Iowa
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds embraces role as a key player in Republican presidential race
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — When Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds seized the spotlight from a half dozen Republican presidential contenders on Friday by signing a restrictive abortion measure into law at an event meant to showcase the candidates, she embraced her front-and-center role in the 2024 presidential election.
The standing ovation she received from some 2,000 conservative Christians gathered in Des Moines only reinforced the influence she wields, not just in Iowa but increasingly on a national stage.
“I could not imagine a more appropriate place to sign this bill,” Reynolds said. “Today, the most glaring injustice of all is about to be put right.”
Reynolds had always been scheduled to give remarks at The Family Leadership Summit, one of many places this summer where Republican presidential candidates are expected to address Iowa’s voters, who will cast the first ballots in just six months. But the appearance morphed into a triumphant demonstration of the governor’s rising national profile after she spent the week shepherding abortion restrictions into Iowa’s books, after a similar 2018 law she had championed was sidelined.
Reynolds pressed forward to sign the bill into law even as she shrugged off pointed criticism from former President Donald Trump.
Trump, in posts on his Truth Social social media platform, had accused Reynolds of shirking her commitment to neutrality in the campaign, claiming credit for her rise to the governor’s office. Other presidential candidates, well aware of her popularity with Iowa voters, rose to her defense.
Those included Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been the beneficiary of kind words from Reynolds, though she’s stopped short of violating her pledge to stay neutral in the presidential contest with an endorsement. DeSantis, whose campaign has struggled since its launch to establish him as the only plausible rival to the former president, doubled down on Saturday by saying he would consider Reynolds as a potential running mate.
At least publicly, Reynolds isn’t likely to wade into the drama. Republican strategists in Iowa say the bill signing showcased her devotion to the issues she cares about.
“She’s out there doing the right thing and we’re coming along beside her,” said Family Leader President and CEO Bob Vander Plaats, who introduced her. “She is arguably the best governor in the country.”
Reynolds decided to sign the bill at Friday’s event to celebrate the victory with those who have spent years fighting for new restrictions on abortion. The audience of a couple thousand people — including conservative leaders, presidential hopefuls and national news outlets — was a bonus.
Signing the bill there on Friday, with all of the attention directed toward Iowa, was a deliberate effort to drive a national conversation.
“I love it when we’re leading and showing other governors in other states that we can get it done,” Reynolds said in February to the Des Moines Register.
Reynolds has said she is not entertaining rumors about her prospects as a 2024 Republican running mate. Still, the governor has not shied away from plunging into the middle of the campaign or comparing her record favorably to those who are running for president.
“I’m proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them united in our respect for life,” she said Friday of the presidential candidates who addressed the forum.
The feeling appeared to be mutual at Friday’s event. Former Vice President Mike Pence called it a historic day, telling reporters he “couldn’t be more proud of Gov. Reynolds’ stand” on abortion. Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson congratulated her, too, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said she always “knocks it out of the park.”
Reynolds, meanwhile, tends to go her own way. She’s just as apt to press ahead on policies cutting taxes and shrinking government as the social issues that have dominated the GOP presidential campaign so far.
She is willing to put conservative issues front and center when the moment calls for it, as she did in 2018 when the original abortion ban passed. But she’s also willing to take on Republicans who challenge her, as she did in 2022 when she campaigned against incumbent lawmakers in her own party who had stood in the way of “school choice” legislation. Reynolds had made it one of her top priorities, though critics raised concerns that it would drain money from public schools.
Four races in which she intervened went in her candidate’s favor, and the legislation she pushed forward was tied up in a bow by the end of the first month of this year’s legislative session.
Reynolds also hasn’t been afraid to buck party orthodoxy, signing an executive order on the restoration of voting rights for former felons and proposing things like over-the-counter birth control.
“Let Iowans know what you’re going to do? Tell them your plan and then execute? Follow through on your promises that you’ve made? Wow,” Reynolds said with a laugh in a radio interview Thursday. “Shocking.”
Her success in Iowa garnered attention even before 2024 candidates officially entered the race. She was chosen to give the GOP response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last year, and she was named to lead the Republican Governors Association after a robust win in her reelection campaign.
But with the caucus campaign well underway, Reynolds is poised to stay in the middle of things. She’s offered to join any candidate who invites her to campaign events, as South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott has done for a town hall later this month. And she’ll have a dominant presence over two weeks in August at the state fair, a must-attend for presidential hopefuls.
In the meantime, her administration will be defending the state’s abortion law in court.
“The work that we’ve done together from the statehouse to the public square is making a difference,” Reynolds said Friday. “But as you all know, our work is not done.”
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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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