Iowa
Kim Reynolds offers remedies, but her diagnosis of Iowa has holes | Opinion
But so long as state government denies forms of health care and casts suspicions on members of certain demographics, efforts to sell Iowa will have a ceiling.
Iowa doesn’t have enough people. Job openings are too hard to fill, particularly ones for medical professionals. Child care options are scarce enough that some people who would like to work or work more choose not to.
Gov. Kim Reynolds and her Republican colleagues in the Legislature note those problems accurately. On Tuesday, the governor proposed a few innovative investments and policies to attack them. But the state’s GOP leaders aren’t articulating the entire picture of why there’s a shortage of people who want to live and work here. Specifically, they aren’t looking in the mirror.
It was no surprise that the governor’s sales pitch for the state focused on tax reductions and national rankings while omitting mention of laws that make people feel unwelcome or even endangered in Iowa — people who fear whether they can find adequate care during pregnancy in light of a strict ban on abortions. People who could face scrutiny based on their appearance under harsh immigration laws. People who see the state formally labeling information about their or their family members’ sexual orientations and gender identities inappropriate for schoolchildren.
It is indisputable that the state’s aggressive income tax reductions make living here more attractive. Pumping money into rural recruitment problems and chipping away at preschool and child care burdens would make a positive difference, too.
But so long as state government denies forms of health care, casts suspicions on members of certain demographics, and refuses to take meaningful action to protect the state’s soil and water, those efforts to sell Iowa will have a ceiling.
Policy ideas range from terrible to adequate
Many of Reynolds’ policy proposals during her annual address to lawmakers were less sweeping than the “flat tax” or “school choice” unveilings of previous years, but their potential impact on the state is still great. A few highlights, and lowlights, deserve notice:
- MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS: Reynolds insists that now is the time to try again on a bad and tired idea: requiring some prospective Medicaid recipients to work in order to receive health care coverage. Or, to put it another way, putting obstacles between health insurance and a small, small slice of low-income Medicaid recipients (those who are not children or retired or disabled or already working). Or, to put it another way, creating a costly new apparatus of bureaucratic red tape using money that could instead pay for needed care for Iowans. This popular Republican idea has progressed furthest in Arkansas and Georgia, and neither state’s experience is in the least encouraging. Georgia’s rules have not led to increased employment, which is, you know, the point.
- NUCLEAR ENERGY: Reynolds said she’d set up a task force to explore bringing nuclear power generation back to Iowa. A robust debate on this topic over a decade ago ended with MidAmerican Energy declining to pursue the idea beyond a study. Reynolds is correct that the massive electrical demands of data centers, especially for artificial intelligence, counsels an open-minded look at the state’s energy mix.
- CANCER RESEARCH: Iowa’s cancer statistics are among the nation’s worst, and Reynolds says she wants to spend $1 million to launch a new research team to better understand what’s happening. That’s a start, to be sure. Almost no investment would be too much, and the task force should have freedom to investigate and deliver, if necessary, unpleasant answers or hypotheses about what contributes to cancer in Iowa.
- GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: Nobody is against government efficiency. Reynolds’ remarks about copying the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency weren’t particularly amusing to people like Democratic state Sen. Zach Wahls, who sarcastically and correctly wrote on X about Reynolds “inventing” … the office of state auditor, the real-life version of which the Legislature keeps kneecapping.
- ATTRACTING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, IMPROVING CHILD CARE: Reynolds’ overall state budget proposal would increase spending 5.4% over the current year, with tax revenue continuing to fall. Large chunks of new money will go to educating savings accounts for private school students and to cover a projected $174 Medicaid shortfall. Reynolds also says Iowa should put millions of dollars into projects to bring more physicians and nurses to rural Iowa and to fill gaps parents face in managing preschool and child care. Those are solid proposals, though a bigger and better swing would be expanding state-paid universal preschool to full days for 4-year-olds and at least some subsidy for 3-year-olds.
Iowa has reasons to be proud and to stay, and reasons to run away
Reynolds opened her address by taking a deserved victory lap for state and local government success in 2024: responding meaningfully to natural disasters and providing for recovery and implementing her far-reaching state government reorganization. Iowa does have plenty to be proud of, plenty of reasons to stay, plenty of reasons to come. The governor and the Legislature need to realize that they have also given people reasons to flee. Until that changes, they aren’t doing all they can to solve Iowa’s worker shortages.
Lucas Grundmeier, on behalf of the Register’s editorial board
This editorial is the opinion of the Des Moines Register’s editorial board: Lucas Grundmeier, opinion editor; and Richard Doak and Rox Laird, editorial board members.
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LAURENS, Iowa (IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH) – An Iowa man is taking Nintendo and Pokémon Company International to federal court for allegedly refusing to grant him “Pokémon Professor” status.
Kyle Owens, 34, of Laurens is suing Nintendo of America and its affiliate, Pokémon Company International, in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, alleging federal anti-trust actions that violate the Sherman Act.
