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.

Kevin Techau is a former United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa. He previously served as Director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals, and later as Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety. Kevin is an attorney-at-law in Cedar Rapids. Dean Lerner is a former Iowa Assistant Attorney General and former Chief Deputy Secretary of State. He, too, served as Director of the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals. Dean is an attorney-at-law in Des Moines.

With the 2026 election approaching, Governor Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird have unveiled a new priority: cracking down on Medicaid fraud. That comes as a big surprise to those of us who know the system and have actually fought Medicaid fraud. 

Why such a surprise? Because our governor and attorney general have long disregarded the most effective tools already at their disposal to fulfill their pronounced objective. 

The real purpose of their newly created “Medicaid Fraud Elimination Task Force,” chaired by Bird, appears to be generating political headlines rather than meaningful results. And with each task force meeting streamed to the public, they have concocted a pretext for sustained Medicaid fraud political theater.