Katie Byerly of Cerro Gordo County is also known as Iowa Prairie Girl on YouTube.

When I find a plant listed in multiple Midwestern states as “threatened” or “endangered,” I can’t help but wonder what the location looked like prior to the plant becoming a “special concern.”

We prairie lovers have all tried to imagine the tallgrass prairie waving and rolling over millions of acres across the great plains before they were settled. But what about the other habitats?

Iowa was also once covered with prairie potholes. I assume that like the tallgrass prairies, these too were blanketed with wildflowers. Many of those wetland plants are now hard to find. Earleaf false foxglove (Agalinis auriculata) isn’t necessarily a wetland plant, but it does like wet meadows, and sadly is listed as “rare” on many wildflower websites. 

Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes openness and transparency in Iowa’s state and local governments. He can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com. This essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, Stray Thoughts. 

In recent weeks, people from Cherokee, Des Moines, and Ottumwa have contacted the Iowa Freedom of Information Council with concerns about the refusal of local officials to share documents distributed to city council and school board members before they meet.

Typically, Iowa government boards and councils send their members document packets before each meeting so they have important background facts to help them make informed decisions. The materials often include staff reports on agenda topics, financial statements and analyses, proposed contracts, correspondence and recommended agreements.

The board packets promote informed governance. Members have time to read and digest relevant materials, study the facts, and prepare any questions in the days leading up to the public meeting.

Citizens deserve no less of an opportunity.

Ed Tibbetts, a longtime reporter and editor in the Quad-Cities, is the publisher of the Along the Mississippi newsletter, where this post first appeared. Find more of his work at edtibbetts.substack.com.

Suddenly, Ashley Hinson is trying to convince us she’s OK with Democrats; that she’s working with them to lower costs.

This is quite a change for Iowa’s wannabe senator. A year ago, she accused Democrats of trying to create a “crazy liberal dystopia.”

She said “radical left lunacy” had ruined states run by Democrats.

She accused Democrats of trying to push the U.S. “past the brink,” and she pledged her unending loyalty to Donald Trump, who regularly calls members of the Democratic Party “radical left dumocrats.”

“I will not let you down,” Hinson adoringly promised the president last year.

But now Hinson is trying to tell us she’s not so much MAGA as moderate; that she’s “working with people in both parties” to lower costs.

Tony Thompson, Ken Runde, and Kevin W. Techau jointly wrote this column. Thompson served as Black Hawk County sheriff and is a veteran of the U.S. Army and Iowa Army National Guard.

Runde served as Dubuque County sheriff and U.S. Marshal for the Northern District of Iowa. He is a Marine Corps veteran.

Techau served as Iowa’s Commissioner of Public Safety and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force and Iowa Air National Guard.

Attorney General Brenna Bird recently traveled with the Quad City Back the Blue Flight to Washington, D.C., where participants visited the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. Bird rightly noted that law enforcement officers put their lives on the line for us every day and deserve our gratitude. U.S. Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), and Zach Nunn (IA-03) have also declared their unwavering devotion to law enforcement, citing “Back the Blue” as a core pillar of their public service and campaign platforms.

We wholeheartedly agree with the sentiment. Consider the case of Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, whose name is inscribed on that very National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

Hannah Grip is the Iowa Environmental Council’s Energy Communications Associate.

Iowans who are concerned about the state’s interconnected water quality and public health crises have the opportunity to learn more and engage in solutions at the 2026 Iowa Environmental Council Annual Conference.  

The event takes place from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29, at the Olmsted Center at Drake University in Des Moines. General admission tickets are just $60, and students can attend for free (pre-registration is required.) Click here to see the full line-up and to register. 

The conference includes two keynote sessions that offer different lenses on water quality.

Diane Porter of Fairfield first published this post in late August on My Gaia, an email newsletter “about getting to know nature” and “giving her a helping hand in our own backyards.” Diane also maintains the Birdwatching Dot Com website and bird blog.

My garden has been a golden extravaganza this summer. Masses of Partridge Peas (Chamaecrista fasciculata) planted themselves with the seeds that fell from last year’s plants. For a couple of months, they have bloomed with enthusiasm and with no help from me.

And they’ve been mobbed with bumblebees.

The Partridge Pea patch 

Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column. This essay first appeared on Substack.

Last week the United States and its people soberly remembered the stunning terrorist attacks that weaponized jetliners to kill thousands of people in the American homeland on September 11, 2001. Their deaths constitute the most tragic effect of the episode, and they continue as open wounds for family and friends of the victims.

The attacks also generated a number of other consequences for U.S. leaders at the time and in the following months and years, as well as for U.S. government agencies and their practices, American attitudes, and our relations with other nations. It’s hard to overestimate the importance of the 9/11 effects, many of which continue to drive our thinking and actions yet today.

