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It’s Joe Biden who’s taking care of Iowans in need, but only when Kim Reynolds lets him

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It’s Joe Biden who’s taking care of Iowans in need, but only when Kim Reynolds lets him


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  • Squalor and splendor, side by side
  • Our representatives steer far away from the public’s will
  • Greatest Generation made Olympic joy possible
  • Carbon pipelines perpetrate and further abuses
  • Tim Walz is out of touch, and here’s the proof
  • More work for teens means worse performance at school

It’s Joe Biden who’s taking care of Iowans in need, but only when Kim Reynolds lets him

Gov. Kim Reynolds and Attorney General Brenna Bird are again taking false credit and covering for poor choices by Republicans in Congress. The money they are using to make up for budget reductions for VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) came from the American Rescue Plan Act, initiated, passed and signed by Congressional Democrats and President Joe Biden.

That credit was only faintly present their self-serving public announcements of using this money to make up the shortfall in Iowa. It’s too bad that Reynolds didn’t see the same “devastating reality” in child hunger that should have prompted her to provide meals for 240,000 food-insecure children in Iowa by accepting $29 million of federal money for that purpose, also made available by the efforts of Biden and congressional Democrats. Or turning down $89 million of assistance for those in need of housing.

Shelter and food. Two of the very basics of life. I’m glad they replaced the money for VOCA. I’m appalled at their incomprehensible inconsistency in aiding all vulnerable citizens of Iowa.

Phillip Thien, Des Moines

Squalor and splendor, side by side

Two headlines, both from the Aug. 5 Register Daily Briefing, gave me pause:

The glaring disparity highlighted by the juxtaposition of these headlines is both mind-blowing and a call to action. It should awaken us all to the unfairness and inequity most Iowans ignore on a daily basis. And, it should remind us of the need for an enlightened and compassionate government that serves all Iowans, not just a privileged few.

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Where is Robin Hood when we need him?

Victoria Payseur, Johnston

Our representatives steer far away from the public’s will

Abortion bans are undeniably unpopular.

Consider Kansas, a state very similar to our own: In 2022, the people of Kansas overwhelmingly rejected a constitutional amendment that would have led to the banning of abortions in their state.

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Iowa’s elected representatives should have taken the hint. Instead, the governor rushed ahead, convening a special legislative session in July 2023 to ban abortions before many Iowans knew what was happening. Fortunately, the ban remained dormant while the courts debated its legality. Unfortunately, Iowa’s Supreme Court ultimately allowed it to stand. As of July 29, 2024, almost all abortions are now illegal in Iowa.

Our representatives have been reckless with regards to our well-being, knocking our hands further and further from the steering wheel of our own lives. This is evident not just with the abortion ban but also with other laws, pertaining to school vouchers and Area Education Agencies, carbon pipelines, and books.

As we approach the Nov. 5 election, we need to keep in mind what our vote means. More than that: We need to take action. I urge you to volunteer with an organization committed to our civil liberties, such as the ACLU of Iowa, to help get out the vote. Let’s make sure our voices are heard loud and clear.

Pamela Klein, Adel

Greatest Generation made Olympic joy possible

Among the celebration of the performance of our American athletes at the Paris Olympics, I’d like Americans to reflect on the reason that we’re able to participate in these Olympics in France as a free nation.

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That is thanks to the troops of the Greatest Generation who fought to liberate France from the Nazi stronghold it was held in since 1940. It was a costly endeavor in terms of young human lives. My aunt’s fiancé was killed in Gen. George Patton’s Third Army in August of 1944 while they were in the process of liberating Paris. A cross in the Normandy cemetery bears his name, the state he came from (Tennessee), his unit, and his date of death.

All this joyous 2024 celebration of the world’s countries coming together and competing in athletics in a spirit of global unity was made possible by the sacrifices of young men eight decades ago who, before being drafted or volunteering for service, may have been athletes themselves (like my father who joined the U.S. Navy and fought the Japanese.) They sacrificed their athletic careers to preserve democracy. I’m grateful that, because of their sacrifices, our current Olympics are NOT being held under a Nazi flag.

