Robin Opsahl covers the state legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared.

Iowa is expected to spend over $1 billion more than it raises in revenues in the current fiscal year, the Revenue Estimating Conference found on October 16 — but Iowa Department of Management Director Kraig Paulsen said this prediction remains in line with Republicans’ expectations about the initial impacts of income tax cuts.

The Revenue Estimating Conference, a three-member panel, met to discuss the state’s expected economic outlook. When the conference last met in March, the members projected state revenues would decline by 9.3 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2026, but that the state would see a 4.4 percent increase in revenue growth in fiscal year 2027.

With the books closed for FY 2026, Iowa saw a 7.1 percent decrease in revenue compared to the previous year — a drop of just under $635 million. Jennifer Acton, the director of the Fiscal Services division of the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, said this figure means revenues for the year were $205 million higher than the REC projected. But, she said, the year was still significant for being “the third year in a row with a net revenue decrease after 90 straight years of net revenue increases.”

Ric Zarwell, John A. Lundell, and Kevin W. Techau co-authored this column. Zarwell is a lifelong Allamakee County conservationist, birder, and former president of the Allamakee County Protectors, known for advocating for the land and water of the Driftless Area. 

Lundell is a former mayor of Coralville (2013 – 2021) and ten-year City Council member. He is a member of the Iowa League of Cities Hall of Fameand a recognized water quality advocate.

Techau is a longtime Iowa conservation advocate who served as executive director and board chair of Keep Iowa Beautiful, served on the Iowa Environmental Council board,and enforced the Clean Water Act as U.S. Attorney for Iowa’s Northern District.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is failing her most fundamental job: protecting the health, safety, and lives of the people who elected her. Instead of acting as a vigorous steward of our environment, Bird has abandoned the state’s top environmental enforcement duties, shielding corporate polluters while everyday Iowans pay the price.

This is not a matter of routine political theater; it is a profound case of malfeasance.

Brian McLain is a co-chair of the Iowa Democratic Party’s Platform Committee and former chair of the party’s Progressive Caucus.

Every two years, hundreds of Iowa Democratic Party members come together to determine the direction they want the Party to go. It is a long process requiring hours of meetings, debate, and discussion that eventually culminates in a single document, offering a picture of where the base stands on the issues at the time. It is truly one of the most democratic processes that one can take part in and a testament to what can be achieved in a party whose members don’t always see eye to eye with each other.

Typically this document is available on the Iowa Democratic Party website after the bi-annual convention. However, for some unknown reason the 2026 platform has not been published yet. So in honor of the hard work that the Platform Committee has put into this document, we are taking it upon ourselves to bring the platform to you through this medium.

Nature nerd Emily Bredthauer took the pictures enclosed below in August and September. (It’s better not to be too specific about the location of rare wildflowers.)

I am of the opinion that Indigenous people should be celebrated every day. I am constantly full of gratitude for the people who have cared for the earth, plants, water, and wildlife that I enjoy here in Iowa. In celebration of this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I’d like to share some wisdom from one of my favorite Indigenous authors, Robin Wall Kimmerer: “In indigenous ways of knowing, it is understood that each living being has a particular role to play. Every being is endowed with certain gifts, its own intelligence, its own spirit, its own story.”

This essay will introduce Great Plains’ Ladies’ Tresses (Spiranthes magnicamporum) and share some of this plant’s gifts and story.

Phil Montag is a Des Moines area activist and serves on the board of the Iowa Unity Coalition.

Listening to Zach Lahn on the Iowa gubernatorial campaign trail for the past year has been quite a show. To his credit, from the beginning he has put ecology, sustainable agriculture, and water quality front and center in ways that I wish politicians would do more often. 

After watching Randy Feenstra and Adam Steen trying to out-Trump each other and race to the bottom of banal human depravity and white grievance, part of me was happy to see Lahn win the Republican primary. 

Zach Lahn celebrates with supporters on primary election night (photo first published on his campaign’s Facebook page)

Iowans will decide this November whether to allow three Iowa Court of Appeals judges and 85 trial court judges to remain on the bench. Since our state adopted the current judicial selection system in 1962, each judge must periodically go on the ballot—every eight years for Iowa Supreme Court justices, every six years for those serving on other courts. (None of the seven Iowa Supreme Court justices is up for retention this year.)

Iowa voters have retained almost all judges over the past six decades. But any jurist who receives more “no” than “yes” votes in November—as happened with three Iowa Supreme Court justices in 2010—will be out of a job. The next governor would fill any vacancies in early 2027, after receiving a list of finalists from the State Judicial Nominating Commission (for the Iowa Court of Appeals) or its district-level counterpart (for District Court judges).

