Sue Dinsdale is the Executive Director of Iowa Citizen Action Network and the State Lead for Health Care for America NOW.

Millions of Americans are struggling with the high cost of services and goods this holiday season, as politicians in Congress seem stuck in the past rather than looking out for our future. The Affordable Care Act was passed fifteen years ago and has been fully in effect for more than a decade. Despite its proven track record and majority support for the law, here we are again.

There’s no better example than the current health care affordability crisis. It’s not new, but the fight is coming to a head as Republicans in Congress continue to refuse to extend the premium tax credits that millions of people depend on for Affordable Care Act marketplace coverage. Failure to extend the credits could cause 4 million people to drop their health insurance, while millions more would pay double, triple, or more to keep their coverage. 

William R. Staplin is a former scientist specializing in utilizing molecular biology techniques to investigate RNA plant and animal viruses, research and development of vaccines to protect against infectious viruses; husband to Ruth A. Staplin; father to two independently minded young college students; cancer and spinal cord disability survivor; supporter of girls and women’s equal rights, reproductive rights, bodily autonomy and healthcare; supporter of reclaiming LGTBQIA+ civil rights and liberties; supporter of Black and Brown Lives Matter; full-time greyhound owner and walking companion to Tailgater. 

This fall, my wife Ruth and I attended a meet and greet fundraiser for State Representative Josh Turek “4” Iowa. Four was Josh’s jersey number as an elite athlete and member of the Men’s Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Team. He’s now seeking the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. (Marine veteran Nathan Sage and State Senator Zach Wahls are the other Democratic contenders.)

It was also important to me as a person of disability and my wife to attend. I wanted to personally meet this former professional wheelchair basketball player, disability advocate, and Iowa House member from Council Bluffs.

Sarah Watson had the scoop for the Quad-City Times: U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks no longer officially lives in Scott County, or anywhere in Iowa’s first Congressional district. In July 2025, she changed her voter registration back to the Ottumwa home she shares with her husband.

Aspiring candidates and campaign strategists could learn a lot from how Miller-Meeks has handled questions surrounding her residency over the past four years. It’s hard to believe an experienced politician could botch this issue so badly.

Wayne Ford is the executive director of Wayne Ford Equity Impact Institute and co-Director of the Emmy Award winning Brown and Black Forums of America. He is a former member of the Iowa legislature and the founder and former executive director of Urban Dreams.

INTRODUCTION: A STATE IN TRANSITION

For nearly half a century, Iowans have approached our future with optimism, hard work, and a deep commitment to community. But as we enter the next 25 years—from 2026 through 2050—the forces shaping Iowa are fundamentally different from anything in our past. These forces are structural, interconnected, and accelerating. They affect every sector of our society: our schools, our health care systems, our farmland, our water, our workforce, our economy, and the very makeup of our communities.

For decades, states like Iowa have relied on annual budgeting to shape priorities. But a one-year budget cannot capture pressures that unfold over decades. Nor can it measure the true economic cost of challenges such as rural hospital closures, workforce shortages, mental health crises, water contamination, demographic decline, artificial intelligence, or the shifting global market for agriculture.

To prepare for the next generation, Iowa must adopt a broader lens—one that helps leaders understand where the state is headed, not only where the budget is today.

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 

There’s a scene in the 1974 movie Longest Yard, which I’ve always remembered. The prison warden forces Burt Reynolds, an incarcerated former professional football player, to organize a football team to play the guards.

In the huddle, Reynolds tells the offensive line to let a hated guard through. As the guard blitzes, the line parts and Reynolds hurls a pass into the guard’s groin.

The prisoners huddle, and Reynolds calls the same play: “Let’s do it again.” They do. The guard leaves the game in agony clutching his groin. 

Republican State Representative Skyler Wheeler, who chairs the House Education Committee, is signaling he may call the same play during the next Iowa legislative session that was called this year.

Matt Russell is a farmer, political writer, and progressive ag and rural leader. He has published work in the New York Times, TIME, AgInsider, Civil Eats, and many state and local publications. He co-owns Coyote Run Farm with his husband Patrick Standley in rural Lacona, Iowa. A version of this essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, Growing New Leaders: Perspectives from Coyote Run Farm.

