Iowa
After Iowa abortion ruling, should voters boot Justice David May? Rekha Basu weighs in.
Opponents of same-sex marriage waged ideological warfare against the courts in 2010. This time, Kim Reynolds, lawmakers and justices are responsible for the ideological warfare.
Dr. Sarah Traxler talks about the future of abortion care in Iowa
Dr. Sarah Traxler talks about the future of abortion care in Iowa on the last day before the six-week abortion ban takes effect.
Fifteen years ago, a group of evangelical political activists, furious over the Iowa Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling for same-sex marriage, plotted revenge. Led by Bob Vander Plaats of the The Family Leader, they formed the ironically named “Iowans for Freedom.”
Funded partly by out-of-state money, it campaigned against three of the Supreme Court justices who happened to be up for retention elections in 2010. And it succeeded in unseating three fine ones: Chief Justice Marsha Ternus and Justices Michael Streit and David Baker.
Fast forward to this year, when a reconstituted Iowa Supreme Court, a majority hand-picked by Iowa’s anti-abortion Gov. Kim Reynolds, turns back the clock 50 years with a 4-3 ruling effectively outlawing abortions after six weeks into a pregnancy. In doing so, the justices overturned precedent that had withstood previous Supreme Court challenges, deciding that abortion laws should not be assessed under the strict-scrutiny standard previously invoked.
And now, in response, some women are taking a cue from what Iowans for Freedom accomplished in 2010. They’re encouraging others to turn the page on the November ballot — literally — to the side where judicial retention votes are, and vote against Justice David May. He’s the only one who voted for the six-week ban who’s up this year.
So, how could anyone who opposed the 2010 campaign support the same tactic? Comparisons between the two efforts get complicated. Retention elections used to be mostly pro forma shows of support for sitting judges appointed on a nonpartisan basis, who were doing their jobs properly. In 2010, same-sex marriage opponents couldn’t accept that their religious-based agenda had lost in a court of law bound by the Iowa Constitution. So it used the elections to wage ideological warfare.
This time the ideological warfare has been waged by the governor, state lawmakers and the court’s new majority, by tampering with the once nonpartisan, constitutionally based process. Reynolds, an outspoken abortion opponent, called a special one-day session of the Legislature last summer to vote on the ban. Six weeks is before most women even know if they’re pregnant. Iowa’s Republican-led Legislature complied by passing it, though a nearly identical 2018 law had been permanently blocked. Reynolds had over the years appointed four new justices, including May, who could reliably be predicted to vote as they did.
More: Kim Reynolds picked this Legislature, and it steamrolled an extreme path for Iowa
The victims now will be untold numbers of pregnant women and girls, and children born to people ill-equipped to care for them.
“The ideological bias of this court does not reflect the will of most Iowans, and I’m not sure how far it follows the constitution,” said Des Moines’ Lea DeLong, the reproductive rights advocate who penned a letter making the case for opposing May’s retention. “My reading of the constitution is that it is intended to expand the rights and liberties of people.”
Her letter is being widely circulated by email. It points out that, as Reynolds’ appointee, May helped give Iowa “one of the most restrictive rulings in the nation against the rights of women.” It goes on to say, “It is an unfortunate development in our society that these kinds of actions against judges must happen, but I’m afraid we have had to learn some sad lessons from those who deny the rights of women. It is well known that most Iowans do not support these draconian restrictions on women’s lives and decisions.”
That’s true: 61% of Iowans polled support abortion rights in all or most cases. Still, the governor saw fit to impose her personal beliefs over the will of the majority.
DeLong is co-founder with Charlotte Hubbell of a group of some 15 women known as Iowans for Reproductive Freedom (one word but light years away from the group that waged the 2010 ballot battle). Formed in November, 2022, it has placed billboards defending reproductive rights on display around Des Moines.
They carry such captions as:
- Reproductive Freedom Is KEY to a Strong Family.
- Keep Government OUT of Women’s Health Care.
- If Men Got Pregnant, We Wouldn’t Be Discussing This.
Though individual members support the ballot idea and are circulating DeLong’s letter, the organization isn’t officially involved in the effort. DeLong herself doesn’t doubt May is a good person. And she’s mindful that Reynolds would likely replace him with another justice of the same ideological bent. But she wants this to be a wake-up call. “It sends a message,” she said. “Maybe it will encourage people to think very seriously about what this court is doing to women.”
Unlike Vander Plaats’ well financed and heavily publicized initiative, she says, “We’re not trying to organize a campaign. We will do what women have always done before: Spread information to our friends.”
More importantly, the goal this time is protecting rights, not undermining them.
“Much as I don’t like the fundamental concept of doing this,” DeLong said, “I think so many destructive lines have been crossed.”
And she’s right. They have been.
Rekha Basu is a longtime syndicated columnist, editorial writer, reporter and author of the book, “Finding Your Voice.” She retired in 2022 as a Des Moines Register columnist. Her column, “Rekha Shouts and Whispers,” is available at basurekha.substack.com.
POLK CITY, Iowa (KCCI) – The summer swimming season may just be getting underway, but the Iowa DNR says there are already some beaches people should not swim at.
As KCCI reports, four Iowa beaches have high levels of E. coli in the first tests of the year: Backbone Beach, Beeds Lake Beach, Pine Lake South Beach, and Bobwhite State Park all had high levels of the bacterial colony.
