Robin Opsahl covers the state legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared. Brooklyn Draisey, Cami Koons, and Clark Kauffman contributed to this report.

Republicans’ supermajorities in both chambers of the Iowa Legislature allowed them to push several high-profile bills to the governor throughout the legislative session – but many of the thousands of bills discussed this session failed to advance.

Lawmakers adjourned for the 2025 legislative session early on May 15 after a night of debate and closed-door caucus meetings and nearly two weeks after the session was scheduled to end. Republicans were able to reach agreements on May 14 to pass several of the policy bills that had failed to advance earlier in the session, including Governor Kim Reynolds’ bills providing paid parental leave for state employees and reducing the state’s unemployment insurance taxes on employers.

Earlier in the year, the Republican-controlled chambers moved quickly to pass a bill removing gender identity from the Iowa Civil Rights Act. Other measures passed through with less coordination—legislation on eminent domain use in carbon sequestration pipelines only made it to a vote on May 12, following a concerted effort by twelve GOP senators who said they would not support any budget bills until the pipeline bill was brought to the floor.

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.

You may be experiencing whiplash this spring just trying to track the Iowa legislature’s zigzag movements. It comes from what some might charitably call a lack of consistency on a key theme.

A set of bills from the Republican majority at the capitol illustrates this inconsistency.

Two Democrats launched campaigns this past week in Iowa’s third Congressional district, one of the party’s top 2026 pickup opportunities in the U.S. House. Republican Representative Zach Nunn held off challenger Lanon Baccam in 2024, winning by roughly the same four-point margin by which Donald Trump carried the district. But in the last midterm election while Trump was president, Democratic challenger Cindy Axne defeated another two-term GOP incumbent in the Congressional district anchored by the Des Moines metro area.

The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections with Nathan Gonzales see IA-03 as a “lean Republican” district for 2026, while Sabato’s Crystal Ball views this race as a toss-up.

I interviewed State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott and State Representative Jennifer Konfrst about their priorities and the case they will make to Democrats as they compete for the chance to face Nunn in November.

I’m not aware of any other Democrats seriously considering this race. State Representative Austin Baeth, who said earlier this year he might run for Congress, confirmed to me on May 8 that he will seek a third term in Iowa House district 36. Though there is plenty of time for others to join the field, they would struggle to compete against Trone Garriott and Konfrst, who are experienced candidates and fundraisers with the capacity to run strong district-wide campaigns.

“We have to take our message to the voters,” State Representative Brian Meyer told reporters on May 8, soon after his Democratic colleagues elected him to be the chamber’s next minority leader.

State Representative Jennifer Konfrst has led Iowa House Democrats since June 2021 but is stepping down from that role once the legislature adjourns for the year. She announced on May 8 that she’s running for Congress in Iowa’s third district.

Meyer will lead the smallest Democratic contingent in the Iowa House in 55 years (the chamber now has 67 Republicans and 33 Democrats). As he seeks to build back, he intends to highlight economic issues and target seats in mid-sized cities that were once Democratic strongholds. Toward that end, Meyer plans to take a “little more aggressive” approach during floor debates, and showcase a wider range of House Democrats when communicating with the public.

Raising enough money for the 2026 election cycle will likely be his biggest challenge.

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 

Author’s note: This is the long play version of a speech I gave during the May Day Rally in Sioux City, sponsored by the “Siouxland Good Trouble Makers.” It rained during my speech, so I did an abbreviated version. Here is the full text. An estimated 150 people attended this rally.

This crowd gets my blood pumping! On this May Day, let’s remember the International Worker slogan of 1905: “An injury to one is an injury to all.” It was true then. It’s true now. 

If one person is denied due process, equal justice is on life support. When the richest man in the world waves around a chain saw gutting essential programs, run by essential workers, and when a president imposes reckless tariffs, America bleeds. 

Rallies like this one are the tourniquet that stops the bleeding. Today, our collective voices speak truth to power. This isn’t about political red or blue. It’s about right and wrong. 

Brooklyn Draisey is a Report for America corps member covering higher education for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared.

A group of Jewish faculty, staff, students, and alumni from colleges and universities across Iowa have penned a letter condemning actions taken against public higher education in the name of fighting antisemitism and protecting the Jewish community.