Iowans will have some outstanding Democratic candidates to vote for in 2026. A Democratic candidate for secretary of agriculture is not yet among them, but could be soon.

Chris Jones has announced an exploratory committee and plans to decide whether to run in January. You can read Laura Belin’s interview with him here. Jones, who has a PhD in analytical chemistry, is a longtime advocate for cleaner water. He’s a sharp critic of how the agriculture industry has contributed to the pollution but avoided taking enough (if any) responsibility for dirty water.

Until election day 2024, I had planned to run for Iowa secretary of agriculture in 2026. My plan was to stay in my appointment at USDA with the Biden-Harris Administration until this fall. I’d hoped Christina Bohannan would win in Iowa’s first Congressional district, and as only one or two Democratic members of the Iowa delegation, I’d work with her to identify a great candidate to offer to the Harris-Walz Administration to be the next State Executive Director of the Iowa Farm Service Agency.

“Good job you did! Great job,” President Donald Trump says to U.S. Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks in a 30-second commercial that has reached thousands of Iowans on the radio or social media platforms over the past month.

The three-term Republican did not place the ads through her campaign committee, which had accumulated more than $2.6 million cash on hand as of September 30.

Instead, Miller-Meeks—considered one of the country’s most vulnerable House Republicans—has used taxpayer funds to share Trump’s praise with Iowans.

Bleeding Heartland’s review of data from Facebook’s ad library and Federal Communications Commission files suggest that Miller-Meeks’ Congressional office has spent at least $10,000 to run this spot. (Several other taxpayer-funded radio ads have also been in rotation this fall.)

If the 2024 campaign is any indication, Miller-Meeks may spend much more from her Congressional office budget in the coming months, as she seeks to shore up her appeal with conservatives before another competitive primary election in Iowa’s first district.

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

Attorney General Brenna Bird buried the news. I can understand why.

No self-respecting right-winger would want to be seen backing a centralized citizen registry in Washington, DC.

For as long as I can remember, conservatives were in the vanguard of opposing such big government excesses. Yet, here is Iowa’s attorney general—along with Secretary of State Paul Pate—actually helping to build what some critics are likening to a super database for Big Brother.

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.

What will you be doing in the year 2033?

If you’ll still be younger than 67 years of age, there are innumerable answers. But if you’re 67 or older by then, chances are the number one item on your mind will be how in heaven’s name you’re going to make ends meet.

That’s because 2033 is now the year the Social Security and Medicare trustees calculate the trust fund will go bust. Incoming revenues will drop below what the fund needs to make its payouts.

Peggy Huppert is a retired nonprofit executive who has been active in Democratic politics as a volunteer for campaigns ranging from school board to President since 1984.

As Democrats in Iowa’s third Congressional district, we all share the same goal in 2026: defeating U.S. Representative Zach Nunn and flipping this seat so we can put a real check on the chaos in Washington. That’s why the independent Change Research poll, conducted in late October, should be a wake-up call and a roadmap.

That poll found State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott leads Zach Nunn 53 percent to 40 percent in a general election matchup. That’s not a moral victory or a tie. That’s a clear, solid lead against an incumbent in one of the most competitive districts in the country.

Even more important is who the poll finds is putting Sarah ahead.

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. 

There seems to be a lack of consistency—if not outright contradictions—in President Donald Trump’s approach to drug trafficking into the United States.

Recent news headlines bear out the disconnect between what the president says and what he does.

One thing is certain: Donald Trump’s mixed messaging illustrates our nation’s lack of a coherent federal strategy for dealing with the scourge of illicit drugs.

See what you think about these questions of death and liberty.

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 

We’ve probably all seen Mr. Overflowing Plate in the buffet line. He can’t make a choice, so he chooses everything. As he returns to his table, he leaves a trail of onion rings, and pizza slices in his wake. His plate is too small, and his appetite too big. 

