In February 2001, a committee of the Iowa Senate held a hearing to consider a law that would require official state documents to be presented in no language other than English. The legislation was pilloried as anti-immigrant, prompting the chairman of the committee to allow two immigrants to testify about its effects.
Iowa
Analysis | Iowa’s English-only policy crashes into reality
One supported the bill, a resident who’d arrived from Italy nearly half a century prior. The other, an immigrant from Mexico who was in his early 20s, opposed it. Ultimately, the committee advanced the legislation, and a modified version of it became law.
It was sponsored by that same committee chairman, a legislator who would eventually become one of Iowa’s most infamous members of Congress: Steve King. He lost reelection in the 2020 Republican primary after being ousted from his House committees because of his overtly anti-immigrant and pro-White nationalist rhetoric.
King was elected to Congress soon after the English-only bill went into effect, signed by Gov. Tom Vilsack (D). (Calls to veto the bill went unheeded, like one in the Des Moines Register that attributed its genesis to the sponsors and their supporters feeling “uncomfortable with immigrants coming to their towns.”) But King wasn’t done advocating for the elimination of non-English material in his home state. A bit before the 2008 presidential election, he joined other petitioners to demand that the production of election material in languages besides English violated the law. A court agreed.
As a result of the legislation, one study released in 2010 argued, “eligible voters in Iowa who did not understand English were prevented from registering to vote in state and national elections.” So, in 2022, the Iowa chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) filed suit. On Wednesday, it prevailed, with a court determining that the 2008 decision should be voided and election-related material made available in non-English languages.
“The right to vote is not merely the ability to check boxes on a piece of paper,” the decision from district court Judge Scott Rosenberg read. “It is about being able to register, understanding what is on the ballot, and knowing when and where voting takes place. All of these facets are furthered by allowing counties to provide and accept voting materials in non-English languages.”
While this decision is obviously beneficial for efforts to engage non-English speakers in the democratic process in the state, it’s important to recognize that it comes as the percentage of state residents who don’t speak English has continued to rise.
Data from the Census Bureau analyzed by IPUMS indicates that the percentage of Iowa residents who spoke a language other than English jumped from 4.3 percent in 1990 to 5.6 percent in 2000 and 7.4 percent in 2010. The percent of Hispanic residents climbed from 1.1 percent to 2.6 percent to 5 percent in those years.
This pattern has been replicated in other states as well, of course. The number of Hispanic U.S. residents has climbed over the past 30 years, thanks both to increased immigration and children being born to Hispanic residents. Not all of those Hispanic residents in Iowa are Spanish speakers, certainly, but the percentage of Spanish speakers tripled from 1990 to 2010, while the percentage of other non-English speakers grew by 50 percent.
Nor was it only Spanish speakers who were affected by the law. But the initial prompt for the legislation was clearly a response to increased Hispanic immigration — as King would go on to make very clear.
Two decades later, the immigrant presentations at King’s committee hearing are telling. There is a sharp generational divide in the immigrant population, with the relaxation of immigration rules in the late 1960s meaning that more recent arrivals are more likely to come from Latin America, Mexico or Asia. Immigrants who arrived before that point — like the older gentleman who spoke — were more likely to come from Europe and to more easily assimilate into White America.
King was a manifestation of the backlash to that change. His opposition to immigration curdled into protectionism of White America. He was a MAGA Republican before there was a MAGA movement.
Iowa is still heavily White, of course. White Iowans are not going to become a minority anytime soon, much less anything shy of a substantial plurality. In fact, the increase in the Hispanic population in the state is relatively modest.
What the court determined this week is nonetheless a recognition of the reality. There are a lot of people in Iowa who don’t speak English fluently, some of whom eventually will. There are more such people than there were in 2002, when Vilsack signed the English-only bill into law, meaning that the effects of excluding them from political decision-making is more severe.
For anyone like King who might be concerned about the electoral ramifications of this decision, a point of reassurance. Barack Obama won Iowa in 2008 by nine points. In 2020, Donald Trump won it by eight.
Des Moines Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024
Here’s a look at The Register’s Top 10 Iowa high school football players in 2024.
(This story was updated to add new information)
It’s Week 7 of the Iowa high school football season. Check out our list of IHSAA scores from Friday night’s action.
