Three campaigns end, one begins, and lots of legislative news

Jan. 26 edition of "KHOI's Capitol Week"

From left: Jennifer Konfrst, Shannon Lundgren, Taylor Wettach (Facebook profile pictures)

I wasn’t expecting so much breaking news on a Monday! I had to redo nearly half of our format a few hours before we were on the air and move a bunch of newsworthy items to next week.

Let’s get right to it: the sound file from the January 26 edition of “KHOI’s Capitol Week” is at the top of this message. You can also find the show through any podcast platform or smart speaker. Here’s a recap of the stories Spencer Dirks and I covered, for those who would rather read than listen. If your email provider truncates this message, you can read it without interruption here.

Iowa Democratic reaction to Alex Pretti’s killing

Unfortunately we had to start with reaction to another tragedy in Minnesota. On Saturday morning, Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse for the Minneapolis VA. Pretti had been disarmed before the first of at least ten shots were fired. Democrats across the country condemned the killing and called for federal immigration enforcement to get out of Minnesota.

I didn’t have time to read all of the comments from Iowa Democratic candidates, including all three U.S. Senate contenders. State Senator Zach Wahls called the video of Pretti’s final moments “absolutely shocking” and accused ICE of deliberately causing chaos, preventing local law enforcement from doing their jobs. “The violence has to stop and ICE needs to get out of Minneapolis.”

Nathan Sage said in social media posts, “No more killings. No more violence. Intimidation and fear tactics have no place on our streets. Pull federal agents out of Minneapolis, take the masks off, and hold those responsible accountable.”

State Representative Josh Turek said in a video that the issue is “deeply personal” to him, since his wife is an Afro-Latina immigrant, and his mother-in-law doesn’t speak English. “Families like mine are living in fear, and in fear of the government.” He called it “absolutely unacceptable.” He said federal authorities are kidnapping people, making the situation worse and less safe.

State Senator Sarah Trone Garriott, a Democratic candidate in the third Congressional district, described the news out of Minnesota as “horrific” and called for “a full and independent investigation by local authorities into both this and Renee Nicole Good’s killing.”

Christina Bohannan, a candidate in the first district, struck a similar tone, saying “the video evidence seems to show [Pretti] was on the ground and no threat to anyone. It is unacceptable for Kristi Noem and the administration to refuse to investigate or determine the facts following these recent shootings and instead to immediately declare two American citizens — a mom of three and a VA nurse — to be domestic terrorists. Americans deserve accountability from our government.”

Some Democrats went further: Xavier Carrigan, who is also seeking the nomination in IA-03, said in a Facebook post, “ICE must be dismantled and all individuals who are in this organization placed on trial. This is a rogue organization and one which must be brought to justice.”

Here’s part of a Facebook post by Travis Terrell, a Democrat running in IA-01: “Another American Citizen was murdered by ICE in Minneapolis. There’s been multiple accounts of people being forced to “show papers” to show they’re citizens. ICE has been made into a terrorist organization. It’s not enough to defund them, many of them need to be arrested. No Gestapo in the US. Fuck ICE.”

State Auditor Rob Sand’s public comment was very on brand for him, but disappointing to many in the Democratic rank and file, since he didn’t denounce ICE.

Please pray with me for all involved today and pray for peace in our country as the situation in Minnesota escalates. No one should want further violence in our communities or lives lost, and there are clear paths towards order. For example, federal law enforcement should be listening to local law enforcement to help keep everyone safe and ensure accountability. At a time where tensions remain high, our officials should work to turn the temperature down – not further fan the flames.

Sand has focused his criticism on state Republican elected officials and has been more reluctant than many other Democrats to condemn the Trump administration or its policies. Presumably that’s because he knows he will need votes from a lot of Trump voters to win the governor’s race.

Iowa Republicans say little about Pretti’s killing

Iowa Republican officials and candidates were largely silent about the killing over the weekend. I saw nothing from anyone in the Congressional delegation on Saturday; U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (IA-03) posted a mild call for an investigation on Sunday afternoon, but I still didn’t see any public comments from Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01), Ashley Hinson (IA-02), or Randy Feenstra (IA-04), or Senators Joni Ernst or Chuck Grassley.

