Iowa
As Kim Reynolds pitches special education changes, Department of Education posts 29 new jobs
Kim Reynolds unveils plan to overhaul Iowa’s Area Education Agencies
Gov. Kim Reynolds says Iowa’s Area Education Agencies need to be overhauled to give school districts more control over special education services.
Special to the Register
One day after Gov. Kim Reynolds called for widespread changes to Iowa’s special education system, the Iowa Department of Education had already posted 29 job openings for a new Division of Special Education.
Reynolds used her annual Condition of the State address Tuesday night to call for an overhaul of Iowa’s nine Area Education Agencies, which assist students with disabilities.
Under current law, Iowa school districts send their state and federal funding for special education to one of the state’s nine AEAs and then rely on the AEAs to provide special education services to their students.
Reynolds’ proposal would give school districts a choice in how they use that money, allowing them to continue working with their local AEA on special education services or retaining their funding and using it how they see fit, including working with neighboring districts, hiring additional special education teachers themselves or contracting with a private company for services.
More: Kim Reynolds proposes in annual speech to boost Iowa teacher pay, overhaul AEAs, cut taxes
As part of the change, Reynolds is creating the new Division of Special Education, which will be housed within the Iowa Department of Education under Director McKenzie Snow.
If Reynolds’ proposal becomes law, the state would take about $20 million in funding that currently goes to the AEAs and use it to hire a total of 139 employees to staff the new Division of Special Education.
The job postings that went online Wednesday include the positions of division director, deputy director, several bureau chiefs and a number of consultants who would focus on areas like individualized education programs for students with disabilities, professional development, accreditation, finance, grants and more.
The two job openings with the highest salary ranges are the deputy director, at a range of $126,800 to $180,100, and the division director, at a range of $107,500 to $167,900.
Reynolds said in her Condition of the State address that the AEAs “operate without meaningful oversight.” She intends for the new division within the Department of Education to provide oversight of special education services in districts around the state, which she hopes will improve educational outcomes for students with disabilities.
Reynolds said the changes will benefit school districts by giving them more flexibility to decide how to spend their special education funding.
“In short, each school will decide how best to meet the needs of their students,” she said.
Senate Minority Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said the changes sound like the state is moving towards privatizing the services offered by AEAs.
“I know a lot of families with special needs children are so dependent on those services,” Jochum said. “My concern is this … it sounds like we’re beginning to privatize even the Area Education Agencies. This is going to have the biggest impact on rural Iowa.”
More: Perry shooting looms large as Iowa lawmakers gavel in. Here are some of their priorities:
Reynolds also used her speech to try to preempt critics who have accused her of cutting funding to the AEAs.
“Now, I know there are parents of students with disabilities who have been told that we’re planning to end the AEAs or even cut services their families depend on,” she said. “Let me speak directly to you: That claim is categorically false. In fact, we are notreducing special education funding by one dime.”
AEA leaders warned last spring that they faced what they called “unsustainable” budget cuts after the Iowa Legislature reduced their state appropriation by $30 million last year as part of the state budget, which Reynolds signed into law. Republican leaders said at the time that all but one of the nine AEAs still received more money than the prior year because of the state’s increase in overall education spending.
Reynolds’ proposal would also prohibit the AEAs from offering services other than those related to education.
At a rally in the Iowa Capitol on Monday, Iowa State Education Association President Mike Beranek noted that AEA staff responded to Perry to offer support to the community after the shooting — something that would be outside their authority if Reynolds’ bill becomes law.
“Our AEAs provide valuable resources far beyond just that of working with special education teachers,” he said.
Des Moines Register reporter Katie Akin contributed to this story.
Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.
Iowa
Penn State earns commitment from Iowa State leading wide receiver via transfer
Penn State landed Iowa State’s pair of quarterbacks earlier Sunday, including starter Rocco Becht, in a splash move. Now, the Cyclones’ leading receiver is coming with them.
Wide receiver Brett Eskildsen committed to Penn State via the transfer portal, becoming the seventh Cyclone to join the Nittany Lions this weekend. He announced the move on social media.
Eskildsen recorded 30 receptions, 526 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore in 2025. He also appeared in all 13 games as a freshman but made just two catches for 17 yards.
The 6-1, 200-pound wideout is from Frisco, Texas, and is a three-star in the 247Sports transfer rankings (No. 118 overall, No. 30 WR). He was a three-star out of high school as well, where he had more than 1,5000 career receiving yards.
