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 a city plans something big, it should not check driver’s licenses at the door.

That is what happened earlier this month in Woodward. The City Council cancelled its regular meeting on October 12 and instead held what it called a “community conversation” in the Woodward-Granger High School auditorium.

The notice required attendees to show a photo ID with a Woodward address or a piece of mail with their name and Woodward address before they could enter.

Security officers and police were there to oversee the screening of IDs. I was there as president of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and was turned away. So was a rural Dallas County resident interested in data centers. A KCCI reporter saw at least two others who were refused entry.

Continuing a Bleeding Heartland tradition, I am posting Iowa’s absentee ballot numbers, statewide and for each Congressional district, updated every day the Iowa Secretary of State’s office releases new figures.

You can compare this year’s numbers to daily charts from the last seven election cycles by clicking through to Bleeding Heartland’s archive of absentee ballot totals from 2024, 2022, 2020, 2018, 2016, 2014, and 2012. But use caution when comparing, because Iowans could vote early for 40 days through 2016, and for 29 days in 2018 and 2020. Republicans shortened the early voting period to the current 20 days as part of a wide-ranging effort to suppress early voting in 2021.

In addition, many Iowans (especially Democrats) are more wary of voting by mail this year than in the past. That’s partly because President Donald Trump has tried to interfere with U.S. Postal Service delivery of ballots, and partly because the 2021 law required all ballots to arrive at county auditors’ offices by 8:00 pm on election day. (Late-arriving ballots used to be counted if they were postmarked before election day.)

The upshot is that lower totals for mailed ballots do not necessarily reflect less interest in voting early.

Early voting began on October 14 this year, and the first report from the Iowa Secretary of State’s office appeared on October 15. The office changed the format of its daily absentee ballot reports on October 20. Since the new tables are much more comprehensive than previous incarnations, I am posting those below, rather than creating my own tables, as I’ve done in past years.

Mike Tupper is the former Marshalltown police chief and the Democratic candidate for Iowa House District 52.

I spent 32 years in law enforcement, including more than thirteen years as Marshalltown’s police chief. I loved my career, and I learned a great deal about public safety, managing budgets, and solving problems with limited resources.

Those are lessons I want to bring to the Iowa legislature.

One thing I learned as police chief is that there’s a difference between talking about supporting law enforcement and actually giving officers the resources they need to do their jobs.

Adam Shriver is the host of the Canary in a Cornfield Podcast and Substack. He’s been writing and organizing around the connection between agriculture and public health in Iowa for the past five years.

First of all: much appreciation to Laura for letting me cross post my podcast here! You can find the Substack version here.

In this episode of Canary in a Cornfield, I speak with John McCracken, a reporter at Sentient Media, about the outlet’s nonprofit model and its focus on industrial agriculture and corporate accountability.

John explains Sentient’s Inside Iowa project and walks viewers through a new interactive map that plots roughly 11,000 medium-to-large factory farms across all 99 Iowa counties, estimates about 126 million animals and 170 billion pounds of manure annually, and links facilities to Iowa DNR records, violations, and nearby waterways and flood zones.

Shawn Olorundami is a teacher and candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives in District 1.

When families make the difficult decision to move a loved one into an assisted-living facility, they place an extraordinary amount of trust in the people responsible for their care.

They trust that their parents and grandparents will be safe. That staff members will be properly trained. That medications will be administered correctly. And that if something goes wrong, someone will respond immediately.

What state inspectors uncovered at Lawton Senior Living in Woodbury County should concern every Iowa family.

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.

On a September morning, I rediscovered a plant that I was looking for in summer but never spotted. It’s not rare. However, it’s so inconspicuous that it can go unnoticed.

It is Seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia), a native prairie wildflower that grows by the shore of my pond. I didn’t plant it, and I doubt that anyone ever did. It found that spot on its own, some time after the pond was dug, and colonized the bank.

Herb Strentz was dean of the Drake School of Journalism from 1975 to 1988 and professor there until retirement in 2004. He was executive secretary of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council from its founding in 1976 to 2000.

Try as one might, I defy you to find a better concise description of what’s at stake in the upcoming election than Trump v. United States—the U.S. Supreme Court ruling decided by a 6-3 majority on July 1, 2024. Think about it: The President vs. the United States of America.

Our short-term future might be in 3-D: Daily Doses of Disaster, or Democracy’s Doses of Despair.

So what’s wrong with Trump v. United States? In a word, everything. However, my focus today is on the hypocrisy inherent in claiming to be both bipartisan and pro-Trump.

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. 

The school field trip tragedy last month at Lake Macbride State Park again demonstrated the adage that a rumor can travel halfway around the globe while the truth is still putting on its shoes.

Government silence during a public crisis or mass-casualty event creates an information vacuum that rumor, speculation, and misinformation quickly fill.

As the recent events north of Iowa City show, often that noise is simply wrong.

It need not be that way — if government officials would run toward the truth as fast as first responders head toward danger.

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 

When I think about Amendment 1 on Iowa’s general election ballot, I’m reminded of the classic children’s book, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander wakes up with gum stuck in his hair, he doesn’t get a toy in his cereal, doesn’t get the window seat in the carpool, gets scolded by his teacher, and there’s no dessert at lunch.

There isn’t a happy ending, because the central theme of the book is that bad days happen to everyone, and it’s just a normal part of life.

But when there’s a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad idea on the ballot, it doesn’t have to become part of our lives.

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.