I was chasing so many other stories on Monday that I didn’t notice posts by Hinson and Miller-Meeks on X/Twitter. Hinson began with, “The events in Minnesota this weekend were heartbreaking and demand a full, transparent investigation.” She proceeded to bash “defunding ICE” and condemn “rioters” and “sanctuary cities.”

Miller-Meeks wrote, “The videos out of Minneapolis are heartbreaking, and any loss of life is tragic. I call for a full investigation and complete transparency, and for the rule of law to be upheld. Local officials should prioritize cooperation over interference, working with the administration to ensure the safety of both the public and federal agents.”

Adam Steen, one of five Republicans running for governor, put up a Facebook post that blamed Minnesota Governor Tim Walz for the situation in the Twin Cities. He warned, “We cannot allow this kind of democratic leadership to seep into the borders of our great state of Iowa. As Iowa’s next governor, I will fully cooperate with ICE’s efforts to deport illegal immigrants.”

I still haven’t seen any public statement from Feenstra, the front-runner in the GOP race for governor. The previous weekend, fellow Iowa Writers’ Collaborative columnist Robert Leonard saw Feenstra at a small meet-and-greet in Oskaloosa. At that event, Feenstra praised President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, ICE, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and suggested that the media slants what ICE is doing. According to Feenstra, once in a while an American citizen gets caught up in ICE enforcement, but “it’s incidental.”

I didn’t have time to mention this on the show, but State Representative Steven Holt, who has floor managed several pro-gun bills in the Iowa House, seemed to defend the Alex Pretti’s killing in a Facebook post that read in part, “Des Moines Register, why did you leave out of your headline the fact that he was armed with a gun and magazines?” In other contexts I am sure Holt would not say that legally carrying a firearm gives law enforcement license to shoot you.

Jennifer Konfrst ends campaign in IA-03

This doesn’t happen often: three Iowa Congressional candidates ended their bids on the same day (January 26). State Representative Jennifer Konfrst endorsed Trone Garriott in the IA-03 primary.

I wasn’t surprised. Konfrst had lagged behind Trone Garriott in fundraising, and her campaign hadn’t put out any statement trying to spin the year-end fundraising numbers ahead of the Federal Election Commission filing deadline.

Many observers in both parties saw Trone Garriott as favored to win the June primary. In fact, a poll that was in the field last week (seemingly from a Republican-aligned group) tested a dozen negative messages about Trone Garriott and none about Konfrst.

We didn’t have time to walk through all of the points raised in that poll, but you can read more in my post from Saturday:

Trone Garriott will still have some competition in the June primary. Xavier Carrigan sent out a statement Monday afternoon confirming, “I am still in this race. And I have no intention of stepping aside. […] This campaign is about clean water, affordable healthcare, accountability, and returning the Democratic Party to its roots as a working-class party, not a donor-managed one. Those priorities don’t disappear because of endorsements or press releases.”

To say Trone Garriott is heavily favored would be an understatement. Carrigan is relatively new to Iowa and not well known. He is running on a platform similar to Bernie Sanders, but that approach wasn’t successful for Pete D’Alessandro, one of three candidates in the 2018 primary for IA-03.

With Konfrst out of the picture, I expect EMILY’s List (a PAC that supports pro-choice Democratic women) to endorse Trone Garriott soon.

Konfrst’s staff told me on Monday she hasn’t decided whether to run for Iowa House district 32 again. Windsor Heights mayor Mike Jones just announced that he is running for that seat, a pretty blue area in the western suburbs of Des Moines.

Shannon Lundgren ends campaign in IA-02

The Republican field just got smaller in Iowa’s second Congressional district. Early Monday morning, State Representative Shannon Lundgren announced she is suspending her campaign and will seek another term in the Iowa House. I wouldn’t have predicted this outcome six months ago, but by now it wasn’t surprising, given how many MAGA endorsements former State Representative Joe Mitchell already racked up for this race. I had heard rumors Lundgren was struggling to raise money; we’ll find out next week how true that was.

It’s a tough break for Lundgren, as she gave up a leadership role on a powerful committee to focus on this race. Now former U.S. Representative David Young chairs the Iowa House Commerce Committee.

Lundgren should easily win another term in House district 65, which covers a large area in Dubuque County outside the city of Dubuque. Democrats represented this area until 2016, but it’s now a fairly safe Republican seat, like many other parts of Iowa along the Mississippi.