Lisa Boyes, Grinnell

Carbon pipelines perpetrate and further abuses

Every time I drive to Ames, I gently smile at the trailer moonlighting as a banner: “STOP EMINENT DOMAIN ABUSE,” it reads in blood red. For a state that’s proud to be one of agriculture, Iowa can no longer afford the cost of absurdity. The environmental cost of these pipelines is immense. These pipelines supply CO2 so further oil can be drilled, thereby worsening the climate crisis currently hurting Iowan communities, rural and urban.

Furthermore, eminent domain strips landowners of their property rights, forcing them to surrender their hard-earned farmland without just compensation. For our farmers, land is not just an asset but a vital part of their way of life. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats have stood up to blatant corporate interests. As the famous protest chant goes, “We will remember, in November.”

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Aravind Balaji, Grimes

Tim Walz is out of touch, and here’s the proof

If you add up all the shoreline of Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes, it’s plain that Tim Walz is the biggest coastal liberal of all time! Math don’t lie.

John Zeller, Des Moines        

More work for teens means worse performance at school

I would like to add some relevant research information to the child labor controversy appearing recently in the Register. During my University of Iowa graduate school course work for becoming a high school counselor in Iowa, I studied scholarly research on adolescent vocational development.

This research showed a clear correlation between the number of hours a teenager worked at a part-time job and academic performance at school. At about 20 hours per week, part-time jobs for younger students begin to negatively impact school achievement. The controversy erupted when the Iowa Legislature recently enacted a law that allows younger children to work four hours a day on school days and 28 hours a week. Federal law allows working three hours per day, 18 hours per week

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Based on this research, I am troubled that the Iowa Legislature, and especially the bill sponsors, thought it wise to allow Iowa youth ages 14 and 15 to work so much when school is in session — in clear violation of the legally superior federal child labor laws as well as well-founded child development and educational achievement research.

Let’s continue to keep school achievement the priority for Iowa’s younger teens.

Drew Cannon, Des Moines



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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)

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Vote: Who Should be Iowa’s High School Athlete of the Week? (4/19/2026)


Here are the candidates for High School on SI’s Iowa high school athlete of the week for April 13-18. Read through the nominees and cast your vote.

Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on Sunday, April 26. The winner will be announced in the following week’s poll. Here are this week’s nominees:

Taylor Roose, Pella boys track and field

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Roose competed in three events at the Norwalk Invitational, winning all three in the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash and long jump.

Daxon Kiesau, Urbandale boys track and field

Kiesau swept the throwing events at the Norwalk Invitational, taking first place in the shot put and the discus.

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Alex Burger, Southeast Valley boys track and field

Competing at home, Burger dominated, earning four gold medals. He won the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump while running on the winning 4×200-meter relay and shuttle hurdle relay.

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Kolby Hodnefield, Clear Lake boys track and field

Hodenfield, a defending state champion, broke the meet, venue and school record in the 200 and the 400 at the Clear Lake Invitational. He added victories as part of the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Both relays also set meet records.

Easton Moon, North Polk boys tennis

Moon has started off his senior season on the courts unbeaten, winning all four matches while dropping just one game in 44 played.

Ava Lohrbach, Gilbert girls golf

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One of the top golfers in the state, Lohrbach has had a hot start, firing a 35 in her nine-hole debut and a 72 for her 18-hole opener.

Nathan Manske, Algona boys golf

An elite quarterback and basketball player, Manske is showing his golfing skills this spring, coming out with a state-low 30 in a nine-hole event.

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Ella Hein, Tipton girls track and field

Hein set school records in the 400-meter run and long jump at the Tiger/Tigerette Relays while also locking in the Blue Standard and qualifying for the Drake Relays. She won the long jump (18-6) and was second in the 400.

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Maeve Bowen-Burt, Iowa City High girls track and field

The sophomore helped the Little Hawks land three Drake Relays events on the last night of qualifying, advancing in the 400 hurdles, along with the sprint medley and 4×400 relays.

About Our Athlete of the Week Voting

High School on SI voting polls are meant to be a fun, lighthearted way for fans to show support for their favorite athletes and teams. Our goal is to celebrate all of the players featured, regardless of the vote totals. Sometimes one athlete will receive a very large number of votes — even thousands — and that’s okay! The polls are open to everyone and are simply a way to build excitement and community around high school sports. Unless we specifically announce otherwise, there are no prizes or official awards for winning. The real purpose is to highlight the great performances of every athlete included in the poll.