Becht’s top man from 2026 is now in place. He’ll also be able to throw to standout Penn State freshman Koby Howard and quick youngster Tyseer Denmark, who have confirmed their returns thus far.
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Iowa
Iowa State picks up commitment from Arkansas State QB Jaylen Raynor
Iowa State football has picked up a commitment from Arkansas State quarterback Jaylen Raynor, ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported on Jan. 3.
Raynor has one season of eligibility remaining. The 6-foot, 202-pounder from Kernersville, North Carolina, passed for 3,361 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. He was intercepted 11 times.
Raynor also rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns.
He passed for 8,694 yards and 52 touchdowns in three seasons at Arkansas State.
“The (Iowa State) coaching staff is known for winning,” Raynor told Thamel. “The head coach is a known winner and done it on multiple levels.”
Raynor will join Arkansas State offensive coordinator Keith Heckendorf in Ames. Heckendorf was named Cyclones quarterbacks coach this week.
Raynor completed 19 of 33 passes for 222 yards in a 24-16 loss to Iowa State on Sept. 13, 2025.
Iowa
Seven Iowa High School Wrestlers Off To Dominant Starts This Season – FloWrestling
The first month of the Iowa high school wrestling season has been filled with scintillating individual performances. Here’s a look at seven standouts who have been racking up bonus points in December.
Drew Anderson (Riverside)
The Class 1A state runner-up last year at 132 is up to 144 this season and he’s 14-0 with 11 technical falls, a pair of pins and a forfeit win. Anderson, a junior in his second season at the school, already owns the Riverside school record for technical falls with 28. Anderson is on pace to more than double the previous Riverside tech record of 23.
Urijah Courter (West Marshall)
Courter won the 2A title last season at 113 after placing third as a freshman at 106. He’s up to 120 this season. Courter is 14-0 this season with 10 pins and two technical falls. His ledger also includes a 6-5 win against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont’s Simon Bettis in a rematch of last season’s state title bout.
Cooper Hinz (Jesup)
Entering the holiday break, Michigan commit and two-time state medalist Cooper Hinz is 22-0 with 21 wins via pin, technical fall or forfeit. His other victory was a 4-1 overtime decision against returning state placewinner Cain Rodgers of North Fayette Valley. More impressively, all of Hinz’s pins and technical falls have all come in the first period.
Lincoln Jipp (Bettendorf)
Jipp placed fifth at 138, third at 165 and second at 175 in Class 3A during his first three seasons. Now he’s up to 215 — 77 pounds more than where he started his career as a freshman. The North Carolina recruit pinned his way through the prestigious Dan Gable Donnybrook. He’s 16-0 with 10 pins, four technical falls and a forfeit.
Mason Koehler (Glenwood)
The returning 2A champ at 215 is 20-0 with 18 pins and a major decision. His only two matches that went the distance came at the Council Bluffs Classic, where he defeated Nebraska standout Ryan Boehle of Grand Island 14-4 and Minnesota hammer Joe Kruse of Totino-Grace 9-2. The rest of Koehler’s matches this season ended in first-period pins. He has already registered a six-second pin and another in nine seconds this season.
Jaxon Miller (Carlisle)
Miller is a three-time state medalist, a two-time finalist and returning state champ in Class 3A. He placed fourth as a freshman at 145 before making trips to the finals at 157 and 165. He’s 16-0 this season with 13 first-period pins, two technical falls and a forfeit.
Keaton Moeller (Starmont)
Moeller placed third in 1A as a freshman at 145 before winning a state title at 150 as a sophomore. He missed all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in football. Now he’s back as a senior at 190 and Moeller hasn’t missed a beat. He’s 13-0 with five pins, six technical falls and a pair of forfeits. He has yet to wrestle a full period this season.
Iowa High School Premium Rankings
Check out the Iowa High School Wrestling Premium Rankings, which are generated by using an athlete’s complete match history to predict a wrestler’s performance against others in their weight class by considering factors such as win-loss records, the quality of their victories (pins, technical falls, major decisions), the strength of their opponents and overall historical performance patterns. The data is updated every Monday, sourced from the Trackwrestling season results. Since each team is responsible for maintaining their season results, any data discrepancies for a wrestler should be addressed by contacting their coach to manage the information within the season. This includes the weight class assigned. Wrestlers are eligible to be ranked after competing in five matches at a single weight.
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