University of Iowa professor Lisa Heineman said her institution has not faced direct attacks on academic freedom due to accusations of antisemitism, for which she is happy, but hits to other universities are felt on the UI campus.

Heineman said she drafted the letter because of drastic funding cuts to universities and revocation of international student visas—all under the guise of protecting Jews on college campuses.

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 

Many of us have experienced planning committees where loud, “big idea” people dominate. They’re the ones who believe all their ideas are gold and they’re not shy about sharing their genius. They have 50 ideas an hour, and 49 of those should be trashed.

I understand the rules for brainstorming. “There are no bad ideas.” But many of those ideas should die a natural death. They should rest peacefully buried in a closet with other bad ideas written on those big sheets of brainstorming paper.

But sometimes that doesn’t work.

Henry Jay Karp is the Rabbi Emeritus of Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa, which he served from 1985 to 2017. He is the co-founder and co-convener of One Human Family QCA, a social justice organization.

As an Iowan, a Jew, and a rabbi who has served the Quad Cities Jewish community for nearly 40 years, I was beside myself when I read Dr. Thomas Lecaque’s guest column in Iowa Starting Line about the school chaplain bill moving through the Iowa legislature. Having made its way through the House and the Senate Education Committee, it is now eligible for floor debate in the Senate.

House File 884 is an offense of the highest degree to every non-Christian faith community in our state. It empowers school districts to hire chaplains “to provide support, services, and programs as assigned by the board of directors of the school district.”

If that sounds innocuous, think again, for the Senate Education Committee has already rejected an amendment that would restrict school chaplains from proselytizing students. So much for religious neutrality in our schools!

Dr. Thomas Lecaque is an Associate Professor of History at the Grand View University.

I teach at a Lutheran school in Iowa. We have a chapel on campus. Every faculty meeting and event, every major school event, starts with our campus pastor offering a prayer. There are boats hanging in the church and also in the room in the administrative building that was the first chapel on campus, because we’re a Danish Lutheran school, and both of those traditions run deep.

I say this not because you need to know about me, or about my university, but because chaplains on campus, chaplains in schools, religion and the university, is not a thing I have a problem with. We’re a private Lutheran school, and people who come here know that when they apply and enroll, and they’ve made a choice to be here, in this environment, with everything that entails.

The key word there, of course, is private. If your kids go to a Catholic school, for example, you cannot pretend to be surprised and alarmed when Catholicism is in the classroom too. But if you send your kids to public school, like most Iowans, you have a reasonable expectation that the establishment clause, the separation of church and state, will keep specific religious ideas and doctrine out of the school. In this context, Iowa House File 884, the school chaplains bill, immediately rings alarm bells.

Rob Sand is Iowa’s state auditor.

Recently, an argument has been going around that goes like this: private schools are accredited to teach students, therefore they’re accountable to taxpayers. This claim ignores that being accredited as an academic institution has nothing to do with how an entity spends money. Accredited private schools taking vouchers still have no rules for how they spend tax dollars, and no audits either.

The authors of the governor’s school voucher bill knew accreditation doesn’t impact oversight of spending. In fact, they wanted it that way.

When I noticed that the bill had just one restriction on the use of taxpayer funds once those dollars are turned over to the private schools (rebates to parents aren’t allowed)—I was sure there was some kind of mistake. No, the bill’s advocate told me at the time. That’s the point: “We do not want public oversight of private schools” were his exact words. I would guess most taxpayers agree with me that we want public oversight of public dollars, though.

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 

During my 27 years representing teachers, I encountered a variety of teacher assistance plans. The intended purpose was to provide more detail than just having an evaluator sit in a classroom for 30 minutes and then check the “Needs Improvement” box on the evaluation form.

But those plans varied wildly in quality and intent. Some evaluators recognized legitimate teaching deficiencies and tried to provide constructive assistance. The most beneficial plans were drafted with participation from the teacher being evaluated. That provided mutual ownership; the advice was shaped with the teacher instead of imposed on the teacher.

Those were rare.

Ann M. Rhodes is a Waterloo native who worked at the University of Iowa for 47 years.

Education at all levels, but particularly higher education, is under assault. As a society, we appear to have abandoned the notion articulated by our Founding Fathers that an educated citizenry is critical to democracy.

As the Chair of the Executive Committee of the University of Iowa chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), I would like to speak to the values of higher education and its critical importance. Here are our core values, upon which our advocacy work is based.