Mitchell will be heavily favored in the IA-02 primary, but he won’t be unopposed: State Senator Charlie McClintock confirmed to me on Monday afternoon that he’s still running for Congress. He doesn’t have to give up his seat in the legislature to run for higher office, since his Senate term runs through 2028.

Taylor Wettach drops IA-01 campaign to run for state auditor

The third Iowan to end a Congressional campaign on Monday was Taylor Wettach. Instead of seeking the Democratic nomination in Iowa’s first district, the attorney from Muscatine will run for state auditor. He said in a statement that “public office should be about service and responsibility – not power and self-protection,” adding, “I’m running to protect taxpayers, not politicians, and to make sure Iowa has an auditor who tells the truth, follows the money, and stands up to power.”

This one surprised me the most. A couple of weeks ago, Wettach launched a “Fair Shot for Iowa” tour around the first district, and had already done a bunch of stops and interviews.

But this must have been in the works for a while, because right out of the gate he was endorsed by former Governor Tom Vilsack and former Attorney General Tom Miller. The January 26 press release also included a statement from Iowa Democratic Party state chair Rita Hart, who praised Wettach’s decision to run for auditor (without expressly endorsing him).

Wettach’s news release said, “As an attorney, Taylor’s job was to analyze complex records, evaluate evidence, and produce fact-based findings that could withstand legal scrutiny – exactly what the State Auditor is meant to do on behalf of Iowa taxpayers. He understands that audits and investigations must be built to hold up in court, not bend to politics, so misuse of taxpayer dollars leads to real accountability and consequences – no matter who is responsible.”

I expect Wettach to be unopposed in the Democratic primary for state auditor. Two Republicans are seeking that office: Lieutenant Governor Chris Cournoyer and Iowa County Supervisor Abigail Maas.

Christina Bohannan advocates Medicare buy-in

With Wettach out, two Democrats are running for Congress in IA-01: Christina Bohannan and Travis Terrell. The Marion County Democrats invited me to moderate in-depth conversations with all of the Congressional candidates, and the event with Bohannan happened on Sunday.

All three Democrats had agreed to participate, though the event with Wettach will be canceled now that he’s no longer running for Congress. The candidates were allowed to pick a topic related to rural Iowa. Bohannan picked the rural economy; I asked about a dozen questions, and she also answered a bunch of audience questions. (Terrell picked health care in rural Iowa, and our conversation at Central College is scheduled for February 22.)

You can watch the video of the Bohannan event here. We covered a lot of ground in 90 minutes, too much to summarize on our radio show. For me, the biggest news was that Bohannan came out for letting Americans buy in to Medicare at any age. This is a new policy stance for her; it wasn’t part of her platform when she ran against Miller-Meeks in 2022 and 2024.

She said extending the enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance will buy time for “real health care reform.” She’s “not talking about socialism”; people who like their private insurance can keep it. Alternatively, they could buy into Medicare, “which is very good health care,” and then they wouldn’t be beholden to any employer. Bohannan said that would be good for self-employed people, farmers, and others now using ACA policies. “This would dramatically bring down health care costs for everybody,” she said, because uninsured people often end up needing more expensive care.

Bohannan spent quite a bit of time talking about health care and the need to reverse the Medicaid cuts from last summer’s budget reconciliation bill. Marissa Payne covered the event for the Des Moines Register, and Maya Marchel Hoff covered for the Lee Newspaper group.

Since Bohannan was talking about her plans to revitalize the rural economy, I wanted to hear her take on the proposed CO2 pipeline, an issue that divides Democrats. As a constitutional law professor, she is “not a fan” of using eminent domain for that purpose. She didn’t take a clear position on whether the pipeline should be built as an economic development project if it could be done without eminent domain.

Catelin Drey announces cancer diagnosis

At the state capitol on Monday, many were shocked as news spread that State Senator Catelin Drey has been diagnosed with stage 1 uterine cancer. The Democrat from Sioux City was scheduled to have a hysterectomy on January 27 and plans to be transparent about her treatment and recovery, because in her words, “Silence is what perpetuates bad systems.”

She observed during a Senate floor speech, “The irony of being elected because my predecessor passed away from this horrible disease is not lost on me. Ignoring the environment that Senator [Rocky] De Witt and I shared is a disservice to our constituents.”

