It’s Friday, Mar. 14, 2025.

🗣️ It’s Friday: Time for the Reader Sound-Off, where we share some of the feedback you all have sent me directly. Keep it coming!

Share your thoughts here

💗 But first, some Positively Iowa news: 💗

🐶 Iowa has a dog in the fight: This Sunday is Selection Sunday, where the NCAA will announce which men’s and women’s basketball teams have made it to the NCAA Tournament, aka March Madness.

But we already know one from Iowa, because they won their conference tournament: The Drake Bulldogs men’s team are guaranteed a spot in the national tourney after a historic season.

Other Iowa teams with a shot to be picked include:

the Iowa State men’s team, projected to have a No. 3 seed;
the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s team, projected at a No. 6 seed;
and perhaps, if they get lucky, the women’s team at Iowa State.

But apparently we also shouldn’t count out the Iowa Hawkeye men’s team, who Cinderella-style took down the favorites to win the Big Ten conference, the Ohio State Buckeyes, last night. They’d probably have to win the whole conference tournament to make it, since their record’s not great. But they did already take down Goliath. Let’s go Hawks!

Who will you be rooting for?

Find more Positively Iowa in your inbox on Mondays, and subscribe a friend here.

Amie Rivers

Newsletter Editor, Iowa Starting Line

Email me

Readers are invited to add to the conversation by emailing responses@iowastartingline.com. Please include your first name and last initial. You may also want to include your city, but that’s up to you.

Last week, we asked: Are you worried about Trump’s tariff threats?

“Yes, I am worried about the tariffs. Almost everything we consume will increase in price in a climate where wage increases are no longer popular.

I worry for the sake of my young adult child who would like to own a house, will be needing a newer car within the next 4 years. Small business will find it even more difficult to compete with large conglomerates placing pressure on them to stay solvent. Not only the immediate impact but the long-term impact. The road back to normalized relationships after the Trump administration will be long and potentially fraught with compromises we otherwise would not have to make.

The downstream effects of the tariffs worry me as well. I see the Trump administration making further cuts to SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare and S.S. by suggesting the U.S. Govt is spending so much on other things that it has no money to support the programs that work for most Americans. More people will be living hand to mouth as a result of this ridiculous America First agenda, although I am pretty certain they do not yet realize the impact it will be having on them.” ~Bridget M.

This week’s question: What comes to mind when you think of spring in Iowa?

Share your thoughts here

More readers sound off:

Not sure which rights are being taken away:

“What rights don’t you have that the rest of the population has, I’m confused, I believe everyone should have the same rights as everyone.” ~Eleazar M.
(NOTE: This video goes into what Iowa’s new law taking away civil rights from nonbinary and trans Iowans will do. You can also see what repercussions it has in the letter below.)

A trans son changes everything:

“I agree with reader Greg C. that ‘this is truly a dark time.’ It is a dark time for many of us here in Iowa, including me and my family. My son, Marc, is transgender. It is beyond heartbreaking to see all the anti-trans things that are happening right here in the state where he was born and raised.
I would like to share some of his thoughts that he shared recently on social media: ‘I feel a deep betrayal from the place I call home. I wanted to believe this state could do better. I want nothing more than the freedom to be the person that was always inside of me and the man that I fought so hard to become. Thank you to everyone who stood up and told the state that this is wrong. It has never been more abundantly clear that it is time for me to leave Iowa.’

I only want what’s best for my son, and it saddens me to know that he is better off living somewhere that is not Iowa. (No ‘freedom to flourish’ here!) I fear for his safety and well-being every day. I don’t understand the fear and hate-mongering towards trans people.

One thing I have learned through all of this is how to be more understanding and accepting of all people, not just those who are like me. I have learned so much from having a trans child. Marc’s rights may be getting trampled on every single day, but yet he continues to be kind, considerate, and generous when dealing with people. We could all learn something from those who are trans!” ~Judy D., Sumner

On people fleeing to Minnesota:

“Why move to Minnesota when Iowa is trying to buy part of Minneapolis?” ~Kenneth W.
(NOTE: The Iowa Legislature did send a bill through subcommittee to buy nine southern Minnesota counties, though Minneapolis was not among them. It did not make it out of subcommittee, probably because it’s insane.)

No longer proud Iowans:

“I used to be proud to be from IA—now I tell people I’m from IA, but right across the river from IL! Keep us informed—these guys are sneaky!” ~Donna N.

On a bill that would criminalize doctors for giving mRNA vaccines:

“Nobody is forcing anyone to be anti vac.” ~Mike G.
(NOTE: Not anymore they’re not!)

Which bill are you most worried about this session?

“The Monsanto bill.” ~Eric P., Oskaloosa

On objectivity:

“Being an ‘objective reporter’ does NOT mean one stops seeing or thinking. We have emotions for a reason, and anger alerts us to injustice and harm being done to others!” ~Greg C.

Elections are coming:

“I think we [are] staying too much in the past. In November 2026, every member of the House is up for re-election. We only need to win four seats. This April, two seats come up in Florida. Remember [Matt] Gaetz? Can’t we outwork them for four seats? Thirty-three Senators are up for re-election in November. We only need eight seats. We need good people who will run and that we can get behind.” ~Mark T.

(NOTE: One of those senators, by the way, is Joni Ernst.)

Positively Iowa fan:

“I’m a fan of Iowa Starting Line but don’t subscribe to social media. I know I’m getting old, but I think social media does so much damage. I understand its uses for getting out information, but is there a way to share Liz’s Positive Iowa clips in another format? Thanks and please keep writing, being an activist and making me laugh.” ~Carole Y., Cedar Falls
(NOTE: If you’re on YouTube, I think I can start getting them added there no problem.)

Positively Iowa hater:

“Pure Idiocy.” ~William W.

Letter of the Week: Pass a bill to help Iowans with dementia

“In 2019, I was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics. Upon diagnosis my wife (caregiver Tammy) was left wondering, ‘What’s next?’
We found no Lewy Body Dementia Association in Iowa, so we stopped at the Alzheimer’s Association office in Waterloo, Iowa. We found the office had no one in it that knew anything about LBD or even Alzheimer’s. They were only marketers directed to hand out leaflets about the Association and ask for donations. Over the next few years, I traveled Iowa giving presentations with Dementia Friendly Iowa and we continued to find many Iowans with my same story.

I believe it was around 2022 when I along with Megan Zimmerman of NEI3A and Dr. Elaine Eshbaugh of UNI came up with the idea of hiring six Dementia Treatment Specialist in regions around Iowa that will act as a ‘battle buddy’ once a diagnosis has been made—someone educated in the field of Dementia and the vast resources available to help navigate the journey, not someone who simply hands out a pamphlet and tells you good luck.

It is now 2025, and we are still in the same place we were in 2019. Over the past few years, I have been a member of a committee with the state of Iowa and CDC under a grant to create a plan to help Iowa be a better dementia state. The plan has been created and yet we just keep talking
more and more, but no action is being taken. All the while, Iowans living with dementia are still trying to navigate the journey alone with their
caregiver.

How long must we wait?!!! Please enact the bill to create a Dementia Specialist [position] in Iowa as the number of Iowans being diagnosed are increasing every day. This bill, according to Dr. Shah of Broadlawns Medical, would keep people at home 3-5 years longer than expected.” ~Kevin Dill, former director of Veterans Affairs in Iowa