Robin Opsahl covers the state legislature and politics for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared. Brooklyn Draisley, Cami Koons, and Kathie Obradovich contributed to this article.

As the Iowa legislature advanced past the second major deadline of the 2025 session, conversations on pipelines, Medicaid work requirements and new higher education requirements are continuing through surviving bills—though agreements have not necessarily been reached between the two Republican-controlled chambers.

The session’s second “funnel” deadline is another checkpoint for lawmakers during the legislative session, culling the bills that remain eligible for consideration as the Legislature nears the end of session. During the first funnel, bills were required to gain approval by a committee in one chamber to survive. In the second funnel, bills must have passed in floor debate in one chamber and gained committee approval in the other chamber to remain eligible.

There are several exceptions to this deadline, such as bills involving taxes, spending and government oversight components, and they include the property tax legislation proposed by Iowa lawmakers. Legislative leaders can also sponsor a bill and bring it forward without abiding by the deadline.

In addition, the language of a bills considered “dead” because of the funnel can still be added, at any point, as an amendment to a surviving bill.

There are also several bills that remain eligible for consideration by being placed on the “unfinished business” calendar, allowing them to remain up for consideration during the remainder of the session.

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 

If you ask an Iowa educator what they need to be successful, you’ll get a list of things like, time to prepare, no legislative attacks, parental support, adequate supplies, administrative backing, and adequate school funding. 

What’s in House File 884 won’t be on the list. That bill allows public school districts and charter schools to hire or allow volunteer or paid chaplains, with no qualification requirements except to pass a background check. Iowa House Republicans approved the legislation on March 26, and Republicans on the Senate Education Committee advanced it on April 3, making the bill eligible for debate in the full Senate. 

Bernie Scolaro is a retired school counselor, a past president of the Sioux City Education Association, and former Sioux City school board member.

When I first came to Sioux City, Iowa for my job interview in 1984, I was struck by the Midwest work ethic and down-to-earth locals. I was told how you are a great place to raise a family and to receive a first-in-the-nation education. 

I was truly excited for my new adventure, but like in some relationships, over time, you have deceived me and let me down. You are no longer the Iowa I fell in love with. You are no longer “a place to grow,” where I can thrive in the current polarizing environment. 

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.

As President Donald Trump, red-state governors, and legislators elevate the stress and anxiety in higher education by seeking to change how U.S. colleges and universities operate and what they teach, the contrast between how an Ivy League school and an Iowa university responded shows the courage gap among college leaders.

Columbia University, the 270-year-old private, nonprofit institution in New York City, garnered intense governmental attention and public criticism last week. 

The Trump administration cancelled $400 million in federal grants for medical and scientific research because of what the president thought was the school’s inadequate response to pro-Palestinian protests on campus growing out of Israel’s war in Gaza. The president demanded the school make a series of substantive changes as preconditions for the feds’ restoration of the grants—including banning protesters from wearing masks, thereby making it easier to identify them.

Robert Reich, a University of California professor of public policy and former member of the Clinton cabinet, wrote last week about the Trump administration’s actions: “Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is just about Trump wanting to protect Jewish students from expressions of antisemitism. It’s about the Trump regime wanting to impose all sorts of values on American higher education. It’s all about intimidation.” 

While the Ivy League school withered in the spotlight and gave in to the pressure, Drake University, the largest private school in Iowa, stood firm against the tide of federal and state mandates to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in a way few institutions have in recent weeks.

Marty Martin has led Drake as its president for the past ten years. On March 3, he offered a blunt defense to Drake’s faculty, staff and students of what opponents to diversity, equality, and inclusiveness label simply as DEI.

In an email titled “A Welcoming Place for All,” Martin wrote: 

A great strength of Drake University is the ever-increasing diversity of the individuals who make up this wonderful place. That diversity is essential to our mission promise to prepare our students for meaningful personal lives, professional accomplishment, and responsible global citizenship. 

It creates opportunities for life-changing relationships. It makes our campus more interesting and vibrant. It broadens perspectives and enriches the learning experience. It ultimately makes our University stronger and more resilient.” 

Martin continued: “When we open ourselves up to the wide array of individuals and communities around us, our lives become more grounded, joyful, and fulfilling. We learn that our differences are not weaknesses, they are strengths. We discover that exploring those differences with open minds and hearts, with empathy and love, is one of the most meaningful experiences we can have in life.” 

