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# Making Public Service Work: A Podcast With Tom Harkin
- URL: https://www.investigatemidwest.org/making-public-service-work-a-podcast-with-former-u-s-sen-tom-harkin/
- Published: 2018-04-16T12:00:36.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-11T02:21:44.000Z
- Description: The IowaWatch Connection caught up with former Sen. Tom Harkin recently for a wide ranging interview about the influence of money, social media and other things that go with public service, plus work done at the Drake University institute bearing his name.
- Author: Jeff Stein
- Tags: Labor, iowawatch, The Lead Story, Americans with Disabilities Act, Drake University, employment, nutrition, Tom Harkin, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-06-18 04:56

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Tom Harkin left the U.S. Senate in January 2015 after serving 30 years there and another 10 in the U.S. House but keeps busy checking in on work being done by The Harkin Institute at Drake University.

[The institute](http://harkininstitute.drake.edu/who-we-are/our-values/?ref=investigatemidwest.org), which houses documents from Harkin’s work in public service and supports research and programming, was created to provide information for informed discussion about public policy in the following areas: labor and employment, people with disabilities, retirement security and wellness and nutrition.

The IowaWatch Connection caught up with Harkin recently for a wide ranging interview about the influence of money, new methods of communicating such as social media and other things that go with public service, but also work being done at the Drake institute bearing his name.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/cd/d3/cdd3c059-8898-40b1-bcf7-cb2d3aa89775/content/images/2026/09/Logo_with-IaInsuranceDiv.jpg)