Stream Iowa HS football on the NFHS Network
Scores are listed in alphabetical order by winning team
IHSAA scores from Week 7 of Iowa high school football season
Friday’s games:
- Ankeny Centennial 45, Des Moines Roosevelt 3
- Bedford 77, Lamoni 0
- Benton 38, Grinnell 7
- Bettendorf 48, Davenport Central 0
- Cedar Falls 38, Dubuque Senior 0
- Cedar Rapids Kennedy 45, Dubuque Hempstead 14
- Cedar Rapids Prairie 56, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 7
- Cedar Rapids Xavier 35, Oskaloosa 0
- Central City 64, Lone Tree 8
- Central Lyon/George-Little Rock 23, Western Christian 7
- Clarinda 47, Chariton 7
- Columbus 48, Van Buren County 7
- Creston 70, Knoxville 0
- Crestwood 28, New Hampton 27
- Davenport Assumption 34, Washington 6
- Decorah 57, Marion 14
- Dike-New Hartford 42, Aplington-Parkersburg 0
- Don Bosco 62, Turkey Valley 0
- Dowling Catholic 49, Urbandale 28
- Dyersville Beckman 28, Iowa City Regina 15
- East Mills 50, Exira-EHK 44
- East Union 64, Murray 36
- Easton Valley 61, Midland 21
- Edgewood-Colesburg 84, Calamus-Wheatland 31
- Emmetsburg 64, Eagle Grove 0
- Fremont-Mills 40, CAM 28
- Fort Dodge 55, Storm Lake 26
- Fort Dodge St. Edmond 43, Colo-Nesco 6
- Glenwood 20, Dallas Center-Grimes 17
- Glidden-Ralston 48, Coon Rapids-Bayard 6
- GMG 52, Meskwaki Settlement 0
- Greene County 10, Southeast Valley 7
- Harlan 24, Nevada 21
- Highland 41, Louisa-Muscatine 6
- Hinton 19, OABCIG 13
- Humboldt 21, Algona 20
- IKM-Manning 13, Southwest Valley 6
- Iowa City Liberty 28, Ankeny 20
- Jesup 35, Iowa Falls-Alden 6
- Johnston 56, Council Bluffs Lincoln 7
- Lenox 55, Southeast Warren 8
- Lewis Central 28, Winterset 24
- Linn-Mar 55, Davenport West 6
- Logan-Magnolia 14, Council Bluffs St. Albert 10
- Maquoketa Valley 35, North Linn 16
- Marshalltown 26, Ames 21
- Mediapolis 49, Davis County 20
- MMCRU 41, Westwood 18
- MOC-Floyd Valley 35, Sioux Center 14
- Mount Vernon 56, Fort Madison 7
- North Butler 22, Nashua-Plainfield 0
- North Fayette Valley won by forfeit over Oelwein
- North Iowa 46, Harris-Lake Park 40
- North Polk 22, Indianola 21
- Okoboji 49, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows 21
- Osage 42, Waukon 6
- Pekin 57, Wapello 0
- Pleasant Valley 42, Muscatine 7
- Remsen St. Mary’s 46, Woodbine 30
- Riceville 57, Waterloo Christian 0
- Ridge View 22, West Sioux 7
- Riverside 41, Earlham 6
- Roland-Story 28, Des Moines Christian 21
- Saint Ansgar 53, West Fork 0
- Sergeant Bluff-Luton 21, Carroll 0
- Sibley-Ocheyedan 48, HMS 14
- Sidney 62, Stanton-Essex 20
- Sigourney-Keota 62, Colfax-Mingo 26
- South Central Calhoun 41, Panorama 12
- South Hardin 34, Hudson 21
- Southeast Polk 31, Waukee 28
- Spencer 41, Sioux City West 0
- Spirit Lake 49, Garner-Hayfield-Ventura 6
- Sumner-Fredericksburg 54, Central Springs 12
- Treynor 36, Shenandoah 6
- Tri-Center 34, Woodbury Central 8
- Underwood 41, Missouri Valley 6
- Van Meter 54, Centerville 0
- Wapsie Valley 46, BCLUW 0
- Wayne 30, Central Decatur 6
- Webster City 42, Charles City 21
- West Hancock 60, Lake Mills 6
- West Lyon 50, Sheldon 0
- Wilton 39, West Branch 20
- Winfield-Mt. Union 68, Mormon Trail 8
Thursday’s games:
- Le Mars 44, Fort Dodge 37
- Pella 42, D.M. Hoover 10
- S.C North 37, D.M. East 0
The Iowa Hawkeyes are coming off of a 35-7 thumping at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, and while a loss to Ohio State was expected, it was how Iowa lost that has Hawkeyes fans livid.