Now, imagine that overflowing plate is filled with items he didn’t choose, and even dislikes—while those in the buffet line hurl insults and second-guess the forced choices tumbling from his plate.

The plates of public school teachers are overflowing. It’s causing serious heartburn, leading to burnout.

Chuck Isenhart is an investigative reporter, photographer, and recovering Iowa state legislator offering research, analysis, education, and public affairs advocacy at his Substack newsletter Iowa Public Policy Dude, where this essay first appeared.

Thanksgiving is one day in the year that no one in the United States should go hungry. Ya think? If you don’t agree with that, you probably are not reading this post.

While Iowa’s Governor Kim Reynolds pardoned Tailfeathers and Wing-ding the turkeys this week, it’s worth noting that she and others in the majority party who consent to her schemes don’t mind depriving people of food access other times of year.

No, I am not related to Debbie Downer, who spoiled Thanksgiving dinner. However, now that I have gathered some evidence, this holiday seems an appropriate time to point out that the governor’s Healthy Kids Iowa summer food “pilot” program for school children did exactly that—deprived kids of food.

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. 

While the text of the Iowa Constitution lacks the prominence of that adopted by our nation’s Founders, people from Ackley to Zwingle and points in between should track down a copy and give it a read. 

Buried away in the document Iowa voters adopted in 1857, they will find Article III, Section 31, or what has come to be known as the public purpose requirement. That section says, in essence, that state and local governments are barred from spending public money unless there is a public purpose for those expenditures.

My public-school education tells me that section prohibits the use of taxpayer money to continue to pay someone for work after their performance ends unless the government entity provides justification of the public purpose served by those payments.

Where I come from, going-away gifts do not serve a public purpose. And this brings me to the Des Moines Public Schools and recent news headlines.

Rick Morain is the former publisher and owner of the Jefferson Herald, for which he writes a regular column.

Most of the top leaders of both political parties converged on Washington’s National Cathedral on November 20 to honor the memory of former Vice President Dick Cheney at his funeral service. As former President George W. Bush’s right hand man from 2001 to 2009, Cheney played a key role on foreign and domestic policy initiatives. What he said and did filled international news reports, and he was universally acknowledged as someone who mattered.

Such was certainly not the case for vice presidents throughout most of American history, especially prior to the 20th century. Most Americans today would be hard pressed to name two or three vice presidents before 1900 who (1) did not ascend to the presidency upon the death of the then-sitting president, or who (2) won election to immediately succeed their predecessor.

Who served as vice president under James Buchanan? Franklin Pierce? James K. Polk? Beats me—I had to look up all three.

Steve Corbin is emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and a contributing columnist to 246 newspapers and 48 social media platforms in 45 states, who receives no remuneration, funding, or endorsement from any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, political action committee, or political party. 

Several university leaders have expressed shock when actions by President Donald Trump and administration officials directly counter to what he and his appointees supposedly learned during their business-related college education. But, what do professors know?

I’ve been privileged to teach and serve as a Marketing department head at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited institution. (Only 6 percent of business schools worldwide achieve AACSB recognition.) In that role, I became familiar with the multi-year process that third-party evaluators—including corporate executives—use to rigorously examine the curriculum offerings of accounting, economics, finance, management and marketing. That process considers what principles well-trained business students should exemplify.

Our 47th president has cultivated an image as a successful businessman. So it’s telling that leaders of Fortune 500 companies have been alarmed by how Trump and his administration ignore basic business principles.

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 

Game of Thrones fans remember the ominous warning, “Winter is coming.” It was about White Walkers and the army of the undead invading. Winter is coming in Iowa too. There aren’t White Walkers and the undead lurking behind Iowa snow drifts, but the annual legislative Winter Dance Party under the Golden Dome will begin soon.

It might not provoke White Walker terror, but Iowa educators feel a chill down their spines thinking about the Iowa legislature convening on January 12. What’s the next attack? How will we cope? Will they increase state funding for schools above the inflation rate?

Jason Benell lives in Des Moines with his wife and two children. He is a combat veteran, former city council candidate, and president of Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers.