He then directed his attention to Iowa state government: 

On Friday [February 28], Governor Reynolds signed a bill ending eighteen years of civil rights protection for transgender and nonbinary Iowans. This action is one among many current state and federal efforts that seek to turn our differences into division. Instead of working to find a shared path grounded in respect for the basic human dignity possessed by every person, too many public officials are seeking to marginalize and isolate our colleagues, neighbors, friends, and loved ones. 

This is a moral failure against which we stand in opposition. It is our duty to respect, support, and affirm anyone in our community targeted by these actions.

Martin concluded, “The road ahead is going to present many challenges to the values that define this institution. … My hope is that we travel this road together grounded in a shared commitment to be there for each other every step of the way. You have my unwavering commitment to remain steadfast in fostering a welcoming, inclusive, and safe community for all.” 

Martin’s message was not written in a vacuum. And effective and courageous leadership does not occur in a vacuum, either. 

At a time when academic freedom and First Amendment rights get pushback from federal and state government officials, Marty Martin elevated Drake University above a concerning number of other colleges and universities that have bowed to outside political pressure and legalized extortion. 

Federal research grants are not some form of reward or incentive available only to government’s “friends.” Nor should these grants—and the promise they hold for healthier lives—become a tool for intimidation.

Government never should have the power to condition benefits, funding or support on a waiver of constitutional rights or civil liberties. 

Presumably, the medical research grants the Trump administration is cutting originated because government saw important societal benefits from the breakthroughs these institutions’ scientists have achieved—breakthroughs that have improved survival rates and new treatments for breast cancer, for heart disease, for leukemia, diabetes, and other health disorders. 

Martin’s letter also comes at a time when a bill moving through the Iowa legislature would withhold Iowa Tuition Grants from private colleges and universities in the state if a school refuses to end its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. (Iowa House members approved House File 856 last week; the bill has been assigned to a subcommittee in the Senate.) 

The tuition grant program was created in 1972 and has made higher education more affordable for qualifying students who choose to attend an Iowa private, not-for-profit college or university. The state will spend about $50 million this year on these need-based scholarships. 

One footnote of irony: That the legislature is considering conditioning college tuition support on how private colleges run their internal operations—their diversity and equality initiatives—stands in sharp contrast with the hands-off position the state takes with private K-12 schools that receive taxpayer funds through Education Savings Accounts. These voucher accounts provide $7,800 in tax money for each student to assist with their private school tuition, costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

The question now is whether state and federal government officials take a similar hands-off attitude toward the pledge by Marty Martin and Drake University to keep its campus welcoming, nurturing and supportive of all students, all faculty and all staff.

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 

Before Republicans gutted Iowa’s 42-year-old public sector bargaining law in 2017, collective bargaining was a lot like a middle school dance. At the start, there was a chasm between wannabe dancers. They huddled with their own group, talking about what might be.

Oh, so gradually they inched closer. One deal was done, then a couple more. Suddenly, the dance floor rocked until deadlines loomed, and the lights blazed on.

It’s never easy. But it worked, and the school district and association owned the results.

Sue Dinsdale is the executive director of the Iowa Citizen Action Network, a grassroots public interest organization committed to creating social change in Iowa and across the nation. She is also the state lead for Health Care for America NOW. Brian Keyser is a health policy research associate at Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute that is dedicated to improving the lives of all Americans through bold, progressive ideas, strong leadership, and concerted action.

Last year, 60-year-old Iowan Susan McKinney started a new job working from home for a travel agency. Susan suffers from diabetes, arthritis, and atrial fibrillation (AFib), and her insurance coverage hadn’t kicked in before her health deteriorated to the point where she couldn’t walk up or down her apartment steps. She couldn’t get to a doctor—which she had no way to pay for anyway—so her conditions went untreated. In November, her concerned siblings moved her back to her hometown of Cedar Rapids, where the local free clinic told her that she qualified for Medicaid. Susan’s sister says, “Medicaid saved her life.”

Medicaid provides comprehensive medical coverage and long-term care for approximately 21 percent of Iowans like Susan. In 2023, the federal government covered around 72 percent of Iowa’s $7 billion in Medicaid spending.

