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.

Sami Scheetz is a Linn County supervisor.

Across Linn County, I keep hearing the same question: What’s in it for us?

As massive data center projects are proposed across Iowa, residents are rightly asking why communities should shoulder resource-intensive development while trillion-dollar corporations generate enormous profits. It’s a fair question — and one the Linn County Board of Supervisors has taken seriously.

Last month, the board voted unanimously to finalize our data center ordinance after three readings, multiple public hearings, and weeks of community input. More than 100 residents attended our first reading in Palo, and their feedback directly shaped the final product. This is likely the most comprehensive data center ordinance a local government has adopted in Iowa.