I find myself extremely frustrated with the media coverage and Democratic response to the government shutdown and the attitudes surrounding health care costs. With the ongoing health care crisis—and yes, it’s a crisis—it seems ridiculous to me that Democrats would focus their efforts on bringing down premiums and backing subsidies for health care costs.

Every year around this time, I get angry because our system makes me sign up for health insurance benefits through my employer. That is absolute garbage and one of the primary drivers of unhappiness and economic security for so many Americans.

I will lead with this hot take: Democrats shouldn’t be advocating for lower health care costs through subsidies and making access to the Affordable Care Act marketplace more affordable. That should not be their stated goal, nor their party position when it comes to negotiating on this point.

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. 

Recent events in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and at Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport provide stark reminders that our nation’s leaders have seemingly forgotten a biblical command around for the ages.

It is one Robert Ray followed during his tenure as Iowa governor, which ended some 42 years ago.

Ray was front of mind as I digested the news last week. His service contrasted with the haunting picture the three easily missed events presented of who we are as Americans and who we are becoming.

Xavier Carrigan is a Democratic candidate in Iowa’s third Congressional district.

Picture a hostage tied to the tracks. The train is coming. The kidnappers demand a ransom, and the so-called heroes in Washington hand them the keys to the vault.

That’s what happened this fall. After 43 days of a federal government shutdown, Congress reopened the government but left millions of working Americans still bound to the rails. The funding bill keeps programs like SNAP food assistance running, restores federal pay, and prevents layoffs. Those things matter. But what didn’t make it into the deal will hurt far longer than any shutdown: the failure to extend the enhanced premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.

State Representative Aime Wichtendahl represents Iowa House district 80.

In the lead up to the 2025 election the consultant class decided to release a 58-page document called deciding ‘Deciding to Win’ a supposed blueprint for how Democrats could win in 2026.

The report was authored by a trio of consultants—David Axelrod, James Carville, and David Plouffe—a group of politicos who haven’t been successful since Avengers was new on DVD.

The document focused on a prescriptive policy agenda for the 2026 elections: emphasize some kitchen table issues, like minimum wage or prescription drugs, and focus less on “some identity and cultural issues.”

Which is consultant-speak for chuck trans people under the bus…just a little bit. After all, they still need the queer community to be uninspired enough to still pull the lever for their “lesser of two evils” candidates ad infinitum.

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 9:45 p.m. and we’re on item 3 of the agenda, with 12 more to go. Three board members are in a verbal brawl with two parents that would make the World Wrestling Federation blush. So far, it’s more like a colonoscopy without sedation than a school board meeting.

A person willing to serve in the hardest unpaid job is a hero. He/she stepped up when others stepped back. 

Iowans elected lots of new school board members last week. I’ve worked with many boards over my 38 years in education, so I’ve experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly. Here are a few suggestions for avoiding the ugly.

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.

President Donald Trump compares himself—always favorably—to previous U.S. presidents, particularly George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

Trump has faulted Lincoln for not avoiding a Civil War. Our current president is a self-styled peacemaker, claiming to have ended eight wars in eight months—which would be more wars solved than bankruptcies he presided over as a businessman. (That would be four or six bankruptcies, depending on whether you count three of the bankruptcies as one, as Trump does.) The BBC examined the supposed peace agreements—which may or may not have staying power—and how much credit the president deserves for each one.

Some observers of Trump’s governing style see more alarming historical analogies. They may liken the United States in the 2020s to the rise of Nazi Germany in the 1930s.

If you’re not satisfied with these comparisons and contrasts, consider another: Trump and Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (37-68 AD). He’s better known in the Western World as Nero, the Roman emperor (54-68) who supposedly fiddled while Rome burned in the year 64.

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. 

As Iowans headed to the polls this week to elect local school board members, they faced an issue beyond the usual ones of taxes, student achievement, teacher pay, curriculum and enrollment.

This year, school board and administrators’ performance and trustworthiness were front and center in some school districts. And on that, for voters, it is what they do not know that might hurt them.

Mandi Remington is the founding director of Corridor Community Action Network and a Johnson County supervisor. 