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit

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Houston icon George Foreman laid to rest in Iowa, drawn by a peaceful 1988 visit


The late boxing great George Foreman lies buried in a cemetery in the northwestern corner of Iowa – a place he has no connection to outside of a lone visit to the region nearly 40 years ago.

Foreman died March 21, 2025, at the age of 76 in Houston and was buried in Logan Park Cemetery at Sioux City, Iowa, a month later, city officials confirmed. Foreman’s family returned Thursday to his burial site, holding a news conference with Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott to reveal Foreman’s burial place, marked by a large monument that bears an image of him as a teen following his Olympic gold medal boxing win.

The family explained in a statement released by Sioux City officials that he had visited the Iowa city in 1988, and often recalled the sense of peace he experienced there.

After traveling to the city on April 17 last year to bury Foreman, his family said they immediately understood the region’s appeal.

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“Our father lived a life of purpose, faith and gratitude,” the family said in a statement released by Sioux City officials. “To see him laid to rest in a place that brought him peace means everything to us.”

Scott joined the family at Foreman’s monument that lies just a few miles north of the Missouri River in an upper Midwest city of nearly 87,000 people. The cemetery overlooks the scenic Loess Hills, created by windblown silt deposits that reach up to 200 feet high (about 61 meters) and line the river along the Iowa border for 200 miles (322 kilometers).

“Their story is a reminder of how one place can stay with someone for a lifetime,” Scott said.

A native Texan, Foreman rose to fame when he made the 1968 U.S. Olympic boxing team, winning gold in Mexico City. He became the heavyweight champion of the world in 1973 by defeating the great Joe Frazier, only to lose the title a year later to Muhammad Ali in the famous “Rumble in the Jungle.”

A full 20 years later in 1994, Foreman became the oldest man to win the heavyweight championship at 45, defeating Michael Moorer in an epic upset.

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Foreman retired in 1997 with a 76-5 career record.

He then moved on to the next chapter in his life as a businessman, pitchman and occasional actor, becoming known to a new generation as the face of the George Foreman Grill. The simple cooking machine sold more than 100 million units and brought him more wealth than boxing.

A biographical movie based on Foreman’s life was released in 2023.

Copyright © 2026 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.



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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall

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GOP governor candidate Zach Lahn pitches Iowa-first platform at Dubuque town hall


DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) — About 50 Iowans braved the threat of severe storms to hear from Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn at his town hall in Dubuque Friday night.

Lahn, a farmer and businessman, said his campaign is about solving the long-term systemic issues facing Iowans.

One priority is addressing what Lahn calls a cancer crisis in Iowa, as the state has the second-highest cancer rate in the country. Solving the crisis means ensuring Iowans have access to clean, nitrate-free drinking water, working with farmers to reduce agricultural runoff.

“Iowans are just ready for something that they should be able to count on, like clean drinking water,” Lahn said. “We have ways to clean up the drinking water in Iowa that isn’t on the backs of farmers, but is working alongside with them because they’re drinking the water too, and they want to do what’s right.”

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Lahn also wants to stop Iowa’s “brain drain,” as more of Iowa’s college graduates left the state for opportunities elsewhere.

“Don’t leave! Give me some time! I’m going to fight to keep you here,” Lahn said. “I was one of these kids. I thought I had to leave the state to find something better. We have to prioritize Iowa’s incentive dollars to make sure they’re going to grow Iowa businesses that are going to be here for the long haul, so our kids have places to work.”

Running a distinct campaign feels challenging this election, as Lahn is one of five GOP candidates who want to be Iowa’s next governor, facing U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, former Department of Administrative Services Director Adam Steen, state Rep. Eddie Andrews and former state Rep. Brad Sherman.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand is the only Democrat running for the state’s top office.

Lahn said he stands out by promising Iowa will be for Iowans, pledging to ban the use of eminent domain for private gain and tax out-of-state landowners and data centers at higher rates to lower property taxes.

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“It always goes back to follow the money, so when it comes to not being a weak-kneed Republican today, I believe the paramount piece of that is answering only to the citizens of Iowa, not to special interests to pad their bottom line, but what’s best for the people of Iowa,” Lahn said.

Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.



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