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.

Senator Joni Ernst calls herself the U.S. Senate’s “fiercest advocate” for government accountability.

Too bad she doesn’t appear to care about the country’s biggest tax cheats.

Over the past couple years, the Iowa senator has been fixated on the Internal Revenue Service. But rather than help the IRS try to recover the hundreds of billions of dollars in unpaid taxes each year, Ernst and her fellow Republicans are doing the opposite. They want to choke off the funding that is helping the IRS to rein in these abuses and give you better service.

Three weeks ago, the IRS announced that, with the additional funding provided by the White House and Democrats in Congress, it had collected more than $1 billion in unpaid taxes from millionaires over the past year.

U.S. women have had phenomenal success at the Olympic Games in Paris. Simone Biles has won more Olympic medals than any other American gymnast. Katie Ledecky has won more Olympic medals than any other American woman in any sport. Lee Keifer became a three-time gold medalist in fencing and competed against Lauren Scruggs in “the first All-American final in the individual foil in Olympic history.” U.S. women also won their “first-ever team fencing gold in women’s foil” and their first medal in rugby.

At this writing, more than two dozen women competing for the U.S. have won medals in events ranging from cycling to diving, shooting, and canoeing. Laura Kraut became “the oldest American woman to win an Olympic medal since 1904” as part of a team equestrian event. More medals are likely coming in swimming and gymnastics, and the track and field events are just getting started.

Instead of celebrating the successes of American women in France, Iowa Republicans joined the stampede of conservatives who used a boxing match between an Algerian and an Italian to push their anti-trans agenda.

Libertarian candidates have qualified for the general election ballot in three of Iowa’s four U.S. House districts.

A state party convention in early June nominated Nicholas Gluba in the first Congressional district, Marco Battaglia in the third, and Charles Aldrich in the fourth.

All three candidates spoke to Bleeding Heartland about their goals and priorities at the state capitol on July 29. That was the first day federal candidates who did not compete in a major-party primary could submit nominating papers to the Iowa Secretary of State’s office for the November 5 election.

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  

Mom asked, “You didn’t make anyone mad today, did you?”  I didn’t have the heart to answer truthfully. 

She kept asking.

I kept fibbing.

Katie Byerly of Cerro Gordo County is also known as Iowa Prairie Girl on YouTube.

Apparently I take Wild licorice (Glycyrrhiza lepidota) growing in my “neck of the priairie” for granted. A map on the Iowa Wildflower app indicates that wild licorice grows in 22 of Iowa’s 99 counties, mostly in western Iowa. My home county, Cerro Gordo (north central Iowa), is on the eastern edge of this species’ known locations.

I find wild licorice growing in my favorite place to look for wildflowers: Wilkinson Pioneer Park in Rock Falls.

Norman Brewer is a retired journalist who reported for the Des Moines Tribune (1965-1978) before moving to Washington, D.C. He has written three novels about domestic terrorism, most recently January 6: A Novel, his take on how much worse the insurrection could have been. He lives in Portland, Oregon.        

When bedrock freedoms of democracy are on the line, I am a conservative. No. Correction: I am a staunch conservative.

Being a conservative of any stripe does not mesh with my full embrace of the progressive agenda that has been baked into America’s social fabric over the past century, immeasurably enhancing our well-being.

Marco Battaglia was the Libertarian Party of Iowa’s candidate for attorney general in 2018 and lieutenant governor in 2022. He is running for Congress in Iowa’s third district this year.

I am not a Democrat or a Republican. I am registered Libertarian. I am aware that some baggage comes with that label. I am trying to set a positive example of what the term means both historically and today for as many of my active fellow patriots as is possible.

I would love for all of us on the ballot to debate respectfully together and to run as no party, but the government of Iowa and the federal government make it impossible to do so at this time. I would love to help change this. I would rather serve people and talk about individual issues than talk about political parties. If anyone thinks critically enough about enough issues, they will soon discover that both a left to right spectrum and a two-party system are obsolete.