There is a line between hard bargaining and cruelty. When a government begins to weaponize basic means of survival, it crosses into dangerous territory. The decision to withhold Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits—paired with Congressional plans to slash Medicaid and SNAP funding—isn’t just another partisan fight. It’s a turning point.  

For the first time in SNAP’s 60-year history, families aren’t receiving the benefits they depend on. For many, that means empty refrigerators, skipped meals, and trying to explain to their kids why they can’t buy more food. This is a conscious choice by the Trump administration, as Congress has already appropriated billions of dollars in a contingency fund to cover SNAP during government shutdowns. 

My own family has relied on SNAP. When my oldest child was diagnosed with celiac disease at three years old, we stopped going to free meal programs because there was no way for me to know which foods were safe for her to eat. I couldn’t bring myself to ask volunteers to sort through ingredients or make special accommodations when we were there for help that was supposed to be simple. 

Connie Ryan is Executive Director of the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa and Action Fund.

Halloween is supposed to be light and fun. Whether kids are trick or treating or adults are hanging out together in costume. Ghosts and ghouls; villains and heroes; and everything in-between. Sometimes the costumes—usually worn by adults—are a little questionable. Sometimes there is no question at all.

On this year’s Halloween night in the very pleasant and ordinary suburb of Clive, Iowa, a man walked into a bar dressed as a Nazi.

At long last, U.S. Representative Randy Feenstra confirmed on October 28 that he’s running for governor.

For all of his talk about “taking Iowa to new heights”—and boy, was there a lot of it—the Republican front-runner’s rollout won’t get high marks.

Dr. Emily Boevers is a Readlyn farm kid, now an OB-GYN practicing in Iowa and living in Waverly with her family.

On October 1, the federal government “shut down” when the prior funding resolution, which Congress approved in March with bipartisan support in the Senate, expired. This time around, the same Congress was unable to work together for a bipartisan majority to authorize ongoing funding. A central sticking point is what to do about over tax credits for health insurance, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.

A month into the shutdown, a widening chasm exists between our political leaders in Congress, with little to no progress reported. While many Americans have gone about their lives, and the government has diverted funds to cover wages for some federal employees, the stakes are getting higher as we speak.

There is nothing positive about the shutdown, and yet, as a physician, I am glad to see our representatives fighting to maintain health care coverage options for patients through the Affordable Care Act tax credits. It presents an opportunity to share insights from the history of the health care reform law and discuss the challenges of taking care of patients in our current system. Perhaps most urgently, it presents an opportunity to leverage the ongoing chaos of both our political and health care systems into what could be meaningful policy reform.

Lexi Farber is chair of Next Century Forum. Laura Snider is vice chair of Next Century Forum and was the 2024 Democratic nominee in Iowa House district 28.

In 2024, young Iowans showed us both the promise and the peril of democracy. On one hand, students, recent graduates, and young families voiced frustrations about housing costs, student debt, and the future of our state. On the other, too many stayed home on election day. Their absence wasn’t apathy—it was disconnection.

Nationally, voters under 30 have shifted about 10 points toward Republicans since 2020. That swing didn’t happen by chance. Conservative groups poured resources into organizing young people. Turning Point USA, for example, now has chapters at nearly every major college in the country—and is pouring millions into launching Turning Point chapters in high schools. Their influence is expanding fast, and it’s reshaping the civic landscape our generation inherits.

If they can do it, so can we—and more.

Jessica Vanden Berg has worked in government, politics and advocacy for more than 25 years on all levels. She is from Pella, and lives in Des Moines with her 8-year-old daughter.

I have to admit, I was torn on how to vote on the school bond issue.

We left the Des Moines Public Schools and went to Horizon Science Academy (a new public charter school) because in our first grade year we had nothing short of a really bad experience for so many reasons. (Kindergarten was amazing, thus the shock.) I saw leadership problems, lack of knowledge/skills gap on neurodivergent issues, no real help for kids who were falling behind, lack of resources, failure to include family and community to change outcomes, and a huge problem with real communication and solution-oriented ideas.

