision

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has revealed a significant shift in the companys near-term space exploration strategy, announcing that SpaceX is now prioritizing the development of a self-growing city on the Moon rather than focusing...

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Technology

Elon Musk Announces Terafab: SpaceX and Tesla to Build Dual AI Chip Factories in Austin, Texas

Elon Musk revealed plans for a massive dual-chip manufacturing complex called Terafab in Austin, Texas, set to be jointly developed by SpaceX and Tesla. The announcement marks a significant step in Musks broader strategy...

NVIDIA's Feynman AI Chip May Face Redesign Amid TSMC Capacity Crunch

NVIDIA could be forced to redesign its next-generation Feynman artificial intelligence chip platform as contract manufacturing giant TSMC struggles to keep pace with surging global demand. According to a report from...

Elliott Investment Management Takes Multibillion-Dollar Stake in Synopsys

Activist hedge fund Elliott Investment Management has quietly built a multibillion-dollar position in Synopsys, the electronic design automation (EDA) giant, signaling a push for stronger financial performance from one of...

Palantir's Maven AI Earns Pentagon "Program of Record" Status, Reshaping Military AI Strategy

Palantir Technologies (NASDAQ: PLTR) is drawing renewed investor and industry attention after the U.S. Department of Defense officially designated its Maven Smart System as a program of record, a classification that...

Amazon's "Transformer" Phone: Can It Succeed Where Fire Phone Failed?

Amazon is quietly developing a new smartphone, codenamed Transformer, marking the companys return to mobile hardware more than a decade after its Fire Phone disaster. According to sources familiar with the initiative, the...