But on February 25, all four members of Iowa’s House delegation voted in lock step with the Republican majority to advance a budget that would necessitate slashing federal contributions to state Medicaid programs to fund tax cuts for the wealthy. If implemented, this legislation could mean a loss of more than $8 billion for Iowa’s economy over the next decade.

The Center for American Progress estimated how the $880 billion in proposed Medicaid cuts nationwide would cost each Congressional district in federal funding. Here are the Iowa numbers:

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 all attended parties living two hours beyond when it should die. The conversation ends, the chip dip separates, there’s more empty beer cans than full. But there’s always someone trying to keep it alive. 

We all know that guy.  He tells another loud, obnoxious joke.  As yawns drown out the music, he shouts, “Let’s play a drinking game.” 

There’s a mad dash for the door. It’s time to go home.

Justin Scott is a longtime advocate for secular government, public education, and civil rights. A passionate watchdog for church-state separation, he has spent years holding elected officials accountable for their policies and rhetoric. When he’s not engaging in activism, Justin is an involved parent, dedicated community member, and unapologetic smart-ass when the situation calls for it.

For around ten years now, Sandy Salmon has been serving in the Iowa legislature.

Okay, wait, sorry. That’s not right.

Present.

She’s been present. Yes, “present” seems like a better word to describe what a lot of us feel her time in Des Moines—and back home—has been.

For those of you who have ever been her constituents, her tenure as an elected official feels a whole lot like Weekend at Bernie’s.

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.

Iowa taxpayers provided about $104 million last school year directly to parents choosing to send their K-12 children to private schools. 

The price tag for these Education Savings Accounts, commonly known as school vouchers, is expected to climb to $294 million this school year as more families become eligible. During the 2025-2026 school year, when income eligibility standards are removed, the cost is expected to reach $344 million, the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates.

I am not here to debate the merits of this program. Others can do that.

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.

Republicans at the Iowa capitol like to think they’re good at managing money.

They cut taxes. They’ve got a big surplus. They’re so proud of themselves, they want to teach the locals how to do it.

In her Condition of the State address in January, Governor Kim Reynolds said it was time to impose discipline on local governments, “because to pass meaningful property tax reform, we also need to be lean at the local level.”

But is the state really that much better at spending discipline than the locals?

Turns out, not so much.

Governor Kim Reynolds struck a confident tone when asked this week about a possible 2026 primary against former State Representative Brad Sherman.

In a February 17 news release announcing his campaign for governor, Sherman said, “I look forward to working with President Trump – who I endorsed early and supported in rallies, caucuses, conventions, and elections – in his agenda to restore the America we love.”

It was a not-subtle swipe at Reynolds, who endorsed and campaigned for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis before the 2024 Iowa caucuses.

Although the governor has not confirmed she will seek a third term, she was ready with talking points that would cater to Republican audiences.

“I’LL STAND ON MY BOLD CONSERVATIVE RECORD”

Gray TV Iowa political director Dave Price asked Reynolds on February 18 if she felt confident the president would endorse her in a Republican primary. Here’s my recording of that exchange from the governor’s press conference.

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 

Imagine being appointed to be the president of a huge tech company. You have no experience or knowledge of tech. Your 11-year-old grandson taught you once how to turn on a computer, but that’s the limit of your tech knowledge. You’re a modern-day Luddite.

Most of your experience is in showbiz. The chairman of the board loved your show and even made guest appearances. The other board members are afraid of the chairman, so when he shouts, “jump!” They whimper, “How high?”

You’ve received your orders from the chairman. His goal is to dismantle the company regardless of harm. You’re hired to destroy, not reform.

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 and the author of the Substack newsletter The Odd Man Out.

Iowa used to be a state of Firsts. It was introduced as a free state to counter Texas as a slave state into the United States. Iowa was famous for its participation in the Civil War on the side of the Union. Iowa has such a steeped and storied history in education that leaders chose a schoolhouse for the state’s commemorative quarter, to demonstrate how much Iowans value education. The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that school segregation was unconstitutional 86 years before the U.S. Supreme Court mandated desegregation nationally. 

The rights of women via the suffragists were a massive force in Iowa. The University of Iowa was a destination for many award-winning writers like Kurt Vonnegut, and Iowa State University broke racial barriers with Jack Trice and George Washington Carver. Iowa was among the first states to legalize same sex marriage in 2009 before it was done nationally. Governor Robert Ray, a Republican, became famous for welcoming immigrants, setting up a refugee center for thousands of Tai Dam refugees during the 1970s.