I tried to address mid-level management, school board members, and even the superintendent. I got nothing. And I’m a parent with time, connections, and resources! That’s a big deal. The system is impossible to navigate. I paid someone to help me do it.

I realize this isn’t every family’s experience, but it is ours. We had to make difficult choices.

I had a hard time seeing how this $265 million bond issue would address those things, and an even harder time seeing where the leadership failed to address these issues time and time again. The bond issue does not address them. However, I understand the school district still could.

I will admit many are backed in a corner due to major multi-year funding issues, but I could not for the life of me understand why the district didn’t embrace more community involvement and parent support to help.

But I did vote yes, and here’s why.

Former State Senator Joe Bolkcom served on the Senate Ways and Means Committee for 24 years, including ten years as chair. This piece first appeared in the Prairie Progressive.

For nearly a century, Social Security has provided life-sustaining economic security to millions of Iowa families. But that guarantee is now under serious threat. In just eight short years, the Social Security Administration projects a 23 percent cut in monthly benefits unless Congress and the president act to fix the system—a problem experts have warned about for decades.

The good news? There are pragmatic, responsible solutions to keep Social Security solvent for generations to come. The bad news? Social Security is barreling toward insolvency. Congress—currently controlled by Republicans—is mired in chaos and dysfunction, unable or unwilling to make life more affordable for everyday Americans, let alone fix Social Security.

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.

When ideology takes top priority, America’s world leadership is in jeopardy.

The Trump administration’s threats to academic freedom at leading U.S. universities could slow the pace of scientific research and commercial development of research findings. For instance, federal devotion to right-wing “purity” could undermine our race to stay ahead of China—which should disturb Americans of every political stripe.

President Donald Trump has threatened to cut grant funding (and in some cases followed through on those threats) in his effort to wipe out diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) practices, as well as supposed “woke” ideology (whatever that is), at a number of leading institutions of higher education.

One example, out of many dozens: the administration has frozen $175 million in grant money at the University of Pennsylvania—Trump’s alma mater—because the university allowed a transgender female on its women’s swimming team three years ago.

Steve Corbin is emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and a contributing columnist to 246 newspapers and 48 social media platforms in 45 states, who receives no remuneration, funding, or endorsement from any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, political action committee, or political party. 

Since the 1960s, think tanks and advocacy groups have been key influencers of presidential policymaking. For decades, Democratic and Republican presidents have relied on think tanks for research and policy ideas. Most recently think tank roles have shifted from advisory to actual policy formulation and implementation, whereby the president can be seen as a marionette controlled by the think tank puppeteers.

Research shows that in the first 285 days of Donald Trump’s second presidency, seven conservative organizations have had hundreds of their recommendations implemented. If your mind has been spinning over the drastic changes to the federal government and how Trump has abandoned many norms of domestic policy and international diplomacy, you may wonder who is pulling the president’s strings.

Let’s examine the seven think tank puppeteers that have influenced Trump’s administration since January 20 and will likely continue to play that role until January 2029.

Carl Olsen is the founder of Iowans for Medical Marijuana.

“The medicinal properties of the cannabis plant have been known for millennia.” Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics, History of cannabis, The University of Sydney.

Iowa classified cannabis as a habit-forming drug with accepted medical use in 1921. 1921 Acts ch. 282.

In 1967, the United States entered into an international agreement classifying cannabis as having no medical use. Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, May 25, 1967, 18 U.S.T. 1407, 520 U.N.T.S. 151.  The Single Convention allows exceptions. From Article 36(2): “Subject to the constitutional limitations of a Party, its legal system and domestic law, …”

Steve Dunn is a retired journalist who has self-published two books, about former State Senator Pat Deluhery’s political career and the history of professional baseball in Des Moines.

Retired anesthesiologist Dr. Dick Wheeler of Des Moines put people to sleep for a living. Now he wants to wake people up to what he believes is the No. 1 threat to humanity: overpopulation. At 103 years old, Wheeler is more concerned about the future of his four children, eleven grandchildren, and fifteen great-grandchildren than his own.

