Iowa
Rural Iowans have nobody to represent them; Republicans certainly aren’t doing it
If Republicans are the party for rural Iowans, why are the Democrats the ones trying to protect rural water quality? Why doesn’t the state government have a meaningful plan to slow population decline?
It’s conventional wisdom these days that America is divided between city and country, an urban-rural divide that drives our politics. Urban Democrats and rural Republicans, they say, have different cultures and rarely mingle. In this story, Democrats represent the interests of the cities and Republicans those of rural areas.
How, then, do we explain Iowa’s state government?
The allegedly pro-rural GOP has controlled the governor’s office and both houses of the state Legislature since 2017. So why are state policies so bad for rural Iowa?
Consider a few recent examples:
- Republicans’ signature accomplishment last year, public funding for private schools, has almost no benefit to Iowa’s rural counties, most of which have zero private schools.
- Gov. Kim Reynolds’ greatest priority this year has been cutting back the state Area Educational Associations, which primarily benefit smaller school districts. Iowa City can hire a multi-school speech pathologist and make its own bulk purchases; even Mason City needs access to the pooled professionals and purchasing power of the AEAs.
- Prominent Republicans back CO2 pipelines, despite their unpopularity with farmers.
- Large rural sections of the state lack mental, maternity, or reproductive health care after Republicans closed regional mental health centers and “reformed” a once-successful state family planning program.
- Meanwhile, the governor’s budget recommended zero funding for a UI initiative to better provide rural healthcare.
If Republicans are the party for rural Iowans, why are the Democrats the ones trying to protect rural water quality? Why doesn’t the Republican-controlled state government have a meaningful plan to slow or stop population decline in rural counties? Why isn’t the state government doing more to support rural hospitals and small farmers, or reducing Iowa’s reliance on ethanol mandates?
In short, why isn’t the so-called rural party focused on rural issues?
Maybe because it isn’t really the rural party.
Any post-election map will show Iowa with great swaths of red counties that voted Republican. But those are the counties that are losing population. Do they really have enough votes to carry an election?
According to the 2022 voting totals, the answer, at least for statewide races, is “no.”
We looked at two of the more competitive 2022 races, U.S. Senate and state auditor. In both races, the GOP performed better in rural counties. However, using the most generous definition of “rural,” at most 40% of Iowans live in rural counties. Even with high rural vote tallies, Republicans still draw up to 3 in 5 of their votes from urban and suburban counties.
And there’s the rub: Republicans need strong support in rural Iowa to compensate for how badly they do in cities. But because fewer people live in rural Iowa, a clear majority of Iowa Republican voters do not live in rural counties and may not care about rural issues.
The urban/rural narrative might be truer in the Legislature, where rural counties have direct representation. The growing number of uncontested legislative races says that the political parties think so and means that Republican legislators don’t have to work for their votes.
The end result for rural Iowa is that no party really represents its interests. Democrats care about things like education, water quality, and health care, but most Democratic representatives have an urban constituency. And rural Republicans may fear crossing the governor, who has brought out-of-state interest groups to fund primary challengers to Republicans who oppose her agenda. Food for thought, and perhaps a reason to run for office as an independent, if you live in a rural area.
But all of us should reconsider how we think about our communities and their needs. Bright blue Johnson County has more Republican voters than the 10 smallest rural counties combined. 30,000 more rural Iowans voted for our Democratic state auditor than for the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. Our state is more purple than it looks at first blush, and both parties would do well to remember that.
Kelcey Patrick-Ferree and Shannon Patrick live in Iowa City and write at www.ourlibertiesweprize.com. And biannual time changes must be abolished.
The Iowa State Cyclones will start a new era when the 2026 college football season kicks off next month.
For the first time in a decade, they have a new leader on the sidelines. Jimmy Rogers, hired away from the Washington State Cougars, will be replacing Matt Campbell, who accepted the head coaching position with the Penn State Nittany Lions and brought along almost the entire coaching staff and most of the eligible roster along with him.
The roster purge left Rogers and Iowa State in a tough spot. He and his staff have done as good a job as possible to restock the talent, but they are certainly facing an uphill battle in the Big 12 in 2026.
So much so, predictions aren’t in their favor. Over at CBS Sports, Brad Crawford has projected game-by-game results for every team in the conference. Unsurprisingly, he doesn’t believe the Cyclones are going to find much success in Year 1 under Rogers.