That positive impact is still felt today.

Glenn Branch is the deputy director of the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that promotes and defends accurate and effective science education. 

As Iowa continues the process of reviewing and revising its state science standards—which establish the goals for what knowledge and skills students in the state’s public schools are expected to attain—a remark from a famous transient Iowan comes to mind. Offering advice for aspiring writers, Mark Twain emphasized that “the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter,” adding, “’tis the difference between the lightning-bug and the lightning.”

As the Cedar Rapids Gazette previously reported, after the committee of 37 Iowa educators and scientists charged with revising the standards completed its work, the Iowa Department of Education took it upon itself to scrub phrases like “evolution” and “climate change” and a reference to the 4.6-billion-year age of the earth from the draft that was then presented to the public. There was no acknowledgement of the department’s intervention until members of the committee protested.

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  

In the fall of 1975, I was a freshman at Central College in Pella, Iowa. I had spent the summer detasseling corn, so college rescued me from dew-drenched mornings and sweat-dripping afternoons.

I graduated from high school with twelve other students. I wasn’t the valedictorian or even salutatorian, but I was in the top ten. With that academic record, graduation from college was the goal, but it certainly wasn’t a given.

Like all freshmen, I first had to conquer general education requirements. One of those was a religion class. I attended Sunday school and church my whole life, so I registered for New Testament.

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  

In 1989, the movie Field of Dreams painted an idyllic picture of Iowa. The most iconic scene was when a ghostly player asks, “Is this heaven?” Ray, played by Kevin Costner, answers, “No, it’s Iowa.”

More than three decades later, even those with rose colored glasses wouldn’t mistake Iowa for heaven. It’s changed. 

Once, both political parties valued protecting children. It was a core value.

But that’s gone. It’s buried next to “Iowa nice.”

Here’s what led to its death.

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. A version of this essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, The Odd Man Out.

Republicans, particularly Iowa Republicans, seem to have a serious problem with science and the scientific method. Their actions and rhetoric treat science as if it is some monolithic thing to appeal to or a lever you can pull to look good and reasonable in the face of scrutiny. However, like so many concepts and principles that require thought and consideration, they seem to really struggle with science and the scientific method. 

So often, Republicans substitute a tradition or a belief or cultural icon for science, in order to justify some action or some policy proposal. It is a common refrain, with scientific and secular organizations lining up with data, expertise, and testable hypotheses on one side of an issue. On the other side—the Republican side—there are faith-based organizations and Very Concerned Citizens who have little to no scientific data to back them up. These folks tend to view science the same way they view their favored religious text: as an authoritative source of knowledge that must be appealed to, rather than a process that should be applied and worked through.

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.

Current controversy over the Iowa Department of Education’s proposals for new school standards on science education goes back only a couple of months. But on Sunday, January 26, a Des Moines pastor went back some 3,000 years in scripture to discuss how the agency’s proposals reflect the threats that Christian Nationalism poses to our democracy and the nation’s religious life.

At the end of his sermon, the congregation applauded him for doing so.

The pastor is the Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski.

The congregation is Westminster Presbyterian in the Beaverdale neighborhood of Des Moines.

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  

Americans love expressing their opinions. After all, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees free speech. You’ll find those loud opinions at any sporting event. Sit in the stands at any field or gym and you’ll hear the bleacher experts sitting fifteen rows up, sometimes three beers in.

Trying to get a family to reach a consensus on where to eat is almost as complicated as diplomatic détente. Strategic planning meetings are a kind of American torture chamber. And we’ve all read the “expert opinions” on Facebook.

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

This year marks the centennial of the notorious Scopes trial, held in 1925 in Dayton, Tennessee, over the question of whether a state could ban the teaching of e – – – – – – – – (rhymes with “revolution”) in its public schools.

This month the people of Iowa caught a whiff of that episode as a result of a proposed revision to state standards on science education in Iowa schools.

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.

The Iowa Department of Education may be first in the nation in commemorating a centennial to be ashamed of.

I’m talking about the 100^th anniversary of the Scopes trial in Dayton, Tennessee, which took place from July 10 to July 21, 1925. John Scopes, a high school biology teacher, was convicted of violating a state law, the Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach human evolution in public schools. He was fined $100 (about $1,800 in today’s dollars), but never had to serve jail time.