He has been concerned about overpopulation for a couple of decades. “I read one article about it, which had a bunch of statistics that really alarmed me,” he explained. “Someone had asked a group of experts of various persuasions how many people could Earth support. After due consideration and research, they decided all the way from 11 billion to 17 billion.”

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

If I were in charge of the state budget and had just watched $825 million unexpectedly disappear, I suppose I’d try to bluff my way out of this mess, too.

Which is what the Reynolds administration looked like it was doing earlier this month, when the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) said the 2025 fiscal year ended with $300 million less than they’d expected a year ago.

For the current fiscal year, 2026, they’re now anticipating a whopping $525 million less than predicted last October.

I touched on this trend in my last post about Iowa’s long-suffering economy, but after I published, the news from the REC got so much worse.

No wonder the ruling party was putting on a brave face and trying to convince Iowans this was all part of the plan. But they’re not very good poker players. Their tells were all over the place.

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 

 “Wait an hour before swimming, or you’ll drown.” “Never shower in a thunderstorm.” “Sitting too close to the TV will ruin your eyes.” “If you get close to a train it will suck you in.”

Those were some of the mom myths I heard growing up. They might not have been true, but even now, I don’t shower in a storm or wander too close to a train.

There are also comfortable myths we remember from elementary school that humanized historical figures. George Washington had wooden teeth, Ben Franklin discovered electricity, and Paul Revere rode through the country shouting, “The British are coming.” We’ve all heard them. We probably all believed them. They were harmless exaggerations.

But some myths aren’t harmless.

It’s time to bust some of those harmful myths surrounding the Iowa DOGE task force recommendation for the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS). More than 400,000 Iowans are covered by IPERS. Eliminating or weakening this retirement system would not only hurt those covered but would devastate Iowa’s economy.

Jazlin Coley is a Drake University graduate, educator, and community activator who now serves as Director of the Crew Scholars Program at her alma mater. She is committed to redefining what belonging looks like in higher education and embedding identity, equity, and care into its core. Currently pursuing her PhD in Education, Jazlin’s research and practice focus on harm in belonging practices, institutional accountability, and the cultivation of spaces where students—particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, can lead and thrive.

I met Jennifer Konfrst my first year at Drake University, long before she became House Democratic Leader or a candidate for Congress. Back then, I was a first-generation college student, new to Iowa, unsure of my footing, and truthfully—unsure if I belonged. Jennifer was assigned as my faculty mentor through the Crew Scholars Program, a leadership initiative for students of color. She didn’t have to take on that role; she volunteered for it. And she showed up. Every Thursday.

Some of our meetings ran long because I was navigating personal and academic challenges and needed a space to vent. Jennifer listened without judgment, asked hard questions, and reminded me that my presence on campus mattered. She balanced humor and humility with a kind of grounded honesty that’s rare in higher education, or in politics. She saw me as a person before she saw me as a student.

Gary Berkland is the Belmond-Klemme School Board president.

I’m a lifelong Iowan, a Vietnam veteran, a small-town lawyer, and yes—a registered Republican. I’ve voted for plenty of Republicans over the years, but this election, I’m proud to be supporting Democrat Zach Wahls for the United States Senate.

That might surprise some folks, but it really shouldn’t. Zach represents the kind of leadership both parties used to value: honest, practical, and grounded in Iowa common sense. He’s part of a new generation that’s more interested in solving problems than scoring partisan points, and that’s exactly what our country needs.

Abbey Paxton is the owner of Storyhouse Bookpub in Des Moines.

In 2021, I opened an independent bookstore in downtown Des Moines. My husband, also a small business owner, and I have had two children since moving back to Iowa in 2020, and we work full time running our businesses. 

Like many other small business owners and self-employed Iowans, our family resides in the gap between barely affordable, mediocre, private individual health insurance and Medicaid—a gap that will only widen after the most painful provisions of the Republican budget reconciliation bill (the so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) are fully implemented.

Every Iowa member of Congress voted in favor of the bill, which makes historic cuts to Medicaid while providing big tax breaks for the wealthy and new tax loopholes for big corporations like health insurance and prescription drug companies.