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

Question: When is a bribe not a bribe, but a thank-you gift?

Answer: When it’s paid after the fact, not before.

So says the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Lead us not into temptation,” State Auditor Rob Sand told some 450 Iowa Democrats on July 27. He tries to say those words every day, he explained, because the phrase has “been an important part of my life, and an important part of my faith, like it has for many other people.”

Sand’s remarks drew heavily on the language of faith to press the case against Republican policies.

The auditor is not on the ballot this November but is widely viewed as a possible candidate for governor in 2026. So while Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear was the main attraction at the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration in Des Moines, Sand’s six-minute speech was also notable as a preview of his next campaign—either for governor or for a third term in his current position.

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

A man attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania on July 13. A bullet killed Corey Comperatore, who was sitting behind the candidate at the rally. Trump was wounded when something (bullet, glass, or shrapnel) grazed his ear, producing much blood. 

Neither the hospital nor the attending physician ever released a report on Trump’s condition or treatment. He has repeatedly said a bullet hit his ear. The FBI has been investigating the incident, and FBI Director Chris Wray told the House Judiciary Committee on July 24 that “there’s some question about whether or not it’s a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear.” The FBI later said in a July 26 statement, “What struck former President Trump in the ear was a bullet, whether whole or fragmented into smaller pieces, fired from the deceased subject’s rifle.”

Ryan Melton is the Democratic nominee in Iowa’s fourth Congressional district. These are his prepared remarks for the Iowa Democratic Party’s Liberty and Justice Celebration in Des Moines on July 27. You can listen to the speech as delivered here.

At the Mills County Fair Democratic party booth in Malvern a couple Saturdays ago, a high school freshman to be asked me what motivates me to keep going despite the odds in our district, so he too could buy in and join the effort.

Here’s what I told him:

Bonnie Ewoldt is a writer with two parcels of land targeted for eminent domain by Summit Carbon Solutions on its original pipeline route in Crawford County, Iowa. 

Last month, Summit Carbon Solutions received a conditional permit from the Iowa Utilities Commission to construct a 680-mile CO2 pipeline across Iowa. The proposed pipeline, named the Midwest Carbon Express, will carry pressurized CO2 from ethanol plants across five Midwestern states to North Dakota, where Summit has said it will be permanently sequestered underground. The investment company will then earn billions of dollars annually in 45Q carbon tax credits.

Summit Carbon recently filed additional applications with the Iowa Utilities Commission to bring sixteen ethanol plants from the now-defunct Navigator CO2 pipeline onto the Summit trunkline with lateral routes.

This past week, Summit Carbon informed Iowa landowners on the lateral lines that their property is on the route of a proposed CO2 pipeline. The third paragraph of the letter (enclosed in full below) uses the term “eminent domain” six times and the word “condemnation” twice, which could suggest these actions are imminent. They are not.

Sue Dinsdale is the executive director of Iowa Citizen Action Network and leads the Health Care For America and Lower Drug Prices NOW campaigns in Iowa.

The most popular health care program in America turns 59 this year. Over 65 million seniors and people with disabilities depend on Medicare for their health coverage. That number will only increase over the next decade as a record number of people turn 65, qualify for the program, and enroll in a health plan that provides everything from routine prevention to acute care for serious illnesses like cancer. 

Prescription drug coverage is a vital part of Medicare coverage: nearly nine in ten (89 percent) of adults 65 and older report they are currently taking any prescription medicine. That is the highest utilization rate of any age group.

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

Many on the political right have compared former President Donald Trump to Jesus. Trump often portrays himself as the victim, sacrificing himself and being persecuted by those in power. 

Others have noted that Trump is one of the least religious people to occupy the White House, based on his lack of knowledge about Scripture, and how he used the Bible and the church as a prop during his presidency. His rhetoric, policies, and views fuel division, violence, and hate. As a former Catholic school student, I find his attitude and behavior in direct opposition to Christ’s teachings. 