The lawsuit seeks a court order and injunction that would grant Owens $341,000 in damages and award him Pokémon Professor certification, restore his access to “official Pokémon Professor tools” and enable him to host Pokémon events.
Pokémon is a Japanese franchise, aimed primarily at children, that includes trading cards, video games and movies involving a fictional universe populated by species that possess special powers. The franchise gained worldwide popularity in the late 1990s, but continues to be embraced today by children as well as adult collectors and gamers.
“The Pokémon Professor program is not merely recreational,” the lawsuit alleges. “It functions as a structured certification and authorization system, granting official status, access to official event tools, the ability to host sanctioned card and video-game matches, listing in an event locator, and opportunities that generate business traffic, customer attendance, product sales, good will and commercial advantage.”
Owens’ lawsuit alleges that on March 12, 2024, Pokémon Company International informed him he had passed the basic exam for the rank of Professor of Pokémon with a score of 100%.
Court exhibits indicate the notice informing Owens he had passed the exam also stated that before he could be welcomed into the program and take his “first steps as a Pokémon Professor,” he would need to submit to a background check.
The exhibits, made public in Owens’ court filings, indicate the background check conducted on behalf of the defendants determined there was a pending arrest warrant, issued by another state in 2022, for failing to appear in court on misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct by engaging in fighting; possessing, repairing or selling an offensive weapon; and criminal mischief through damage to property.
On May 6, 2024, Pokémon Company International wrote to Owens, informing him that his “application to the professor program has been denied after reviewing the results of your background check.” The letter indicated that once the background check was completed, it was determined he had scored 80% on the exam and failed the test for professor status.
In his lawsuit, Owens claims he was initially denied certification due to an “old, low-level felony that was more than 10 years old,” and that the stated rationale for his denial was later changed to the three misdemeanor charges that do “not show guilty findings.”
The lawsuit claims the defendants’ denial of his certification as a Professor of Pokémon does not merely harm Owens personally but also reduces competition and consumer access by eliminating a qualified, Iowa-based event host from the official, organized-play system associated with Pokémon.
The defendants have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.
Copyright 2026 IOWA CAPITAL DISPATCH. All rights reserved.
KINGSLEY, Iowa (KTIV) – Plymouth County Emergency Management says the city of Kingsley, Iowa, has sustained significant damage after the severe weather on Sunday, May 17.
In a press release, officials say all people are being turned away from entering Kingsley, and numerous power lines have fallen. Management says Kingsley residents are strongly encouraged to stay indoors until routes are cleared and power lines are restored.
If you are a Kingsley resident or in the immediate area, call the Plymouth County Communications Center’s non-emergency line at (712)-546-8191.
Emergency Management says updates will be posted to the Plymouth County Emergency Management Facebook page.
Want to get the latest news and weather from Siouxland’s News Source? Follow these links to download our KTIV News app and our First Alert Weather app.
Copyright 2026 KTIV. All rights reserved.
The Iowa State Cyclones have had quite the offseason. They lost Matt Campbell, Rocco Becht, and the majority of the roster, with many heading to Happy Valley to join the Penn State Nittany Lions. After years of consistency and greatness amongst the Big 12 conference, they now look in a completely different situation. Now, they have to save the program.
Over the last few seasons, Iowa State’s face of the program has been their quarterbacks. Outside of one solid Hunter Dekkers year, the last couple of years have been dominated by the likes of Becht and Brock Purdy. But with Becht now out the door, they have to look to the next best option.
The general consensus around the Cyclones is that their offseason was terrible. Partially that was true. But the players that Iowa State brought in aren’t as bad as people may think, and one name especially, takes the crown as the best offseason addition.
Jaylen Raynor is Key
The Cyclones brought in Jaylen Raynor, a three-year starter from the Arkansas State Red Wolves. He looks like he may be the savior of the program.
Raynor was a solid player as a freshman, having 2,550 yards, 17 touchdowns, and seven interceptions throughout the year. The potential was limitless right off the bat. He stayed for a second year, improving his numbers to 2,783 yards, 16 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. Then finally in his junior year, he once again bumped them up, this time to 3,361 yards, 19 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
Raynor has been consistent throughout his collegiate career, and needs to continue that at Iowa State.
To be completely honest, the Cyclones are in a rough situation. Their roster is pretty sub-par, and a lot of their pieces aren’t near the expectations that Iowa State have. One of the only players that can really put everything together is Raynor, one of the most proven veterans of them all.
Raynor has to be the leader of the Cyclones. Everyone is coming in from different programs from different areas at different levels. When that happens, a quarterback needs to come in and lead his team by bringing the locker room together.
Iowa State’s season doesn’t just change depending on Raynor, it’s defined by him. A veteran leader that has consistently proven to shine now gets one last chance with a new program, where he has the opportunity to save the history, the success, and the pride of the Cyclones.
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