Cami Koons covers agriculture and the environment for Iowa Capital Dispatch, where this article first appeared.

A federal judge heard oral arguments on March 31 in a case that could overturn a decades-old statute tying wetland conservation to federal farm benefit eligibility. 

The plaintiff CTM Holdings, which owns and rents land to Iowa farmers, sued over the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “swampbuster” law, alleging its implementation is unconstitutional, and that it takes land without any compensation to landowners.

The government defendants and intervening environmental groups argued against CTM and alleged the company had no standing as it had not suffered any injury from the statute.

Chief Judge C.J. Williams, for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa, questioned whether the whole issue was a “failure to communicate” between the landowner and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which carries out the swampbuster rule. 

Peggy Huppert retired in 2023 following a 43-year career with Iowa nonprofit organizations, including the American Cancer Society and NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) Iowa. She is also a long-time progressive political activist.

It does not surprise me, but disappoints me greatly, that the Iowa legislature is poised to adopt a policy requiring “able bodied” Medicaid recipients to work at least 80 hours a month in order to stay enrolled.

This is nothing new. Some Republicans tried to implement this in Iowa during Donald Trump’s first administration. As the head of NAMI Iowa, I successfully helped fight this legislation for four years before a reprieve during the Biden administration. Now, with an even larger majority in both the Iowa House and Senate, encouragement from our governor, and a green light from the new Trump administration, there is nothing holding the Republican majority back.

As a mental health advocate and family member of loved ones with serious mental illness, I would like to see the phrase “able bodied” (just like “It’s all in your head”) permanently retired from our lexicon.

Voters in southeast Cedar Rapids will soon elect a new member of the Iowa House. Democratic State Representative Sami Scheetz resigned from the legislature on April 1 after being appointed to fill a vacancy on the Linn County Board of Supervisors (District 2). In a news release, he vowed to “continue to fight for working people, invest in our community’s future, and make sure Linn County remains a place where families can thrive” in his new role.

Scheetz was serving his second term in the legislature, representing House district 78. A detailed map is at the top of this post or can be downloaded here.

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.

Growing up in the 1950s, Evans family vacations seem typical by rural Midwest standards: car trips to the Ozarks, the Black Hills, Nauvoo and New Salem in Illinois, or St. Louis for a Cardinals baseball game.

But one memorable summer trip, around 1960, occurred when we motored north through Minnesota to Canada, the only foreign country my parents ever visited and a place more exotic than the Wisconsin Dells. 

Exotic? Absolutely. This trip required us to stop at the border and clear a Canadian customs check.

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.

We’re in the Christian season of Lent—the 40 days from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday—a time for self-reflection and repentance. This year, however, Lent is also marked by enough ironies to fuel endless debates about the separation of religion and politics.

Consider:

President Donald Trump has said of the attempt to assassinate him last July, “I was saved by God to make America great again.”

Further, Trump has likened his May 2024 felony conviction to the persecution suffered by Jesus Christ. He also likened those he pardoned for their roles in the January 6, 2021 insurrection to Christian martyrs—“persecuted Christians” was Trump’s phrase.

On the other hand, a recent survey by the well-respected Pew Research Center suggests a marked decline in Iowans identifying themselves as Christian. Pew’s Landscape Study also indicates that Iowa is no longer more Christian than the rest of the nation.

Steven M. Fink served as rabbi of Temple B’nai Jeshurun in Des Moines from 1983 to 1999. He chose to return to Des Moines after retiring from the pulpit rabbinate. He chose Des Moines because of its rich culture and active civic engagement.  

When Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill to roll back civil rights protections for transgender people, all Christians, Muslims, and Jews should have been appalled. All three of the Abrahamic religions espouse the belief that a spark of the Divine exists in every human being. 

How then could a majority in the Republican-dominated legislature, many of whom claim to be religious people who base their votes on what God wants, vote to repeal civil rights legislation for a protected group? As the Des Moines Register noted, signing the bill “makes Iowa the first state in the country to take away civil rights from a group it has previously protected in law.” 

How can these representatives of the proud state of Iowa, descendants of those leaders who desegregated schools long before the U.S. Supreme Court required it, admitted women into the legal profession, and acknowledged the right of same-sex couples to marry take a huge backwards step by eliminating civil rights protections for a group of human beings? 