She also said, “I am not interested in pretending this is just a private medical matter. It is a public policy failure playing out in my body. I’m going to be transparent—not because I owe anyone my vulnerability, but because sunlight is a tool, and I intend to use every tool available to me.”

I wrote more about Drey’s commitment to sharing her cancer journey at Bleeding Heartland. Here’s the video of her Senate floor remarks:

House Republicans unveil property tax reform plan

Last week was so busy in the legislature, we only had time to cover the biggest stories. On Wednesday, House Republican leaders unveiled their property tax reform plan. I uploaded the video from their news conference to Bleeding Heartland’s YouTube channel, for anyone who would like to see their explanation and Q&A.

This summary comes from a House Republican news release:

• Cap revenue growth at 2% plus new construction, ensuring that cities and counties are still incentivized to grow. This component includes exceptions for schools and the debt levy.

• Delivers immediate relief to every homeowner by creating a new $25,000 exemption. Every residential property will not be taxed on the first $25,000 of the assessed value of their home.

• Revamps the informational mailer sent to every property taxpayer to increase transparency and give taxpayers a better idea of where their money is going and what it funds.

• Requires bonds payable with property taxes to receive a 60% affirmative vote.

• Requires Councils of Government (COGs) to help local governments find efficiencies and cut waste.

Spencer and I spent a few minutes comparing the plans offered by Governor Kim Reynolds, Senate Republicans, and House Republicans. The Des Moines Register and Cedar Rapids Gazette published articles about that as well.

All three plans focus on residential property taxes, since the legislature already enacted a massive commercial property tax cut in 2013. At that time, the state agreed to “backfill” local governments for lost revenue. But once Republicans had full control of the legislature, they phased out that backfill, and no one is talking about that now. In other words, local governments won’t get any help from the state if they take a hit from a new property tax law.

We’ve often seen Senate Republicans and the governor line up on one side of an issue, with House Republicans staking out a different position. This time, the Senate GOP plan is in a class of its own, proposing the most extensive changes (like getting rid of the complicated “rollback” calculation Iowa has used since the late 1970s). In addition, the Senate plan would give more property tax relief for homesteads and less for a home someone might own as an investment property.

The governor and House Republicans are largely on the same page regarding a 2 percent cap for local governments to increase revenue. That’s going to be very hard for many cities and counties, which are facing rising expenses. We haven’t seen any numbers on how these plans would affect local budgets or different types of homeowners.

The Senate and governor would both give some special treatment to older homeowners (age 60 and up for the Senate, age 65 for the governor). In contrast, the House plan would exempt the first $25,000 of the assessed value of every residential property. I see political advantages to the House approach, because it would benefit everyone, no matter your age or whether you’ve paid off your home.

House approves eminent domain bill

Last Wednesday, the Iowa House held the first floor debate of the year, to pass a simple bill banning the use of eminent domain for CO2 pipelines. Last year, Reynolds vetoed a more complex bill on eminent domain and pipelines. The key part of House File 2104 is just one paragraph long.

We see a lot of party-line or nearly party-line votes in the Iowa legislature, but both parties were split on this issue, as you can see from the roll call.

Eight Republicans voted against the bill for different reasons. Several represent agricultural areas, or have ethanol plants nearby. State Representatives Chad Ingels and Brian Lohse spoke against the bill during floor debate. We don’t often see a member of the majority party publicly opposing a bill in that way; that may happen a few times a year.

Ten House Democrats voted to ban eminent domain for CO2 pipelines, and 20 voted against the bill, largely because labor unions really want the temporary construction jobs. Leadership was also split, with Minority Leader Brian Meyer and assistant minority leaders voting no, but House Minority Whip Sean Bagniewski supporting the legislation.

At a Thursday morning news conference, Meyer said House Democrats want the pipeline to be built, while protecting property rights. That’s not a consensus position in the caucus, though. Many Democrats have deep environmental concerns as well as concerns about eminent domain–especially now that Summit Carbon Solutions says the CO2 will be used for enhanced oil recovery rather than sequestered in the ground.

Among House members seeking higher office, Turek (a Democratic candidate for Senate) and Matt Windschitl (a Republican running in the fourth Congressional district) voted for the bill. Lindsay James (a Democrat running for Congress in IA-02) was absent for this vote.

Senate leader unveils his own eminent domain proposal

Last Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mike Klimesh introduced two bills related to eminent domain and CO2 pipelines. This one’s a little more complicated, and we didn’t have time to get into all of the details. I uploaded the video of his news conference, for those who want to learn more.

