Highlights in this edition:

• Audits of the State Auditor’s Office Are Behind Schedule
  • Why is his own agency running over three years behind?
• House Republican Efforts to Improve Farm Profitability
  • One part of that effort is the Iowa Farm Act
• Iowa AG Sues 18 PBMs and Insulin Manufacturers for Inflating Insulin Prices
  • Iowa diabetics have been overcharged millions of dollars a year because of the insulin pricing scheme
• Iowa House Republicans Introduce Iowa Skilled Workforce Act
  • The bill is a strategic partnership between the state, schools, and the trades to help shape and train the next generation of workers in high-demand jobs
• House GOP Property Tax Bill Clears Subcommittee
  • The first $25,000 of every residential parcel is exempt from taxable value after the rollback is calculated

Highlights in this edition:

• When Democrats Controlled the Budget
  • Democrats don't even know how many genders there are, why should Iowans trust them to run the state budget? 
• Education Committee Passes Bill Requiring Cash to be Accepted at Athletic Events
  • HF 2079 states that legal tender shall be accepted as a form of payment for entry into any extracurricular interscholastic athletic contest or competition
• After 37 Years, Regents Program Appears to Have Accomplished its Goal
  • The number of women and minority educators at Iowa's universities has increased
• Providing Public Safety and Humane Treatment
  • House File 2094 expands capacity at the state Mental Health Institutes and allows for additional federal funding to pay for that expansion
• House Republicans Announce Anti-Crime Bills
  • Safe neighborhoods are a top priority for Iowans

Highlights in this edition: 

• Casino Tax Revenue Slips While Sports Wagering Collections Take Off in December
  • Through the first six months of FY 2026, sports wagering tax collections are $2.2 million higher than what the state collected during the same period in FY 2025
• New Iowa America 250 Webinar Series Highlights American Founding
  • The Iowa Department of Education is offering the series for K-12 educators across the state to help guide classroom instruction and discussion regarding the important historical events related to the founding of America
• Clarifying Property Rights and Eminent Domain 
  • HF 2104 prevents companies seeking to build carbon oxide pipelines from using eminent domain to take land when a property owner is unwilling to negotiate terms for its use
• Iowa House Republicans Release Property Tax Reform Bill
  • After rollback, all residential parcels will receive a $25,000 exemption from value
• Reminder: Retirement Income Tax Exempt Since 2023
  • Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, 401(k)'s, 457(b)'s and pensions including IPERS all qualify for this exemption

Highlights in this edition:

• Governor Releases FY 2027 Budget Proposal
  • The largest increase in the Governor’s proposed budget goes to state aid to public schools
• House Democrats Budget Track Record
  • The last time Democrats had control of the Iowa House of Representatives they created a billion-dollar budget hole without the reserves to protect key priorities
• Home and Auto Insurance Rates Continue to Decrease
  • One way to improve the cost of living for Iowans is decreasing insurance rates with increased competition and market stabilization 
• New Legislative Session Provides an Opportunity to Find Efficiency
  • The 2025 DOGE Task Force recommendations highlighted opportunities for Iowa’s counties and cities to incorporate new technology to provide efficiencies, pool resources in order to save expenses, and to eliminate requirements that hinder local governments’ ability to provide quick and effective services
• Governor Unveils Property Tax Bill
  • The main provision of the bill is a budget limitation on local tax authorities that limits locals to a two percent increase in revenue year over year

Highlights in this edition:

• Who to Believe When it Comes to State Budget Management
  • Brian Meyer and House Democrats have a track record of spending too much, saving too little and cutting money from K-12 schools
• New District-Level Ratings Added to the Iowa School Performance Profiles
  • Indicators focus on proficiency in English language arts, mathematics and science, student academic growth, chronic absenteeism and attendance growth among all K-12 schools
• COVID-19 Revealed the Scope of a Governor’s Emergency Powers – Should There Be Limits?
  • When emergency powers lack firm limits, they can be hijacked by incompetent left-wingers like Tim Walz and JB Pritzker
• Guidance on Reporting Tips and Overtime under the New Exemption
  • Tax year 2025 will be treated as a transition period for IRS enforcement and administration of the new information reporting requirements for cash tips and qualified overtime compensation 

Highlights in this edition:

• Farm Income in Iowa – Doing Much Better Than Some Would Have You Believe
  • Net farm income for 2026 would total $9.33 billion, which is significantly higher than the 2024 level of $7 billion
• State Board of Education to Do First Reading of the Revised Social Studies Standards on Thursday, December 4
  • Members of the public may join the meeting in person at the Grimes State Office Building or remotely through video conferencing or by telephone
• Cancer Prevention and Treatment Focus of Rural Health Transformation Plan
  • Funding will go towards regional hubs to have local rural facilities provide diagnostics, chemotherapy and infusion services, and follow-up care, with telehealth consultations with cancer experts
• Minnesota: Land of Fraud
  • A 2024 audit found that investigators withdrew or softened inquiries out of concern that they would be accused of racism
• Illinois Continues to Tax Hard Working Americans’ Tips and Overtime
  • It appears Governor Pritzker’s disdain for hard working law abiding citizens extends beyond his indifference to public safety

Highlights in this edition:

• Gaming Revenue Continues Strong Start for FY 2026
  • For the start of Fiscal Year 2026, sport wagering tax revenue are up 21 percent over the same period last year
• Iowa Rural Health Transformation Plan Released
  • Currently the federal government is reviewing all 50 state applications and will receive awards by December 31, 2025
• Veterans in Iowa's Workforce 
  • Iowa Workforce Development provides resources through Home Base Iowa to help veterans 
• Iowa Steps Up the Fight Against Human Trafficking
  • The most recent update came in 2025 with House File 649, which refines Iowa's legal definition of human trafficking to close loopholes and strengthen prosecutions

Highlights in this edition: 

• State and Federal Tax Law Changes Will Impact State Revenue According to REC 
  • After a rough first quarter in 2025, both the national and Iowa economics experienced sizable GDP growth in the second quarter 
• Classroom Behavior-What is the Education Establishment Doing About It?
  • The dominant themes at the American Educational Research Association's annual meetings between 2021 and 2025 were equity, social justice, and identity instead of classroom behavior and discipline
• Understanding Criminal Sentences in Iowa
  • While Iowa's laws are tough on some violent crimes, the opposite is often true for chronic low-level offenders
• Public Retirement Systems Committee Will Meet December 9
  • The system continues to move in a positive direction and the current funded ratio is the highest funded ration since the "Great Recession"

Highlights in this edition: 

• Final Revenue Numbers for Fiscal Year 2025 Released
  • Even with the January 2025 implementation of reducing personal income tax rates to 3.8 percent, net personal income tax revenue to the state actually grew in Fiscal Year 2025
• Open Enrollment For Health Insurance, Iowa Counselors Here to Help
  • For Iowans purchasing their health insurance through the exchange, individual health coverage begins on November 1
• How Do We Protect Out Students and Teachers in Our Schools?
  
  • House Republicans will continue to work with teachers to make classrooms safe again
• Mental Health Annual Spending Reaches $1.28 Billion in Iowa
  • This includes a $9.65 million increase of funding and employees to specialize the Independence Mental Health Institute to behaviorally complex youth and the Cherokee MHI to acute and forensic adults
• Background on the Deployment of the National Guard by the President 
  • In September 1962 President Kennedy invoked the Insurrection Act of 1807, federalized the Mississippi National Guard, and deployed federal troops including units from 101st Airborne Division (over 31,000 troops were deployed to the campus of the University of Mississippi) to restore order and allow Ole Miss's first black student James Meredith to attend class