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 

Lately, on my walks, I’ve pondered changes in Iowa. I’ve written about some of them and have read some great articles comparing Iowa now to how our beloved state was in the past.

I’m left with a threshold question: Have Iowans really changed so dramatically that “Iowa Nice” has morphed into “Iowa Nasty?” Around mile 3 of my walk I concluded Iowans haven’t changed, but our state’s leadership has. Here’s what I mean. 

If you go to almost any town in this state, you’ll see posters and a bucket for donating to a neighbor struck down by illness. There are so many pancake benefits for families in need. Every year local news media report on farmer friends helping an ailing neighbor harvest their crop.

During the recent devastating tornadoes there were hundreds of stories of folks in towns like Greenfield helping one another cope and rebuild. I bet a lot of the red hats worked side by side with those who bleed blue. 

That’s not Iowa of the past. That’s Iowa now.

During fall and winter Friday nights, high school football and basketball unite a town. No one cares if the star running back is from a Republican or Democratic family, or if the girl scoring point after point is “woke.” We care if our team can beat the team just up the road.

Iowa nice isn’t dead. It just seems dormant under the Golden Dome.

But wait, didn’t Iowans elect those legislators who changed our state? Didn’t Iowa vote decisively for the change Governor Kim Reynolds and her party ushered in?

The simple answer is yes. Iowans get the candidates we elect. But like most simple answers, that’s not the whole story. At least a few of the major changes were the product of some political bait and switch. 

Voters are often surprised when a candidate they supported (maybe out of party loyalty) does something they never mentioned during their campaign.

No matter which party is in charge, a trifecta can create problems because there aren’t adequate checks and balances. Politicians with power believe they can’t do wrong because they have a mandate. Often, they don’t.

If any Iowa candidates mentioned destroying public sector collective bargaining as a goal during their 2016 campaigns, I missed it. Few candidates talked about banning books before the 2022 election, or demanded a huge private school voucher entitlement.

Before this year’s legislative session, neither party campaigned on dismantling the 50-year-old Area Education Agency structure. But it happened because of one party control.

No, the people of Iowa haven’t changed. There’s still fundamental agreement on many issues.

• Iowans want strong public schools. After all, “Foundation in Education” is printed on the Iowa quarter. Private schools play a role, but not at the expense of the public system.
• Iowans want and need clean rivers, lakes, and streams.
• Iowans believe eminent domain should not be used to provide land to for profit companies.
• Iowans want their nursing homes to be safe, clean, and honest about the care provided.
• Iowans believe children shouldn’t go hungry.
• Iowans believe doctors and patients—not big government—should make health care decisions.

Iowans haven’t changed, but our leaders have. We need candidates who are honest when they campaign, so voters understand what they really plan to accomplish. If elected, lawmakers need to be transparent about their agendas.