Bernie Scolaro is a retired school counselor, a past president of the Sioux City Education Association, and former Sioux City school board member.

Jackson Katz created a peer leadership program called Mentors in Violence Prevention in 1993. The concept was to empower bystanders to help prevent bullying, sexual harassment and gender-related violence. Some schools implemented Mentors in Violence Prevention strategies in 1997. Sioux City West High School implemented the training program while I was a school counselor there. Assistant Principal Al Heisterkamp took the lead. Philanthropist Cindy Waitt and the Waitt Institute for Violence Prevention provided support and funding, which contributed to this program’s success nationwide. 

This program deserves its own recognition and deep dive, but here’s one key fact: its success was based on training peers to educate their peers in standing up for each other. Why did this model work? Because we tend to listen to people who are more like us; in this instance, those similar in age.

Randy Richardson is a former educator and retired associate executive director of the Iowa State Education Association.

At long last the Iowa Department of Education released school enrollment numbers for the current school year on January 17. Public school enrollment took another dip this year as a total of 480,665 students attended Iowa schools. That’s a decrease of 3033.3 students from the previous year. Private schools, however, continued their growth with a total of 39,356 students. That’s an increase of 3,144 students or 8.7 percent from the previous year.

For years, private school enrollment decreased statewide. Since “Education Savings Accounts” (more commonly known as vouchers) have become widely available, that trend had reversed. Not only has enrollment increased, but more private schools have been opening statewide. This year saw an additional 21 accredited private schools open, bringing the total number of private schools to 211. Almost 80 percent of all private schools in the state saw enrollment gains. Compare that to public schools where only 36 percent saw an increase in enrollment.

Dexter Merschbrock is a member of National Association of Letter Carriers Branch 373 from Cedar Rapids, spouse to a public school teacher, former school board member, and father of three. He is originally from Fort Madison. 

As this year’s Iowa legislative session gets underway, supporters of public schools can expect little in the way of substantive policy to make things better for our state’s students and families. Over the past two years, tens of thousands of Iowans came together to advocate against the destructive school voucher program and in support of the state’s Area Education Agencies. Those efforts, while valiant, did not sway most Republican legislators.

This year, with even larger Republican majorities in both chambers and no legislative elections coming this fall, I propose a different approach, to make our voices heard on the local level.

Gerald Ott of Ankeny was a high school English teacher and for 30 years a school improvement consultant for the Iowa State Education Association.

I watched Governor Kim Reynolds’ Condition of the State message on YouTube on January 15, the day after she spoke to state legislators. I followed along with the text from her official webpage. If she left out a word, I missed the omission.

Every citizen should scrutinize the governor’s remarks to see if or how she speaks to you. If I seem cynical, I feel justified.

I didn’t put a timer on it, but minutes devoted to hand clapping seemed to outnumber the actual minutes of speaking. Those packed in the “People’s House” no doubt came away with hands reddened and raw from clapping.

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   

Often when a politician gives a speech, what’s not said speaks volumes. The details left out are as important or more important than what’s said.

That’s the case with Governor Kim Reynolds’ Condition of the State on January 14—especially when it comes to what she left out about public education.

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   

Most veteran educators will tell you public education often falls in love with shiny, new trends. A school administrator goes to a conference and comes home with the latest, greatest idea, and is convinced every classroom should implement it immediately. 

It happened so often we called it the “flavor of the month.” Trends like the Madeline Hunter method, Cooperative learning, McRel, Open classroom, and Individual learning, are just a few examples. All had their day in the sun and died a slow or quick death.

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. A version of this essay first appeared on his Substack newsletter, The Odd Man Out.

Essential workers. What comes to mind first for most folks are the EMTs, police, nurses, and firefighters. Then, if they think a bit more, I’ll hear about postal workers, logistics personnel like truckers and train conductors, waste management workers, and utility workers. If you badger folks again, they will mention food service workers, grocery store shelf stockers and clerks, and maybe some of the folks specific to their industry or lifestyle. You really gotta dig down a lot of times to get to folks like teachers, home health care workers, or retirement home staff. 

However, there is a profession that I consider more crucial than many of the above, because without it the others might become non-starters.

I’m talking about child care workers, in particular, early childhood education workers and day care providers.