Nick Covington is an Iowa parent who taught high school social studies for ten years.

The culture war battles we fight over our public schools are fundamentally disagreements about American values: what does it mean to be an American, and in whose image do we build our public schools?

“When Americans start fighting over their schools, you can be fairly sure of one thing: it probably isn’t really about school.”

— Jennifer Berkshire & Jack Schneider,

The Education Wars: A Citizen’s Guide and Defense Manual

From working as Assistant Secretary of Education in the George H.W. Bush administration to laying the foundation of the modern conservative education reform movement, Diane Ravitch—a one-time champion of No Child Left Behind—spent most of her life as a Republican with conservative values. The story of her life, as told in her 2025 memoir, is the story of the American Century. As today’s culture war on “wokeness” and “leftist indoctrination” targets diversity, equity, and inclusion in schools, Ravitch’s memoir makes a powerful case study for teaching these core American values.

Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes openness and transparency in Iowa’s state and local governments. He can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com. This essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, Stray Thoughts. 

You would think a school district readily knows its A-B-C’s.

Not the Des Moines Public Schools — at least not when informing the public what its 6,600 employees were paid during the academic year that ended June 30.

Yes, grade school teachers still call roll in alphabetical order. And next spring’s high school graduates will walk across the stage as their names are announced, starting with the A’s and moving through to the Z’s.

But when publishing a list of its employees in July and how much taxpayers paid each one, the Des Moines Public Schools’ alphabet started with Tiara S. Ziegler. Next was Pia Marcell Stites, and the list continued in an anything-but-organized manner.

Jay Brown is a retired physician in Ames.

The enemy of authoritarianism is community. Our country needs more community. Now there’s a simple way to resurrect childhood friendships in the battle against President Donald Trump and his efforts to ruin our beloved country.   

Hallways.vote is a free website that uses public voter and public donation data crossed with high school yearbooks. The result allows the user to effortlessly find former classmates who share their convictions.

Kathie Obradovich is editor in chief of Iowa Capital Dispatch, which first published this article.

A coalition of Iowa organizations launched a campaign on September 9 opposing the November 3 ballot issue that will ask Iowa voters whether to amend the state constitution to require a two-thirds majority vote of lawmakers to raise state personal and corporate income taxes.

Fair Taxes for Iowa’s Future, which includes labor unions, progressive nonprofits and others, is planning an informational campaign opposing Amendment 1.

Anne Discher, executive director of Common Good Iowa, said people’s first impression of a law making it harder raise taxes tends to be favorable. But, she said, “When you actually talk to people about the tradeoffs that are required, the equation gets a lot more complicated. The more we talk to people about this amendment, the less people like it.”

Dave Miglin serves as treasurer on the Broadlawns Board of Trustees.

Polk County voters have an important choice to make for Broadlawns Medical Center, our county’s public hospital and one of the region’s most essential community institutions. At a time when health care is changing quickly and public hospitals face increasing pressure, Broadlawns needs steady, experienced, community-minded leadership. That is why voters should vote to return Emily Webb and Emily Westergaard to the Broadlawns Board of Trustees (labeled on the ballot as “County Hospital Trustee”).

Hospital trustees do not make headlines every day, and that is exactly why their work matters so much. They are responsible for asking hard questions, protecting the hospital’s mission, supporting safe and high-quality care, and ensuring that decisions are made with the long-term health of the community in mind. The best trustees bring judgment, preparation, independence, and a deep respect for the people who rely on the hospital in moments of vulnerability.

Julia Rendon is a retired minister in the United Church of Christ. As a member of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement, she has shamed businesses into paying their workers back wages, shone a light on predatory lending practices, and pressured the governor to reinstate the summer food program for kids. As a Christian, she believes that every person matters and everybody should have a voice in our life together, which is why she is working for free and fair elections in November. 

As we head into the November election, we can’t take our strong history of free and democratic elections for granted. Not even here in Iowa. 

Take Joey Norris for example. 

Joey volunteered in the 2024 election counting absentee ballots in Montgomery County, a job he took seriously. So, he was surprised to get kicked out of the counting room after voicing concerns over how ballots were being counted. Among other problems, multiple ballots were initially improperly rejected. Joey correctly pointed out they should be counted. He walked away without incident. 

Fast forward to this July. A year and a half after the fact, Joey faces a felony charge for first degree election misconduct. After posting bail, he is awaiting his trial scheduled for October. 

Chip Albright is a lifelong Midwesterner with rural Kansas roots and urban Iowa branches, an independent singer-songwriter, storyteller, and strategist seeking beauty and truth in this wild & wonderful world. Visit chipalbrightmusic.com for music and more.