Iowa’s offense was absolutely lifeless, Cade McNamara looked lost and head coach Kirk Ferentz did not seem to have any answers.
Not only that, but Ferentz doubled down on McNamara remaining the starter after the game, saying that the quarterback actually showed improvement.
That’s why Ferentz’s reputation may actually be on the line when the Hawkeyes face the Washington Huskies this Saturday.
Iowa is just 3-2 on the season, as it also lost to the Iowa State Cyclones back in Week 2. A loss to Washington would drop the Hawkeyes to .500, and it would add more fuel to the “fire Ferentz” discussion that has been smoldering.
The Huskies are a new addition to the Big Ten and just beat the Michigan Wolverines, and while Michigan has not been as good as expected, Washington is no joke.
However, make no mistake: Iowa needs to beat these guys.
Here is the thing: barring a catastrophic remainder of the 2024 campaign at Iowa City, the Hawkeyes aren’t canning Ferentz. The man is under contract through 2029 on a hefty salary. It isn’t happening.
But Ferentz’s reputation is a different story.
The 69-year-old has been at the helm for Iowa since 1999 and is highly respected by the fans, but patience is running thin.
Last year, the Hawkeyes played three ranked opponents and lost by a total score of 92-0. They also just got destroyed by Ohio State. The Iowa fan base is tired with being second-best, and at this point, that is all Ferentz has offered them.
Sure, Iowa does not have the cachet or prestige of schools like Ohio State, Michigan or Alabama. It typically won’t land the very best recruits as a result. But the Hawkeyes’ inability to even put together respectable offenses over the years does reflect poorly on Ferentz, who is the longest-tenured coach in the country.
And Iowa fans are sick of it.
The Hawkeyes absolutely need to beat the Huskies this Saturday. Iowa should be better than Washington, and at some point, the Hawkeyes are going to have to display that they can consistently beat good teams.
Is all of the Ferentz criticism deserved? No, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that all of it is completely unfounded.
Ferentz can provide some nice pushback to all of the naysayers with a Week 7 win over Washington. Or, he can give fans more reason to complain with a loss.
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
Here’s who all 71 Iowa high school football teams ranked in this week’s Gazette poll face in Week 7 games Friday night.
Class 3A gets the spotlight this week as its top two teams face top-seven opponents. No. 1 Algona visits No. 7 Humboldt, while second-ranked Williamsburg hosts a Solon team eager to bounce back from last week’s loss to Benton Community that dropped it from the top spot.
There is intrigue in the 8-Player top five as well, where three of the top five teams face fellow unbeaten foes. That includes No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s taking on No. 10 Woodbine and No. 2 Algona Garrigan hosting Ruthven GTRA.