While some people routinely approve or reject every judge as a matter of principle, voters who want to make informed choices often find it difficult to learn anything about the judges listed on the back of the ballot.

This post highlights the appellate and district court judges who received the highest and lowest ratings in the Iowa State Bar Association’s 2026 Judicial Performance Review, the main public source of information about Iowa’s judges.

A Montgomery County jury prevented a miscarriage of justice on October 8, when jurors acquitted Joey Norris of first-degree election misconduct after deliberating for only a few hours.

Norris never should have faced a felony charge for his actions as a member of the board processing absentee ballots. Montgomery County Auditor Jill Ozuna set the wheels in motion after she and Norris clashed on election day in November 2024. But Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird is responsible for this unjustified prosecution.

State law gives Bird’s office exclusive jurisdiction over election-related offenses. Neither her staff nor local law enforcement conducted a competent investigation before charging a prominent Democrat in a deep-red county.

This episode could deter other Iowans from volunteering as election workers. Although Norris was found not guilty, the felony charge and trial left him with crushing legal bills. Who would want to risk becoming the next poster child for Bird’s “election integrity” crusade?

By John Forbes is a former state representative and candidate for Polk County Board of Supervisors

Polk County belongs to all of us. That’s the idea at the heart of Heather Jones-Brown’s campaign for Supervisor in District 4, and it’s why I’m proud to support her.

As a fellow candidate for the Board of Supervisors, I’ve spent this campaign thinking hard about what it takes to do this job well. The county decides things that touch every family’s life: the water we drink, the roads we drive, the mental health services our neighbors depend on. Those decisions deserve leaders who listen first. Heather is that kind of leader.

Heather is rooted in the community she wants to serve. She grew up on Des Moines’ Eastside and in Pleasant Hill, graduated from East High, and currently lives with her husband on the Southeast side. She comes from a family of firefighters, Marines, PTA volunteers and union members, people who taught her to show up and take responsibility for her neighbors. Volunteers in District 4 will tell you Heather “always shows up,” and her campaign is a continuation of that record, not a false promise.

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. 

When dealing with the Iowa Public Information Board, being a mind-reader helps.

That is one takeaway from the board’s dismissal last month of a public-records complaint against Attorney General Brenna Bird’s office.

The request was made on December 4, 2024 by Chad Brewbaker, who asked the attorney general for the fees her office paid to private attorneys. His complaint to the Iowa Public Information Board alleged he never received an acknowledgement of his request or the data showing how taxpayer money was spent.

Beginning in January 2025, and continuing until he filed the IPIB complaint on August 11, Brewbaker said he emailed the attorney general each month to remind her of his request and ask, “Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.”

His case highlights a fundamental problem with Iowa’s public-records law: it does not say how long a government body may take to respond to a records request. The case also illustrates the problems Iowans can face when seeking help from the Public Information Board.

Early voting in Iowa starts on Wednesday, October 14 this year. So it’s a good time to run through how Iowans can cast their ballot before November 3.

I’m a strong advocate for voting early. You never know when some family emergency, illness, or work obligation might prevent you from getting to the polls on election day. If you’ve banked your vote ahead of time, last-minute problems won’t keep you from exercising your right.

Voting early can also reduce unsolicited phone calls or knocks at the door as the election approaches. Once you’ve turned in your ballot, there’s no reason for campaigns or political action committees to target you for GOTV.

Who should vote by mail?

Edward A. Wasserman is a 53-year resident of Iowa and a professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences at The University of Iowa. The views expressed in his piece are his own and do not in any way reflect those of his employer.

Controversy surrounds the Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa. A key justification for the center is to expand civics education beyond the high school curriculum. Given that rationale and the various ongoing threats to established American values, the words of Henry A. Wallace merit serious consideration.

Born on October 7, 1888, in Orient, Iowa, Henry Wallace served as the 33rd Vice President of the United States under President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1941 to 1945. A year before the U.S. and its Allies defeated the Axis powers in World War II, the New York Times asked Wallace to define and assess the dangers of fascism in America. His commentary from April 9, 1944, still rings true.

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

Have you ever been on a nature walk and gotten yourself into a jam? Maybe that desire to find that one rare wildflower, or maybe just a plant you’ve never seen before, has now gotten you into a position you’re not sure how to get out of?

No? Not an adventurous plant geek? Then how about a hike to a hidden waterfall or mountain vista view? A tipped canoe? A flat bike tire? I would hope you have some type of nature adventure story you can relate to. This is my story of my wetland excursion that didn’t end as planned, but was oh, so worth the trip. 

David R. Russell is a retired teacher in Ames. He can be reached at russellisu@gmail.com. This essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, The Front Burner and the Back.