One of his bills (Senate File 2067) would let pipeline companies go around the approved route to try to find more landowners willing to sign voluntary easements. He said it would reduce the need for eminent domain to almost zero. He promised safeguards on how the company must approach or notify landowners.

Klimesh argued that Iowa can’t afford to give up the economic opportunities from having a CO2 pipeline. He said farmers need this, since they are losing money on corn.

His second bill (Senate File 2069) would impose a “severance tax” on CO2 transported through pipelines; similar to how Texas, Wyoming, and North Dakota tax oil and gas. According to Klimesh, this approach would help keep Iowa on the path of lowering income tax rates.

House and Senate Republicans remain far apart on this issue. Klimesh has already confirmed senators will amend the House bill to substitute his own proposal. I don’t know whether he has 26 votes for his bill. When I asked at last week’s press conference, he said he wouldn’t comment on internal caucus matters. He probably would need a few Democrats, and I don’t know where Senate Democrats are on this issue.

If Klimesh can get 26 votes to pass his bill in the Senate, I’m not sure the House would take it up. My money is on stalemate right now. Then the question is, will those dozen or so GOP senators who most strongly oppose the pipeline hold up budget bills like they did last spring, demanding another floor vote on eminent domain?

There will be a greater sense of urgency to adjourn this spring so some of the incumbents facing GOP primary challengers can campaign for re-election.

House Democrats introduce clean water package

On Thursday, House Democrats unveiled a legislative package designed to address Iowa’s water pollution problem. The plan would dedicate more funding to monitor water quality, would triple available funds for Iowa’s Nutrient Reduction Strategy (from $10 million to $30 million), and would create new tax credit and loan programs for farmers using best practices. You can read the Democratic summary of their plan here. I uploaded a video of their news conference explaining the points and answering questions.

Democratic candidates and legislators from all over the state have consistently told me that water quality is one of the top issues they hear about in their communities.

What struck me most: this package is focused on voluntary measures—all carrots, no sticks. House Democrats are not proposing any new regulations comparable to what Chris Jones has advocated, such as mandatory buffer strips near waterways.

The concept is that lots of farmers want to implement better management practices, but the existing programs fill up and they can’t afford to do it without incentives. In the words of State Representative Kenan Judge, “Iowans deserve healthy drinking water and cleaner rivers and lakes. The Iowa Healthy Water Act invests in proven solutions, supports farmers, and ensures accountability so we can protect our water for future generations.”

I’m skeptical that any of these proposals could get traction in a Republican-controlled chamber. But who knows, maybe one of the Democrats’ tax credit ideas could be folded into a different bill.

House Republicans advance bill on over-the-counter ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine

A friend who passed away last year used to ask me, “What’s the craziest thing that happened in the legislature this week?” If he were still with us, I would tell him about the subcommittee meeting on House File 2056.

This bill would make ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine available without a prescription. You can watch my video of the whole subcommittee, or a shorter clip that I pulled from Democratic State Representative Austin Baeth’s remarks. He characterized the bill as “mandated medical malpractice,” because the state medical director would have to write a standing order, and pharmacists would have to dispense these medications, even if they knew the drugs could harm that patient. The bill also says pharmacists “shall not” maintain a record of their interaction with the patient.

I often encourage readers to look at the lobbyist declarations. Every medical group (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pediatricians), along with public health experts, opposed the bill. The Rheumatology Association of Iowa registered against it too; I learned last week that when there was a run on ivermectin in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, people who relied on that drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis were sometimes unable to get their prescriptions filled. CORRECTION: Pharmacist Mike Andreski set me straight: it’s hydroxychloroquine that’s used to treat arthritis.

During the subcommittee, Republican State Representative Brett Barker, a pharmacist, said he had “serious concerns” about the bill, but didn’t make clear whether he would sign off on it. Later the same day, he joined State Representative Eddie Andrews in advancing it to the full Health and Human Services Committee.

New “don’t say gay/trans” bill advances in Senate

Last Wednesday, Republican State Senators Jesse Green and Sandy Salmon advanced Senate File 2003. The bill would prohibit "school districts, charter schools, and innovation zone schools from providing any program, curriculum, test, survey, questionnaire, promotion, or instruction relating to gender theory or sexual orientation instruction in grades seven through twelve." Iowa previously enacted those restrictions for grades K-6; they are mostly on hold now pending a federal lawsuit.

