Never a slow week in Iowa politics

Sept. 25 "Capitol Week" is online

Sep 27, 2023

It occurred to me that “Capitol Week” listeners may not realize how much Dennis Hart does to prepare for every program. Dennis closely follows lots of Iowa news sources and every Friday sends me a list of proposed topics for the next show. We sometimes add or subtract items over the weekend, and more often than not, we make a few changes on Monday afternoon to accommodate breaking news.

It’s so helpful for me to have this “road map” as I prepare for the show. If Dennis notices a story I missed during a busy week, I see it on Friday and have time to read up on it well before we go on the air.

I was particularly grateful for Dennis’ prep work this week, because for the first time since we’ve been working together for KHOI, the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur fell on a Monday.

As a Reform Jew, I’m not strict about many traditions. But on this holiday, I am fairly observant. That meant that in addition to fasting, I would stay completely offline and would not check email, social media, or any news tv shows or websites from about 6:30 pm on Sunday to about 6:30 pm on Monday. Did I mention “Capitol Week” airs live at 7 pm?

Dennis had me covered! I was able to prepare for most of the topics over the weekend, using the list he sent on Friday. I had warned him about the Boards and Commissions Review Committee’s final meeting, which was scheduled for Monday morning. I couldn’t watch it, of course, but when I opened my computer around 6:30 pm, there were emails from Dennis containing an updated run of show, a link to news coverage about the review committee’s recommendations, and an article with some breaking news related to Planned Parenthood.

Yom Kippur can be intense, and it would have been hard to shift gears on Monday evening if Dennis hadn’t helped me prepare ahead of time. I’m relatively new to radio broadcasting, but he is a true pro.

On to the September 25 program! Remember, all past editions of “Capitol Week” are available for free on KHOI’s website.

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Topics we covered:

We began with last Thursday’s news that Iowa’s “First Gentleman” Kevin Reynolds has been diagnosed with lung cancer. According to a statement from the governor’s office, doctors have said the family has “every reason to be optimistic”;
Moving to Iowa caucus news, former President Donald Trump campaigned in Maquoketa and Dubuque last week. We flagged some of the statements he made at those events, and I provided some background on the political landscape in that part of eastern Iowa;
Trump is trying to undercut Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on immigration, and accused DeSantis of wanting to cut Social Security and not supporting ethanol;
In typical Trump gaslighting fashion, the former president claimed that if he were still in office, Russia would not have invaded Ukraine, and the U.S. would not have withdrawn from Afghanistan (even though Trump cut the deal with the Taliban to leave that country by a certain date in 2021);
Governor Kim Reynolds pushed back on Trump’s criticism of Florida’s six-week abortion ban during an interview broadcast last week on “Meet the Press.” I provided some context on why Trump benefits from pushing the narrative that Republicans underperformed in the 2022 midterms because of the party’s unpopular stance on abortion;
The latest nationwide polls continue to show Trump way ahead among Republican primary voters, but other GOP candidates seem to believe the abortion issue gives them an opening against Trump in Iowa. During his most recent Iowa visit, Senator Tim Scott criticized the former president for not endorsing a nationwide 15-week abortion ban;
Trump is skipping the second Republican primary debate, scheduled for September 27; I mentioned that six candidates would be there, but after our broadcast, I saw that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum did qualify after all, which means seven candidates will be on stage: DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley, Mike Pence, Scott, Chris Christie, and Burgum;
Regarding the abortion issue, I highlighted that two Iowa House Republicans who are strongly anti-choice (State Representatives Luana Stoltenberg and Steven Bradley) were on hand to support Trump in Maquoketa last week. It’s far from clear that the former president is going to lose ground here over his recent comments;
We spent a couple of minutes on the coming impeachment hearings in the U.S. House of Representatives. All four Iowa Republicans who serve in the chamber have endorsed the inquiry;
One last bit of Iowa caucus news: the Libertarian Party (which now has major-party status) will hold precinct caucuses on January 15, the same day as Republicans and Democrats;
Moving to state government happenings: the Boards and Commissions Review Committee, mostly appointed by Governor Reynolds, released its final recommendations on Monday. Dennis and I went over some of the highlights, but you can read the final report here and compare it to the draft recommendations published in late August;
A few boards that had been on the chopping block will be left in place, according to the final report. Those include the Iowa Commission on Volunteer Service (which administers federal Americorps funding) and the Board of Nursing Home Administrators. A few other boards that would have been eliminated will be merged into other bodies, such as the licensing board for athletic trainers and the Commission on Deaf Services;
One thing that didn’t change: most of the state commissions formed to focus on underrepresented communities (African Americans, Asian and Pacific Islanders, people with disabilities, Latinos, Native Americans, and women) will be combined into one Human Rights Council. Inevitably, those populations will have less of a voice in state government;
The review committee also recommended that Iowa repeal the gender balance requirement for state boards and commissions. Iowa was the first state to adopt such a statute during the 1980s (under a Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican Governor Terry Branstad). The law dramatically increased women’s representation in state government;
Reminder: the legislature will need to act to eliminate, consolidate, or reorganize state boards and commissions. I expect the House and Senate Republican majorities to rubber-stamp everything Reynolds asks for;
Iowa will lower the corporate tax rate a few years earlier than expected, because revenues exceeded a threshold established in the 2002 tax cut bill;
Federal officials announced last week that Iowa is among some 30 states where thousands of people were wrongly taken off the Medicaid rolls;
I didn’t see this coming: Planned Parenthood North Central States is ending its Book Sale, a fixture in Des Moines for the past 60 years and a major fundraiser for Planned Parenthood’s education programming in Iowa. I hope to compile a Bleeding Heartland post with reflections on what the book sale meant to the thousands of people who shopped or volunteered over the years. If you have a story to share, reach out to me (laurabelin@substack.com);
Dennis enjoys calling me “vexatious,” ever since the Iowa Public Information Board rolled out a draft proposal to make it easier for government bodies to ignore public records requests from so-called “vexatious requesters.” I attended last Thursday’s meeting of the board and came away with the impression that legislative action on this is unlikely in 2024. You can read more about where the board members stand in my Bleeding Heartland post;
Frank Cownie, the longest-serving mayor in Des Moines history, confirmed last week that he won’t seek re-election this November. Four candidates filed nominating papers; the two leading mayoral candidates are city council members Connie Boesen and Josh Mandelbaum;
Seven candidates are running for the open city council seat in Des Moines Ward 1. The two leading contenders are probably former city council member Chris Coleman and former Des Moines School Board member Rob Barron;
Former U.S. Senator Dick Clark passed away last week at the age of 95. Although he only served one term, he is still fondly remembered, and his victory in 1972 is probably one of the biggest upsets in Iowa political history. I would welcome guest commentaries or reflections from any Iowans who knew him well, worked on his staff or his campaigns, or were touched by his work in any way.
Unless U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pulls a rabbit out of his hat before the end of the federal fiscal year on September 30, Dennis and I expect to be talking about a federal government shutdown on next Monday’s show.