Iowa Public Television announces new Iowa Press host

Veteran political journalist David Yepsen, nationally recognized as an expert on the Iowa political scene, will return to Iowa Press as the program host in early 2017. Yepsen takes the reigns from Dean Borg, whose retirement from the statewide network and Iowa Press was announced last week. Yepsen, a frequent guest panelist at the Iowa Press table since the late 1970s, has appeared on countless network programs, including PBS NewsHour, and CNN, Fox, MSNBC and CSPAN programs. He recently returned to Iowa after retiring as director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, where he served since 2009.

“David’s return to Iowa Public Television and specifically as host of Iowa Press continues the high level of professionalism that Iowans have come to expect from IPTV,” said Molly Phillips, IPTV Executive Director and General Manager. “David covered every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2008, and was an integral part of IPTV’s public affairs programming for more than 30 years. He brings a lifelong love of politics, expertise on the Iowa Caucuses and insightful analysis honed over decades of hard work as one of America’s best political reporters to his role as host of the state’s longest running public affairs television program. Whether it is legislative business at the Iowa General Assembly, an interview with a political figure or an issue of statewide or national importance, David’s objectivity and analysis ensure that the Iowa Press panel will continue to educate, inform, enrich and inspire Iowans.”

A native of Jefferson, Iowa, Yepsen covered government and politics for The Des Moines Register for 32 years. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor of General Studies in 1972 and earned a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) degree at Drake University in 1985. Yepsen was a fall fellow Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy in 1989, and in 2008 was a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard.

In accepting the position, Yepsen said “It’s a tremendous honor to return ‘home’ to Iowa Press. I have great respect for Dean Borg and for the reputation he helped build for the program. It is Iowa’s most trusted resource for public policy evaluation and political analysis, and the best platform for civic and civil discourse on the critical issues we face as a state and nation. I’m excited to be part of that conversation.”

David Yepsen begins as host and moderator on Iowa Press Friday, Jan. 20. Dean Borg’s last day will be Friday, Jan. 13, following IPTV’s live coverage of the Condition of the State on Tuesday, Jan. 10.