Iowa is the largest egg producer in the country. And one of the biggest alleged egg price fixers. While the egg producers and the press were blaming inflation and bird flu for huge price hikes, the three big producers were allegedly stealing from consumers big time. Jacking up the price of eggs.

Because the egg industry is highly consolidated, it was easy for the executives of the biggest three companies to allegedly collude on prices. And they did, from 2022 to 2025. Big time. The price tripled in a little over a year, from $2 to $6 a dozen.

Versova of Sioux Center was one the three large egg producers who settled a price fixing lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice and state attorneys general in an Iowa court in July, without having to admit guilt (thus the repetitive “allegedly” in this essay). The three also had to pay penalties amounting to one dollar for every thousand dollars they allegedly stole. You read that right.

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.

The gas pump has emerged as the issue du jour in this campaign cycle, and the focus is on $4 gasoline and $6 diesel, numbers that have proved politically fatal to incumbents in past elections. But this year a side issue has emerged about gasoline pumps.

Is Iowa ready for a Buc-ee’s?

For those who have never experienced the adventure of driving in Texas, Buc-ee’s is to roadside gas stations what Disney World was to theme parks and Walmart has been to retail. Buc-ee’s is less a fuel dispensary than an icon with its own cult following.

It is also a new front in the fast-moving cultural war. Buc-ee’s is Texas, the Old Confederacy, a monument to the freedom from “Big Guvmint” or Ivy League pantywaists on Wall Street. Buc-ee’s is one of the last vestiges of the greatest American tradition of all; to Think Big.

Douglas Burns is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist. He is the co-founder of the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation and a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, where this article first appeared on The Iowa Mercury newsletter. His family operated the Carroll Times Herald for 93 years in Carroll, where Burns resides.

Carmen Jungbluth drove from Boone to eastern Iowa on October 1 to hear two pioneers of school desegregation from the American South speak in Muscatine to a rapt crowd of 120. It was the lead-off event in a three-day tour of Iowa dedicated to barrier-breaking events that civil rights icons Dr. Leona Tate and Carlotta Walls LaNier described in both historic and urgent terms.

Carlotta Walls LaNier (left) with Dr. Leona Tate at the Muscatine event (photo by Douglas Burns)

Robin Opsahl covers the state legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared.

Governor Kim Reynolds signed into law on October 2 a measure changing a state’s economic development program that could provide nearly $1.4 billion in tax incentives for a $15 billion steel mill project planned in southeast Iowa.

“Today, we advance the most consequential economic development project ever to come to our state,” Reynolds said.

The governor signed House File 2801 just hours after lawmakers approved the proposal during a special session, convened for the sole purpose of considering the legislation. The Iowa House approved the bill in a 75-17 vote, and the Senate approved the bill in a 28-19 vote. The proposal would modify the state’s Major Economic Growth Attraction (MEGA) program to include further incentives for businesses within rural areas, a targeted change to benefit the Mesabi Metallics project planned in Lee County.

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. 

Succession planning and public celebration typically accompany executive retirements. They provide for an orderly leadership transition and public acknowledgment of a job well done.

So, two simple questions arise whenever top government employees leave their jobs in hastily announced retirements — and receive more than the customary coffee-and-cookies going-away reception in return for signing customized contracts containing waivers, releases, and promises not to criticize.

What exactly are we paying for? And why?

Larry McBurney is a Democratic member of the Iowa House representing part of Urbandale.

For years, Iowa Republicans have argued that lower taxes will attract people, businesses, and investment to the state. Governor Kim Reynolds made that case in 2022 while promoting her income tax plan, telling people elsewhere, “Come, move to Iowa.”

The results have been less dramatic than the sales pitch. Iowa’s population grew 1.5 percent from 2020 to 2025, compared with 3.1 percent population growth nationally. More notably, Iowa experienced net domestic outmigration during that period: 10,148 more people moved from Iowa to another state than moved here from another state.

At the same time, Iowa is spending more than it takes in through recurring revenue. For fiscal year 2027 (which began on July 1), the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency projects about $8.4 billion in adjusted revenue and $9.645 billion in appropriations, with the difference covered in part by accumulated balances and a $617.8 million transfer from the Taxpayer Relief Fund.

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 

Growing up, organized sports consisted of little league, or high school baseball in the spring and summer. Fall and winter meant basketball, since our school was too tiny for football. No adult had yet figured out NBA, and MLB dreams were a sure money maker—so there were no sports academies or traveling leagues.

But we did have the town basketball court. It was a kid sanctuary where kid law prevailed. No adult supervision, no minimum or maximum age, and both genders were welcome. 

The rules were simple and strictly enforced. If you cried, you left. We called our own fouls loosely. If you overshot, and the ball went into the crick, you retrieved it. There were arguments, and fights, but there was urgency to end conflict, because finishing the game was more important than the fight.