I attended this subcommittee and uploaded the video here. Members of the public expressed strong feelings on both sides, but more people spoke against the bill than for it. Even if you don’t want to watch the whole subcommittee, I recommend listening to Kaylara Hoadley’s powerful testimony. She is a parent of a nonbinary teen and a caseworker who works with vulnerable youth in Mason City. She warned this bill will not make kids safe.

It’s important to note that 16 is the age of consent in Iowa. So this bill could create a situation where 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds can legally have sex, but can’t learn about transgender people or LGBTQ existence in high school.

If this bill passes it would immediately be tied up in court. The lobbyist for Iowa Safe Schools, Damian Thompson, pointed out that courts have recognized more constitutional rights for teenagers than for younger children.

Senate subcommittee kills bill to end casino exemption to smoking ban

On Monday morning, I attended an unusual subcommittee meeting on Senate File 2051, which would end the casino exemption for Iowa’s indoor smoking ban. When Democrats controlled the legislature in 2008, they had to cut this deal to get the Smoke Free Air Act to Governor Chet Culver’s desk. Ever since, public health advocates have been trying to get rid of the loophole for casinos. They note there is no safe level for secondhand smoke, and many employees as well as gamblers are exposed day after day.

The lobbyist declarations show only gambling interests opposed to the bill and a broad coalition of groups in favor. Advocates for those who suffer from cancer, heart, or lung diseases spoke passionately for the bill. Lobbyists for casinos warned they would lose customers and revenue to competitors.

Usually if Iowa lawmakers convene a subcommittee, it’s a foregone conclusion the bill will pass. But this time, only the chair, GOP Senator Dennis Guth, supported the bill. The other Republican, Dawn Driscoll, said no without explanation. (Her district includes Washington County, where the Riverside casino is located.)

Democratic Senator Tony Bisignano spoke for several minutes, and seemed to sympathize with both sides of this issue. Ultimately, he said he would not advance it. He serves on the board of Polk County’s Prairie Meadows casino, and his wife used to work at a casino, so he’s very familiar with the issues.

That may be the end of the road in the Iowa Senate, but a similar bill got through the House Commerce Commitee last year. David Young told me today (January 27) that he does plan to reassign that bill this year.

Democratic lawmakers create “Black and Brown Caucus”

On Monday morning, I attended a press conference where members of the Iowa House and Senate announced the creation of a new Iowa Legislative Black and Brown Caucus. You can watch that event:

State Representative Ruth Ann Gaines chairs the caucus. She said the caucus will "ensure that voices too often left out of decision-making are heard, respected, and reflected in Iowa state policy,” adding, “This caucus will be focused on solutions, accountability, and equity for communities across Iowa.”

Along with Gaines, State Representatives Rob Johnson, Mary Madison, Megan Srinivas, Ross Wilburn, and Angel Ramirez spoke at the event, as did State Senator Renee Hardman. Other members include Senator Izaah Knox and State Representative Jerome Amos, Jr. They invited Republican State Representative Eddie Andrews to participate, but he did not attend. Gaines said she had reached out to GOP State Representative Mark Cisneros two years ago, but he did not respond.

More than 15 percent of Iowa’s population is estimated to be Black or Brown (nearly 8 percent of Iowans are Latino, just under 5 percent are Black, and nearly 3 percent are Asian).

Members of the group will introduce a series of bills to ban ICE agents from concealing their identities and from apprehending people in courthouses, schools, and churches.

Campaign fundraising for state candidates

With all of the breaking news I added to the format on Monday, I bit off more than I could chew. Spencer and I had planned to discuss the year-end campaign finance disclosures for all of Iowa’s statewide candidates. We only had time to touch on the Democratic candidates for governor (Rob Sand and Julie Stauch) and Republican candidate Randy Feenstra before running out of time.

We’ll return to this topic next week, because I have more to say about those reports and other state candidate fundraising. Meanwhile, you can read other coverage of these reports from Iowa Capital Dispatch, the Cedar Rapids Gazette, or the Des Moines Register.

That’s all for now! Spencer and I will be back next week to talk about more news from the legislature, Trump’s latest Iowa visit, and perhaps another federal government shutdown.