🗣️ It’s Friday: Time for
Only in Iowa, Positively Iowa, this week’s pet photo, and
reader replies.

Iowa’s first women’s sports bar, Heroics, is now open, and they’re having an official launch party Saturday.

Iowa is the first state to ‘gain more control over’ federal education funding, reads the headline. But the Iowa State Education Association says that so-called “red tape” our state and federal government are intent on removing actually serves “students with disabilities, students with language barriers, and students with physical restrictions” that may now not get the funding they need to thrive.

• “Without the guardrails of targeted funding, we are concerned that some student populations will be overlooked,” the group said in a statement sent to Starting Line.

Everytown for Gun Safety released its 2026 state gun law rankings, which is where I found out that if Iowa had the gun death rate of the 10 states with the strongest gun safety laws in the US, 2,896 lives could be saved in the next decade.

Minnesotans say ope, nope, we’re all going on strike next Friday to protest ICE.

• ICE detainees in Iowa are increasingly suing the counties where they’re being unlawfully detained, a strategy that is working.

• I’m still angry that ICE violently detained my friend, a former Iowan and US citizen, in Minneapolis for *checks notes* driving to a doctor’s appointment. Glad I work at a place where I can openly say “F*ck ICE;” sorry to all the other journalists having to bothsides authoritarianism.

• If you see ICE activity in Iowa, the Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice has a hotline at 515-505-8805. For help finding a lawyer, call Escucha Mi Voz Iowa’s hotlines at 319-321-8664 or 515-729-6482. And then please heckle the heck out of them like this dude.

Dubuque is just one of the cities in Iowa where you can find affordable rent. (Runde Imaging/Unsplash)

🐶 This is Ozzie the Shih Tzu, hanging out in the car of reader Richard S.

Ozzie with the fresh cut—looking sharp!

Send me your pet photos here.

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. I may edit your content for conciseness or to correct typos.

Should we tax millionaires like Massachusetts?

• “Yes, Iowa should tax their millionaires and billionaires 4% more.” — Mary M. 

• “We should absolutely do this nationwide!” — Dan C. 

Rolling layoffs:

• “Just want to first say how much I appreciate your newsletters! I feel so much more informed about our state in general!

   

  Secondly, you are probably aware, but I thought I’d mention it only because we have a family member that works at REG (Renewable Energy Group) now owned by Chevron. They have done similar layoffs—big one back in the summer—and it just continues with smaller ones, with more anticipated. I don’t know exact numbers, but that place would NOT be someplace I’d want to work. Everyone there had to re-apply for employment for any position they felt they were qualified for, even though their current position was not eliminated. It sounded pretty crazy and extremely stressful.

   

  If interested, you could probably do a little research on that company as well and find some more rather disturbing ‘rolling layoffs.’ Thanks for all that you do!” — Tammy S. 

Beware of sex-trafficking school speaker:

• “Stacy Besch travels the state of Iowa, speaking about sex trafficking to high schools and churches through her ‘charity’ Team Iowa—a branch of Team America, founded by Jeffrey Prather. Much of Stacy’s information is incorrect and misleading. Jeffrey’s website is very QANON inspired. Stacy … rants anti-Muslim, anti-trans, conspiracy theory garbage [on Facebook]—including one about cannibalistic hunting parties in Mason City. And she is running for Iowa Senate District 5 … What is her real motive speaking at these schools if she isn’t even giving honest information? Should schools let her in?” — Stacy R.

Readers who support ICE:

• “Listen, commie, I support the self defense of the ICE agent. I’ll go out to counter protest you.” — Holly A.

• “Your opinion piece is so ‘wrong’ that I’m dumbstruck as to how an educated person could concoct such a story. You describe the victim, the lady who was shot, as a legal observer. There is nothing legal about trying to run over someone in your car—we have video evidence of her doing this [ED. NOTE: the video evidence shows otherwise]. You seem to suggest that the cause of all the problems in Minnesota is due to the authoritarian agenda of Donald Trump [ED. NOTE: and he’s causing more]. This is the best example of the ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome’ I have ever seen. Are you forgetting what brought the ICE agents to Minnesota in the first place? Did you not hear that there is a huge taxpayer fraud scandal in Minnesota [ED. NOTE: this was debunked bigly]? The Somali population there, 80% of whom don’t work [ED. NOTE: completely false], have bilked the taxpayers out of billions of dollars. It has been reported that Ilhan Omar, the Somali congresswoman, saw her net worth increase from $50 or 60 thousand to $30 million in one year [ED. NOTE: Estimated value of assets is different from actual net worth]. Wouldn’t you like to know how she did this; where did the money come from? Please don’t leave out these facts when asking us to comment on the situation.” — John J.

• “How do I unsubscribe completely? I don’t want political shi[t] in my email.” — Caleb R. (NOTE: Unsubscribe button at the bottom of each email.)

Kidnapping Venezuela’s president and wife:

• “It was not a kidnapping!”
  — Wayne H. (NOTE: OK, everyone else disagrees though.)

What the Iowa Legislature should focus on in 2026:

• “Please change education so public money doesn’t go to private schools and provide at least a 4% increase to funding. The minimum wage is a joke and needs to be tripled.”
  — Lonny M.

• “Refund IWQIS. Iowans deserve to know what is in their water, good or bad. Funding for IWQIS was diverted in the 2023 legislative session, and its (most) water monitoring sites will close this summer without additional investment. This is merely one step to bring back water quality in our state.” — Sydney L.

Stop platforming Joni Ernst:

• “Joni Ernst! She rode the wave into Congress when it was cool to tell the cult members about her having castrated hogs on her farm … She has been a phony, lying Trump supporter from her first day in Congress. Every opportunity for a photo op standing next to Trump, she was there. Now she’s not running again, so she can say any stupid things he wants [her] to, and it is just background noise. She’s a non-voice, and Iowa—stronger than any other state—needs to state the obvious: She’s going away, and is of no importance. She will become a partner with one of her corporations that she has helped in getting their legislation passed to their, and her, benefit.”
  — Tom F.

On living with grief:

• “I want to express my sadness for the loss of your wife last year. Thank you for this wonderful newsletter. You don’t mince words and your reporting is truly believable—not only informative but somehow soothing to know the stats of Iowa as well as the nation. I find solace in your newsletter information even though I live on Oahu, HI, and only my daughter and her family live in Des Moines.” — Cassandra A.
  

Farmer interviewed:

• “Here is the link to a farm policy article in which I was interviewed. Thank you for considering sharing it.” — John C.

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