Since I wrote “If It’s Turek, That’s Terrific!” earlier this year, I have witnessed Josh Turek up close and personal on many occasions. The more I see and hear him in action, the more I believe he is the resilient leader and pragmatic policymaker we so desperately need representing the people of Iowa in Washington, D.C.

My first personal interaction with Josh Turek was when an unknown number with a “712” area code rang my phone back in April. It didn’t say “potential spam,” so I went ahead and answered it. Josh was on the line— he heard the song I wrote about his candidacy and wanted to personally thank me for my efforts and support. He was in the midst of a heated race with Zach Wahls for the Democratic nomination but he made time for me — a single constituent with a simple folk song. We chatted for a spell; the whole experience was quite genuine.

Bruce Lear lives in Sioux City and has been connected to Iowa’s public schools for 38 years. He taught for eleven years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association regional director for 27 years until retiring. He can be reached at BruceLear2419@gmail.com 

It’s 36 counties covering 21,546 square miles across northern and western Iowa. It’s the state’s largest Congressional district, but often overlooked, neglected, and forgotten by politicians and pundits.

Iowa’s fourth district is treated as fly-over country—except by the 801,546 people who call it home. I’m one of those people, and I vote.

Why is this huge area ignored?

Dan Piller was a business reporter for more than four decades, working for the Des Moines Register and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He covered the oil and gas industry while in Texas and was the Register’s agriculture reporter before his retirement in 2013. He lives in Ankeny.

A visitor to Iowa’s two largest university campuses might see the expanded football stadiums complete with private luxury suites whose games attract billion-dollar television contracts, gleaming indoor practice facilities and athlete residences, dining halls and training centers that would rival a fine resort. And they might well wonder why anyone would think Congress needs to pass a “Protect College Sports Act.”

It turns out that college sports needs to be saved from itself. The culprit is that old bogey; money.

Why some want Congress involved with college sports

The 69 universities in the so-called “power conferences” that call themselves “big time” apparently don’t have a clue about how to govern themselves, despite their location on campuses that hold what are supposedly our best minds. Where private, for profit professional sports have endured their various crises with strongmen commissioners, college sports long has long been run by parochial, oligarchical interests that have resisted central control.

Former Des Moines Register assistant sports editor Ira Lacher writes about the games and business of sports for various newspapers and magazines.

“Are you not entertained? Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” 

The quote is from the 2000 film Gladiator, which followed a deposed Roman nobleman’s quest to avenge the executions of his wife and children. But it could easily be applied to the modern gladiator sport: American football, which brought in about $14.5 billion in revenue in 2025.

According to recent polling, Americans consider football our most popular sport by almost a 2-to-1 margin over baseball. Regular-season NFL games averaged 18.7 million viewers in 2025. By contrast, the top non-NFL telecast last year, a typical episode of the CBS series Tracker, averaged a mere 11 million.

Those who have examined the sport academically understand that unlike gladiator contests, football is hardly a death dealer: Only one NFL player, Chuck Hughes, of the Detroit Lions, died during a game, in 1971.

But players get hurt. Seriously hurt. 

Katie Byerly of Cerro Gordo County is also known as Iowa Prairie Girl on YouTube. Her video about wild parsnip is at the end of this post.

I don’t use the word hate often. If you asked me if I liked black licorice, I would say “I don’t like black licorice.” I know I wouldn’t say “I hate black licorice.” Hate is a strong word, and I avoid using it. But I’m going to use it here: I hate wild parsnip!

Charles Bruner is a former Democratic Iowa legislator (1978-1990), was the founding director of Iowa Child and Family Policy Center (1990-2015, now Common Good Iowa), and is national director of the InCK Marks Initiative’s Child Health Equity Leadership Group.

I am pretty certain all of this year’s Iowa Democratic candidates for the U.S. House and Senate would have voted for the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, and the Build Back Better Infrastructure Act of 2021. I am pretty certain they all would have voted against the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025.

I am also sure all Republicans running for Congress in Iowa this year would have done the exact opposite. (Representatives Ashley Hinson, Marianette Miller-Meeks, and Zach Nunn did vote that way on the bills that coincided with their tenure in Congress.)

I am sure of it because all of those votes were on strict party lines. The Tax Cut and Jobs Act and One Big Beautiful Bill Act did not even seek any bipartisan support, as Republicans approved them through the budget reconciliation process.

“Not enough people know the story about how this court got captured by a bunch of creepy right-wing billionaires,” U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse told hundreds of Iowa Democrats on August 29.

The senator from Rhode Island used much of his speech at the Polk County Steak Fry to describe what he and U.S. Representative Jamie Raskin—another featured speaker at the event in Des Moines—would be able to accomplish as leaders of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees, if Democrats gain control of Congress after the November elections.