Class 5A
No. 1 West Des Moines Valley (5-1) vs. Waterloo West (5-1)
No. 2 West Des Moines Dowling (5-1) at Urbandale (3-3)
No. 3 Bettendorf (6-0) at Davenport Central (2-4)
No. 4 Pleasant Valley (5-1) vs. Muscatine (2-4)
No. 5 Ankeny Centennial (4-2) vs. Des Moines Roosevelt (1-5)
No. 6 Linn-Mar (5-1) vs. Davenport West (0-6)
No. 7 Johnston (4-2) vs. Council Bluffs Lincoln (4-2)
No. 8 Iowa City Liberty (5-1) vs. Ankeny (3-3)
No. 9 Waukee (4-2) at Southeast Polk (3-3)
No. 10 Sioux City East (4-2) vs. Des Moines Lincoln (1-5)
Class 4A
No. 1 Lewis Central (6-0) at Winterset (4-2)
No. 2 Pella (6-0) at Des Moines Hoover (0-6), Thursday
No. 3 North Polk (6-0) at No. 10 Indianola (4-2)
No. 4 Gilbert (6-0) vs. Bondurant-Farrar (1-5)
No. 5 Decorah (6-0) at Marion (2-4)
No. 6 Adel ADM (5-1) at Ballard (3-3)
No. 7 Cedar Rapids Xavier (4-2) at Oskaloosa (1-5)
No. 8 North Scott (4-2) at Clear Creek Amana (4-2)
No. 9 Newton (4-2) vs. Carlisle (0-6)
No. 10 Indianola (4-2) vs. No. 3 North Polk (6-0)
No. 10 Western Dubuque (4-2) at Waterloo East (2-4)
Class 3A
No. 1 Algona (6-0) at No. 7 Humboldt (5-1)
No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1) vs. No. 5 Solon (5-1)
No. 3 Dubuque Wahlert (6-0) at West Delaware (4-2)
No. 4 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (6-0) vs. Carroll (4-2)
No. 5 Mount Vernon (5-1) vs. Fort Madison (0-6)
No. 5 Solon (5-1) at No. 2 Williamsburg (5-1)
No. 7 Humboldt (5-1) vs. No. 1 Algona (6-0)
No. 8 Sioux City Heelan (4-2) at Boyden-Hull/Rock Valley (1-5)
No. 9 Independence (4-2) at Maquoketa (1-5)
No. 10 Nevada (5-1) at Harlan (3-3)
Class 2A
No. 1 West Lyon (6-0) at Sheldon (2-4)
No. 2 Monroe PCM (6-0) at West Marshall (5-1)
No. 3 Spirit Lake (5-1) at Garner GHV (1-5)
No. 4 Van Meter (5-1) vs. Centerville (4-2)
No. 5 Carroll Kuemper (5-1) vs. Saydel (1-5)
No. 6 North Fayette Valley (5-1) vs. Oelwein (0-6) — canceled, Oelwein to forfeit
No. 7 Northeast (6-0) at Tipton (2-4)
No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2) vs. No. 10 Western Christian (4-2)
No. 9 Roland-Story (4-2) vs. Des Moines Christian (4-2)
No. 10 Western Christian (4-2) at No. 8 Central Lyon/George-Little Rock (4-2)
Class 1A
No. 1 Grundy Center (6-0) at Alburnett (4-2)
No. 2 Wilton (6-0) at West Branch (2-4)
No. 3 Dike-New Hartford (5-1) vs. Aplington-Parkersburg (2-4)
No. 4 Emmetsburg (6-0) vs. Eagle Grove (0-6)
No. 5 Iowa City Regina (6-0) at Dyersville Beckman (4-2)
No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1) vs. No. 10 Hinton (5-1)
No. 7 South Hardin (5-1) at Hudson (5-1)
No. 8 Treynor (5-1) vs. Shenandoah (3-3)
No. 9 Sigourney-Keota (5-1) at Colfax-Mingo (1-5)
No. 10 Hinton (5-1) at No. 6 Ida Grove OABCIG (5-1)
Class A
No. 1 West Hancock (6-0) at Lake Mills (4-2)
No. 2 Guthrie Center ACGC (6-0) vs. Mount Ayr (5-1)
No. 3 Saint Ansgar (5-1) at West Fork (1-5)
No. 4 Lisbon (6-0) vs. Danville (4-2)
No. 5 Earlham (5-1) at Oakland Riverside (4-2)
No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1) vs. No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1)
No. 7 Le Mars Gehlen (5-1) at South O’Brien (0-6)
No. 8 Woodbury Central (5-1) at No. 6 Tri-Center (5-1)
No. 9 North Linn (6-0) vs. Maquoketa Valley (5-1)
No. 10 Madrid (4-2) at North Mahaska (3-3)
8-Player
No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0) vs. No. 10 Woodbine (6-0)
No. 2 Algona Garrigan (6-0) vs. Ruthven GTRA (6-0)
No. 3 Don Bosco (6-0) vs. Turkey Valley (3-3)
No. 4 Audubon (6-0) vs. Collins-Maxwell (4-2)
No. 5 Lenox (6-0) vs. Southeast Warren (6-0)
No. 6 Iowa Valley (6-0) vs. HLV (1-6)
No. 7 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (5-1) at Clarksville (5-2)
No. 8 Anita CAM (5-1) at Fremont-Mills (5-1)
No. 9 Bedford (5-1) vs. Lamoni (4-2)
No. 10 Woodbine (6-0) at No. 1 Remsen St. Mary’s (6-0)
Comments: nathan.ford@thegazette.com
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