Barb Kalbach.

The Iowa legislature seems to be in full swing now. The state Senate and House have Republican supermajorities, the largest since 1970, so this is their legislative session to be had. Seeing as how many of them represent folks like me in rural Iowa, I sure hope they don’t forget about us and that they work to enact policies that benefit us on the farm, in small towns, and help us thrive.

But I keep coming back to Governor Reynolds’ Condition of the State address she delivered on January 14. I was happy to hear her acknowledge that Iowans come together in times of crisis and need. It was nice to hear her talk in more detail about the challenges our rural communities face when it comes to healthcare. And thank goodness she didn’t talk about “making Minnesota Iowa again.”

But I just can’t seem to shake the feeling that a lot of Reynolds’ comments were merely lip service and that she didn’t offer solutions to meet the need of our challenges. A few million in grants and loan forgiveness for nurses and medical professionals who stay to practice in Iowa seems nice in theory, but with a budget surplus in the billions why not invest more? Reynolds did say she’d pursue $150 million in federal funds to create additional medical residency slots, so I guess she’s done a 180 on accepting federal money now there’s a new administration. But several Iowa hospitals have either shut down or vastly rolled back services. Many others are struggling.

Maybe we’re not investing more in rural healthcare because of the ballooning costs we’ll be seeing from Reynolds’ private school vouchers. During the first year (2023/24) that vouchers were available, the Iowa legislature spent $128 million. This school year (2024/25), the legislature approved $179.2 million. Next year is likely to be close to $300 million. For the 2025/26 school year, they will be universal, which means the wealthiest families can use them. Reynolds didn’t mention that in her speech.

Another thing sticking with me is our alarming cancer rates. I didn’t have a stopwatch on me, but it seemed like Reynolds spent about one minute talking about Iowa’s cancer rates, currently No. 2 in the nation for new cases. Then she proposed allocating $1 million to the University of Iowa to study it. She said the “why and the how are tricky” and that “we shouldn’t jump to conclusions.”

Yet what’s telling is in what she didn’t say here. Where is the talk about factory farm pollution? What about the nitrates or nitrites in our water? She didn’t have the time or inclination to mention where we stand on well water messes, rural water district problems due to nitrogen or other manure contamination, or excessive chemicals. And she sure didn’t mention Bayer’s campaign to try and silence us if we’re harmed from using their products like Roundup.

And I wasn’t surprised one bit that she didn’t talk about those pesky CO2 pipelines and the potential abuse of eminent domain to get them built. Since one of her biggest donors, Bruce Rastetter, wants to build it, I think that tells us all we need to know.

There’s a lot left unsaid about our Governor, and her legislative agenda for 2025. She can spout off rankings and statistics that make her look good, but we’re living the reality. But like Reynolds said, Iowans come together in times of crisis, and we’re going to have to come together a lot more if Reynolds continues to get her way.

Barb Kalbach lives in Adair County, Iowa. She is a 4th-generation family farmer, a registered nurse, and board president of Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. Barb can be reached at barbnealkalbach@gmail.com.