The Beatitudes is part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. I have compiled some illustrative Trump quotes to contrast Jesus and the Republican nominee for president.

Top Iowa Republicans complained this week that Democratic voters were “disenfranchised” by President Joe Biden’s decision to step aside as his party’s nominee.

Days earlier, they had celebrated the nomination of Donald Trump, who tried to nullify millions of Americans’ votes after losing the 2020 presidential election.

Diane Porter of Fairfield first published this post on My Gaia, an email newsletter “about getting to know nature” and “giving her a helping hand in our own backyards.” Diane also maintains the Birdwatching Dot Com website and bird blog.

Mid-summer, yellow flowers start dominating the grassy field. But then prairie blazing star (Liatris pycnostachya) shoots up sizzling rose-purple shafts of color, like big fuzzy light sabers, and steals the show.

“Running as a Democrat in Rural Iowa just got so much more hopeful,” Iowa House candidate Tommy Hexter posted on X/Twitter on July 22, shortly after Vice President Kamala Harris secured enough support from delegates to win the Democratic nomination for president. “I am so grateful to Joe Biden for capping off his service to our Country by passing the torch to someone who can truly energize voters here in the Heartland.”

Many Iowa Democrats shared Hexter’s sense of relief and excitement after Biden announced he would stand down as the party’s candidate.

Iowa’s no longer the swing state it was for every presidential election from 1992 through 2012. Few doubt that Donald Trump will have little trouble winning Iowa’s six electoral votes.

Even so, the Harris campaign could help Democrats competing for other offices.

Randy Evans is executive director of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council and can be reached at DMRevans2810@gmail.com. 

For the past couple of years, Republicans often accused President Joe Biden of dodging the media—refusing to sit for extended interviews, declining to be questioned in regular White House press conferences, depriving the public of the opportunity to see how he thinks on his feet and articulates his views.

Critics accused Biden and his staff of avoiding unscripted events because they knew he was not mentally agile enough to keep up with the demands pointed questions bring. The president’s supporters brushed aside those assertions—although Biden’s performance during the recent debate against Donald Trump confirmed their worst anxieties.

I am not here to re-plow that political ground. Instead, I wonder why other political leaders much younger than the 81-year-old president are so reluctant to stand in front of their constituents, and journalists, and answer questions on a variety of topics.

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.

Many are concerned about the direction the Des Moines City Council is taking, particularly concerning the homeless population—some of our least fortunate neighbors and fellow citizens. This approach lays bare the apparent goal of the sitting councilors who support this policy: they do not believe unhoused folks deserve the same level of respect and dignity as other citizens. They are willing to cast them outside of the Des Moines city limits, if not completely outside of our society.

The proposed ordinance, to be considered at a July 22 meeting, flows from a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision that in effect allows local governments to criminalize homelessness. In the case known as Grants Pass v Johnson, six conservative justices held that enforcing criminal laws against sleeping in public does not violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Strange that a city council consisting entirely of registered Democrats is eager to oust their most vulnerable constituents as soon as a Republican decision is handed down.

“It’s time to put Donald J. Trump back in the White House and restore the future of our country for hardworking Americans!” U.S. Senator Joni Ernst posted on social media on the first day of the Republican National Convention.

Iowa’s junior senator kept busy in Milwaukee, participating in several panel discussions or events arranged by conservative groups, and praising Trump in podcast or television interviews. She appeared at some Iowa GOP functions (though she wasn’t one of our state’s RNC delegates) and honored Trump’s campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita.

But Ernst’s status has diminished since the last time her party nominated Trump for the presidency. She was among a small group of politicians passed over as RNC speakers this year, after giving prime-time addresses at both the 2016 and 2020 conventions.

A rift with team Trump could jeopardize Ernst’s hope to move up another notch in Senate leadership after the November election. It could also inspire a MAGA challenger to run in the GOP primary when the senator seeks a third term in 2026.