Iowa
Over 30K Iowa students OK’d for education savings accounts
DES MOINES — More than 30,000 Iowa students have been approved for a state program to use state dollars to pay private school tuition in the upcoming school year, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Friday.
The numbers indicate an increase of more than 11,000 students from the 2023-24 school year. It’s about 10,000 more than the nonpartisan legislative services agency estimated would participate when the law was passed in 2023.
The Republican governor made the announcement at the annual Family Leadership Summit hosted by the conservative evangelical organization The Family Leader during a conversation with Betsy DeVos, the former U.S. secretary of education under then-President Donald Trump.
The state received 35,417 applicants for the program before the June 30 deadline, Reynolds’ spokesperson Kollin Crompton said. Applications are still being reviewed, but more than 30,000 have been approved so far.
Approved students will be able to use their full per-pupil state funding to pay for tuition at an accredited private school. Not all of those students may end up attending a private school with the funds. If a student does not attend a private school, the account is closed and the money remains with the state.
During the conference, DeVos praised Reynolds’ push to pass the education savings account program. Reynolds endorsed primary challengers to Republicans who opposed a narrower version of the plan in 2022, many of which lost their primaries to candidates who supported the program.
“She really did set a new tone when taking on members of her party who refused to make that step to give families more power,” DeVos said. “And it was not without a lot of difficulty and a lot of political capital, shall we say. But clearly she knew where her constituents in Iowa were and are on that subject.”
Reynolds said the COVID-19 pandemic, when instruction was moved primarily online and parents had a closer view of educational instruction, solidified her support for private school choice initiatives.
She said the program will give families who otherwise could not afford private school the opportunity to send students to a school that best fits their needs. About 60 percent of the approved applicants last year already attended private school, while 40 percent were public school students.
“We had school choice prior to this … but it was only if you had the means to do that,” Reynolds said. “And that is just not right. It’s not fair. And so I forged on a mission to get things turned around.”
Reynolds said she believes her education policies will improve public schools as well as private schools. She pointed to open enrollment changes, a teacher salary increase and literacy standards passed in this year’s legislative session as examples of improvements to public schools under her administration.
The education savings account program was Reynolds’ top policy priority in 2023, and one of several education changes she has pursued in recent years as governor. The program cost the state about $128 million last budget year.
This year, Reynolds signed a bill into law that overhauls the state’s area education agencies, which provide special education support to Iowa school districts. The law also increased the minimum teacher salary to $50,000 by the 2025-26 school year.
Under the law, funding that now goes to the AEAs will eventually go directly to school districts, and they will need to contract with the AEAs to provide special education services. AEA funding for media and other education services will go directly to the school districts, which can spend it on any general fund purpose outside the AEAs.
Reynolds calls DeVos role model
DeVos served as the U.S. secretary of education under Trump from 2017 to 2021. She is a strong proponent of private school choice policies and has led several conservative education think tanks.
Reynolds said DeVos has been a role model for her and said she was inspired by DeVos’ work as secretary of education.
“You never backed away from your beliefs or what you went there to do and I thought if she can do this at the federal level, I could do this at the state level,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds in May denied suggestions, first reported in the Daily Caller, that she was interested in serving as secretary of education in a potential second Trump administration.
The conservative outlet attributed an unnamed spokesperson who said Reynolds may be interested in the position. But Reynolds said the report “mistook the way I talk about education” as being interested in the job.
“I am passionate about education. I’m proud of what we’re doing,” Reynolds said at the time. “I mean, it started with STEM, it started with registered apprenticeship programs, literacy, parental choice. So I’ve got a lot of work to do as governor.”
Democrats have opposed many of Reynolds’ education policies, saying they will weaken public schools and funnel taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private institutions. In a statement, Iowa House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights, said the Iowa GOP has gone too far in its education policies.
“Iowans are sick and tired of politics. Governor Reynolds celebrating her voucher bill with billionaire Betsy DeVos and the special interests today is a huge reason why,” Konfrst said in a statement. “Iowans overwhelmingly oppose vouchers because public money is for public education. They don’t want more public schools to close and they sure don’t want their kids to lose access to special education services.”
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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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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.
“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.
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.
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.”
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.
“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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