Iowa State predicted for tough 2026 season in Big 12
He has predicted Iowa State to finish 4-8 on the season and 2-7 in the Big 12. Their victories will come against the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, Bowling Green Falcons, West Virginia Mountaineers and Cincinnati Bearcats.
That means losses against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Utah Utes, BYU Cougars, Arizona Wildcats, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Baylor Bears, UCF Knights and Kansas State Wildcats.
As Crawford notes, a major reason for his predictions unfolding in that fashion is their signing class being near the bottom of the Power 4 ranks. Rogers has experience working with revamped rosters; the Washington State group in 2025 had 75 newcomers on the team.
Cyclones predicted to struggle on the road
However, he is facing a much bigger challenge integrating so many new players, from all levels of college football, into a Big 12 program. As a result, the toss-up games against teams thought to be on their tier, such as Baylor, UCF and Kansas State, are all predicted to be losses.
Another interesting takeaway is that the Cyclones aren’t predicted to win a single game away from Jack Trice Stadium in 2026. The lack of Power 4 experience certainly plays a role in that, as winning on the road is a tall task; doing so in hostile conference environments most of the roster has never been part of is even tougher.
Rogers knows how to get the most out of what looks to be an overmatched roster. Iowa State shouldn’t be counted out from being able to secure a spot in a bowl game, but they will need a lot to go right and in their favor during the season.
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DES MOINES, Iowa (Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau) — Several hundred Iowans turned out for the Republican Party of Iowa’s Lincoln Dinner fundraiser Friday night that served largely as a tribute to Gov. Kim Reynolds, the state’s first female governor who is retiring after her term expires in January.
One of granddaughters described Reynolds as her “best friend,” a moment that brought tears on stage.
Two of Reynolds’ daughters praised their mother’s work ethic and commitment to their family.
A video played during the evening included a salute for Reynolds from Terry Branstad, the former governor who had chosen Reynolds as his running mate.
Republican governors from Nebraska, South Dakota, Arkansas, and Georgia also offered their compliments for Reynolds in videos.
So did Trump administration officials including U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins .
Reynolds, first elected lt. governor in 2010, became governor in 2017 after Branstad resigned to become U.S. Ambassador to China.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Iowa State Capitol Bureau. All rights reserved.
SERGEANT BLUFF, Iowa (KTIV) – Gelita USA held an open house Friday, July 10, to celebrate the completion of a new wastewater treatment facility at its plant near Sergeant Bluff, marking the end of years of regulatory violations tied to its discharge into the Missouri River.
Gelita manufactures gelatin and collagen, ingredients used in food, medicine, and supplements. That manufacturing process produces large amounts of contaminated wastewater containing proteins, fats, and ammonia, a substance categorized as a toxic pollutant.
According to an Iowa Department of Natural Resources sampling inspection from March 2025, the plant was processing nearly double its design capacity. Before the upgrade, the Iowa State lab documented black water in the Missouri River near the facility’s discharge site. The Iowa DNR found Gelita had exceeded ammonia limits multiple times.
The report said that at the outfall to the Missouri River, Iowa DNR Tom Ross observed that the effluent had a black coloration. Roos requested additional testing at this location.
“Following the inspection, the discharge location on the Missouri River was visited. During the visit, the effluent at the river appeared to be a dark color, much different then the effluent observed at the treatment facility. It was explained during the visit, the color of the discharge to the river was a violation of 567-61.3(2) ‘c’, lowa Administrative Code, which states that all surface waters shall be free from materials attributable to wastewater discharges or agricultural practices producing objectionable color, odor, or other aesthetically objectionable conditions.”
Jeff Tolsma, General Manager of Gelita USA, said the upgrade was the result of an extended dialogue with regulators and upgraded technology.
The new facility includes ultraviolet disinfection, a feature the old plant did not have. The UV light treatment damages the DNA of bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms before discharge, improving the company’s compliance with Iowa DNR standards.
Company, regulators call it a turning point
“We met with the EPA and the Iowa DNR probably 18 months, two years ago. It’s been a long dialogue with them, but they were great partners, great to work with,” Tolsma said. “And this wastewater treatment plant allows us to basically meet those new regulations that have been put in place. I think what is significant is that this actually brings us forward from a compliance standpoint for a long-term sustainable operation.”
The Iowa DNR said it will continue monitoring the facility to ensure ongoing compliance.
Gelita USA has operated in the Siouxland area for approximately 30 years and employs around 200 people.
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.
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