Do they not believe that a spark of God resides in every person? Do they believe that God makes mistakes and they should rectify those wrongs by denying human status to transgender people?

Dave Price had the scoop for Gray Media on March 28: State Senator Zach Wahls is “certainly listening” to those who have encouraged him to run for U.S. Senate in 2026.

Wahls is the first Democrat to publicly express interest in this race. Two-term Senator Joni Ernst has not formally launched her re-election campaign but is widely expected to seek a third term.

Wahls told Price he will decide whether to run for higher office after the Iowa legislative session. But he’s already criticizing Ernst, most recently in a March 26 news release that tied the senator to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s “reckless mishandling of military plans” in a Signal group chat.

Rod Sullivan is a Johnson County supervisor. 

I searched the word “Medicaid” in my archive. I was shocked to find how much I have written on the topic—tens of thousands of words over the years. 

Why have I written so much about Medicaid? For one, you write what you know. I used to work in the Iowa Medicaid program. Even though that was several years ago, I know Medicaid quite well. That is why the Republican scheme to cut the program upsets me so much.

 Ehren Leib is a laboratory technician in Coralville, Iowa. He is not a writer by profession, but dabbles when the mood fancies him.

I sent the letter enclosed below to all members of the Iowa House and Iowa Senate who voted for Senate File 418, which removed transgender protections from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, among other discriminatory provisions. It’s common to receive an automated reply from legislators, saying they prioritize emails from their own constituents.

If you support what I am requesting here, and you live in a district represented by a lawmaker who voted for SF 418 or know somebody who does, I ask you to send something along these lines to them. Here is a list of all legislators who voted for SF 418, and here is the directory where you can find your district number and the House and Senate members who represent you at the statehouse.

Jacqui Daniels, founder of Daniels PR, works with authors and publishing companies to promote new books and support literary talents.

The Holocaust is a profound chapter in human history, and its lessons are more relevant than ever. On April 7, at 6 PM, Dr. Alex Kor will deliver a deeply personal talk, “Reflecting on My Parents’ Holocaust Journeys: Finding Forgiveness and Celebrating My Family’s Legacy,” at Iowa State University‘s Great Hall in the Memorial Union.

Dr. Kor’s late parents, Michael and Eva Mozes Kor, endured unimaginable suffering during the Holocaust, each surviving time in Nazi concentration camps. Michael spent four harrowing years in captivity before being liberated by U.S. troops. Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were subjected to Josef Mengele’s notorious medical experiments at Auschwitz. Despite their trauma, both Michael and Eva embodied resilience and unwavering optimism.

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 

Dear members of Congress:

I know your job is difficult. I’d hate coming to work where I’m expected, at least in public, to despise almost half of my co-workers just because we disagree.

One side knows the republic hangs in the balance, but can’t decide how to cut it down to keep it from choking. The other side twists itself into knots defending a mercurial president who rides one whim after another, depending on the day. Both sides hurl insults via cable news noise.

It’s a dysfunctional work environment.

The American people are caught in the middle.

Here are some suggestions for improving your workplace and getting back to doing the people’s business. 

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.

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

It takes courage to stand for the right course of action. It takes more courage to do something about it.

John F. Kennedy’s 1956 book Profiles in Courage details the actions of eight U.S. Senators throughout history who did the right thing in specific instances, knowing nevertheless the bitter criticism and retaliation they would undergo. Among the eight was U.S. Senator James W. Grimes of Iowa, who was among seven Republican senators who voted against convicting President Andrew Johnson in 1868 on his questionable impeachment charge approved by the Republican-controlled U.S. House.

Johnson avoided ejection from the presidency by just one vote. Had any one of the seven brave senators voted the other way, he would have been gone.

Sometimes such courage takes place hidden from the public. Other times, as in the episodes Kennedy describes, it’s very public, even sensational.

If ever a time cried out for such courage, it’s now.

Matt Chapman serves on the board of Manufactured Housing Action and has been fighting for fair housing laws in Iowa for five years.

By copying the laws that govern manufactured housing parks, some Iowa legislators are trying to make illegal lease provisions legal for all Iowa rentals.