The DNR tests state beaches every year from Memorial Day to Labor Day for various bacteria.
Big Creek Beach passed its first test of the season. With the beach testing high for bacteria in previous years, families said they were glad the beach tested all clear so far.
“The kids are happy to be playing in the water this year, so I’m glad that they’re able to swim and we’re not as worried,” said Sarah Sarton of West Des Moines.
Health officials urge caution even when water looks clean. Polk County Public Health director Juliann Van Liew said people should avoid consuming the water and use swim goggles when going underwater.
You can look up the water quality monitoring map on the DNR’s website.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
We at High School On SI previously offered up a list of candidates for the Iowa high school boys soccer player of the year award.
Now, we take a look at some of the best girls high school soccer players in the state of Iowa.
Like with with the High School On SI Iowa High School Boys Soccer Player of the Year Award, the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of the Year Award will be named in each class following the conclusion of the Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union State Soccer Tournament in June.
Here are the nominees for the High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player of The Year Award. Stats are official as of Sunday, May 24, 2026 from the Bound website.
High School On SI Iowa High School Girls Soccer Player Of The Year Candidates
Class 3A
- Ilana Vasconez, Ottumwa: The senior leads all players with 48 goals, averaging almost three per match.
- Sloane Moeller, Davenport Central: Moeller is just one goal behind the class lead, as the junior has tallied 47 with 10 assists.
- Callie Stanley, Iowa City Liberty: Both a scorer and distributor, Stanley has 24 goals and 13 assists in 16 matches.
- Izzy Simonini, Waukee Northwest: The top goalscorer on the No. 1 team is Simonini, as the senior has tallie dnine on the year.
- Andie Vanderschaaf, Pleasant Valley: A brick in net, the senior has allowed just five goals in 1,200 minutes, recording 94 saves.
Class 2A
- Nora Barnett, North Scott: Opponents have found it nearly impossible to score on Barnett, as she has allowed just nine goals in 1,145 minutes with 100 saves.
- Hadley Wolfe, Fort Madison: The senior has 38 goals and 13 assists in 15 matches played, as she is the leading goalscorer in the class.
- Addy Wood, Norwalk: Wood leads the No. 1 ranked team in Class 2A with 11 goals, adding six assists.
- Anaka Ott, Waverly-Shell Rock: The senior has registered 22 goals with eight assists this season for the Go-Hawks.
- Irelynn White, Lewis Central: White has put 28 shots into the net and assisted on 11 more for the Titans.
Class 1A
- Maelyn Kluever, Maquoketa: Among the leading players in goals scored this year is Kluever, as the senior has 47 and another 24 assists – which leads Class 1A.
- Morgan Crees, Panorama: Crees has been among the top scorers over the past few seasons, recording 46 this year with 14 assists.
- Meadow Lane, Colfax-Mingo: Just a sophomore, Lane has another 45 goals added to her resume.
- Addyson Shepard, Denver: The sophomore sits atop the Cyclones list with 26 goals in addition to her 17 assists.
- Addy Oetker, Des Moines Christian: One of the top athletes in the state, Oetker has 24 goals and 21 assists on the season.
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The Iowa State Cyclones had to undergo some major changes with their men’s basketball roster this offseason.
Four key rotation players from their incredible 2025-26 team, Tamin Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Nate Heise, won’t be back with the team. However, the Cyclones were able to successfully fill those voids on the roster with five players in the transfer portal and three players in their Class of 2026.
Other programs that have spent the offseason upgrading their rosters may not be as fortunate. The new NCAA eligibility requirements could significantly alter the outlook of many teams across the country, with a particular focus on international players.
After virtually everyone was granted eligibility to play in the 2025-26 season, rule changes came down in May that will impact several programs. Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated named a few players who may no longer be eligible to participate in the 2026-27 season: Quinn Ellis (St. John’s Red Storm), Saliou Niang (LSU Tigers), Márcio Santos (LSU Tigers) and Mantas Rubštavičius (Auburn Tigers).
NCAA eligiblity rules will have major impact on men’s college basketball
Some Iowa State fans will see that and wonder how this could impact players on their team. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger has done a great job with international recruiting in recent years, unearthing gems such as Killyan Toure and Dominykas Pleta in the Class of 2026.
In the Class of 2026, one of Toure’s former teammates, big man Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan, committed to the Cyclones.
Luckily for Iowa State, none of those players are going to be impacted by the new eligibility rules and should maintain their ability to suit up for the Cyclones during the 2026-27 campaign.
Toure played high school basketball at Brewster Academy before coming to Ames. Rinaldo-Komlan is currently with SPIRE Academy. Pleta played in the Porsche Ludwigsburg, which has a professional-level team, but he was with the academy team, which is the equivalent of high school basketball.
Cyclones won’t be impacted by eligibility rule changes
While the rules about international players are constantly changing, all of the players who have come from overseas who are with Iowa State should remain eligible. The focus of the new rules is on players who have professional experience internationally and are older prospects.
That isn’t an area of recruiting that Otzelberger has had to turn to during his tenure with the Cyclones, and thankfully so. He has excelled in finding high school players and anyone in the transfer portal who fit into the game plan they are looking to execute with a focus on defensive intensity.
Iowa State can proceed as they have been, knowing they won’t be losing any players to eligibility concerns because of international professional experience.
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