To get a good understanding of what is happening, we will start with some laws Iowa has already enacted, which are harmful for homeowners in Iowa’s manufactured housing parks. They have been inundated with private equity and vulture capitalists who want to extract as much wealth as possible and then move on.

The same trends are affecting single and multi-family rental housing, which is a much bigger sector in Iowa. This is why passing bills like Senate File 412 (or the similar House File 973) would make staying housed much harder and would cause more Iowans to suffer.

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 Geek, where this essay first appeared.

March 20 was the seventh anniversary of Sonia (Kendrick) Stover’s death, at age 40. The news was a blow to me and others in every way imaginable. The best I could do to mourn her passing was to make a point of personal privilege on the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives, reading a story by Alison Gowans of the Cedar Rapids Gazette, to ensure that others knew of the loss the state had suffered.

Dani Replogle is a staff attorney with the national advocacy group Food & Water Watch.

For nearly a century, the U.S. government has encouraged farmers to adopt practices that conserve wetlands, protect clean water, and keep farms sustainable. But this common-sense federal commitment to farmers and wetland conservation is now under threat.

Swampbuster, a federal program that rewards farmers who conserve wetlands with eligibility for millions of dollars in U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits, is a policy that embodies the longstanding governmental commitment to supporting good farmland stewardship practices. Thanks to the Trump administration and a suite of lawsuits that have cropped up in federal courts, Swampbuster and similar incentive programs now face an uncertain future.

For years, family farm groups have been advocating for this long-term farm sustainability program. This month, attorneys representing sustainable agriculture groups will defend the critical Swampbuster program in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

First-term State Representative Brett Barker has acknowledged he made a “rookie mistake” when he authorized the distribution of a right-wing Christian pamphlet to all of his Iowa House colleagues. Barker told Bleeding Heartland he didn’t read the publication by Capitol Ministries before it was circulated in the chamber on March 19.

But Barker has not publicly disavowed the contents of the weekly “Bible Study,” which portrays political adversaries as tools of Satan, calls on believers to “evangelize their colleagues,” depicts same-sex marriage and LGBTQ existence as “satanic perversions,” and condemns “women’s liberation” as a “scheme of the devil.”

Staff for Governor Kim Reynolds and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst did not respond to Bleeding Heartland’s inquiries about their association with Capitol Ministries or the views expressed in its latest publication. Both Reynolds and Ernst are among the “Bible Study Sponsors” listed on the front page of the document distributed in the Iowa House.

Jeff Morrison is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative and the publisher of the Between Two Rivers newsletter, where this article first appeared. Find more of his work at betweentworivers.substack.com and iowahighwayends.net.

COVID-19 whacked the Iowa newspaper industry hard.

Between March 13 and June 15, 2020, a combined 30 days’ worth of issues across sixteen Iowa communities vanished.

However, 2019 had seen its own share of print reductions. Over the past six years, national and local publishers have made difficult decisions to reduce print pages or cease printing altogether. It didn’t matter whether they had newspapers nationwide or one paper in one town.

This timeline lays out the publishing changes that could be tracked down in Iowa newspapers between January 2019 and February 2025, either in decreasing frequency of multi-day papers or weeklies that were discontinued or merged. Dates were collected from news stories of the time, Advantage Preservation websites, and the Internet Archive. Some papers produce an “e-edition” that is like the print product, in the same format, on non-print days, and those are so noted. The online version of this newsletter may be updated for new information or unintentional omissions.

John Hale and Terri Hale own The Hale Group, advocating for older Iowans and people with disabilities. John worked for the Social Security Administration for 25 years in its Baltimore headquarters, Kansas City regional office, and in multiple Iowa field offices. Contact: terriandjohnhale@gmail.com

The Social Security program is 89 years old. Seventy-two million Americans currently receive a monthly benefit. Some 185 million Americans pay into the system and plan to receive benefits someday.

According to the Social Security Administration, some 687,630 Iowans receive monthly Social Security benefits, which total more than $1.2 billion ($1,235,464,000 to be precise) every month—in Iowa alone.

Americans depend on Social Security to be there for them. Recent events raise serious questions about whether it will be.