Readers sound off on Iowa issues: June 30, 2026
Not believing women:
“This is a bullshit story. This was a doctor that didn’t want to properly document the necessity for the procedure.” — Terry K.
Summer plans:
“Hello! The goal for this summer is to do summer programs, studying for 4.0 GPA and even working at McDonald’s.” — Jesslynne S.
“Happy Summer to you! Here we’re so grateful to be away from the house camping at my wife’s family cottage on North Lake Leelanau, and abroad for 90 out of 120 days (albeit with me working for most of it, #portablejobsforthewin). We’ll have so much water, family, our young dog’s first summer swimming in Great Lakes with us, a quick trip home in August to work the polls for our Michigan primary. With my wife’s dementia changing her more quickly, we’re crossing items off our bucket list with 3 weeks in France. It’s strange to me to not be more involved day-to-day in a campaign or two this time of year, but my focus has had to shift to for obvious reasons. Hope you get to savor your favorite things this summer in Iowa and beyond if travel sweeps you along the road.” — Jeff S.
Grammar lesson:
“Never start a sentence with a numeral. Standard grammar rules require you to spell out numbers (e.g., ‘One hundred’ instead of “100”) or restructure the sentence entirely to avoid awkward pacing.” — Kat S.
On hardgating our articles:
“Tongue in cheek, no difference, but thx for clarification, just think it’s folly to use ANYTHING that makes it more cumbersome to access your good work. Wish you success in your reporting.” — Elizabeth S.
On protesting:
“[I] don’t believe in protest and rallies. Some don’t turn out well.” — Robeert S.
On Libertarians thrown off the ballot for different last names:
“I believe [US Rep. Ashley] Hinson also has a name issue. Hinson is not her legal name. That’s the name she went by on the news, and how everybody knew her so if she used it politically, but that is not her name. Arenholz is her legal last name.” — Molly D.
Protect children before abuse happens:
“To Those With the Power to Change the Laws:
Children should never become collateral damage in adult abuse. Too many people believe abuse ends when someone leaves a relationship. Survivors know that is not always true. Sometimes the control changes form. It moves through courtrooms, paperwork, custody battles, intimidation, fear, and children caught in the middle.
There are parents waking up every day terrified, not because they are trying to keep children from another parent out of anger, but because they genuinely fear for their child’s emotional, mental, or physical wellbeing. There are children with special needs, children with trauma, children who rely on routine, safety, and stability, who are being placed into situations that may not fully consider their unique vulnerabilities.
Our systems are designed to protect children, but many families feel like they are forced into impossible positions: speak up and risk being labeled difficult, or stay quiet and live with fear that warning signs are being overlooked. This is not a call to remove due process. It is a call to strengthen protection.
Laws need to evolve to better recognize patterns of coercive control, emotional abuse, and the impact ongoing conflict can have on children. Courts should have stronger safeguards for high-conflict situations involving abuse allegations. Children with developmental disabilities and special needs should have their individual emotional and support requirements carefully considered in custody and safety decisions.
We need systems that do more than react after tragedy. We need systems willing to prevent it. No parent should have to live with the fear of saying, ‘I tried to tell people something was wrong.’ No child should become a lesson learned too late.” — Jessica L.
No more love for gov:
“I do not understand how we got to a deficit on the state. Some years ago, [Gov.] Kim [Reynolds] was so proud that we had a million$ in [surplus]!!!!!!! WHAT HAPPENED??? Misuse of funds? Tax PAYERS money??? Or too many contributions to politicians….!!!!????? I liked her. But no more!” — hmonagas
Donating:
“I donated today, please stop these emails.” — Debra G. [NOTE: Thank you!]
America’s 250th:
“As America approaches its 250th year, we return to a ritual as old as the republic: measuring the country we inherited against the country we were promised.
Some see a nation in decline—divided, distrustful, anxious. Others see its enduring strengths: invention, self-correction, the capacity to begin again. Both describe the same country. America has never been a finished thing. It has been, from the start, an argument we are still having about who belongs.
That is the through-line of American history—not the accumulation of wealth or power, but the steady widening of the circle of who gets to participate in the life of the nation. Property requirements fell. Slavery was abolished at terrible cost. Women claimed the vote. A movement of ordinary citizens confronted segregation and forced the country to honor the plain words of its founding creed.
Few carried that work more faithfully than John Lewis. He understood that democracy is not something a citizen watches; it is something a citizen does. His generation expanded the circle of political participation. The task before ours may be to expand the circle of economic participation.
Political rights remain the foundation—but a foundation is not a house. A democracy cannot stand while large numbers of citizens feel they have no stake in its prosperity. A citizen who believes the economy has no place for him will not long believe the republic has a place for him either.
You can see the erosion across the country: in towns where opportunity left before the young did, in lives where hard work no longer guarantees that children will inherit more than their parents. We file these under economics. They are larger. They are questions about whether equal citizenship reaches all the way down to an ordinary life, or stops politely at the ballot box.
Every generation inherits an unfinished, imperfect America. Our duty is not merely preservation. If those before us expanded the promise of political inclusion, ours must expand economic inclusion. That may prove the defining democratic test of America’s third century—and the truest way to honor the unbreaking line of Americans who left the circle of citizenship and opportunity wider than they found it.” — Mansur Kasali, a 2026 recipient of the National Association of Secretaries of State’s John Lewis Youth Leadership Award
LGBTQ-IA series feedback:
“I forget that I now live in Iowa until I read things like the responses to your publication. Lots of unhappy, crabby people in this state. Wishing people could just ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ and not be so ‘my way or the highway’. Keep up the good work!” — Tamara D.
“Quit sending me your materials.” — Todd K.
“STOP SENDING ME THIS BULLSHIT.” — Selina O.
“And your announced emphasis on LGBTQXYZ issues. Play any sport anybody wants. Go to gym and work out. Nobody cares!!! But competition for winnings (scholarships, olympic awards, etc.) are NOT about to put men into women’s physical competitions! Get over it! It’s life! Compete with opposite sex if you want in spelling bees, chess competitions. Nobody cares! ” — M. Mandeville
“Please take me off this email list. I don’t recall subscribing. We believe the Bible definition of men and women is accurate. No in-between. Thank you.” — opryfan51
“Sick! Immoral! Absolutely disgusting! I do not support any of this.” — Randy S.
“Why am I getting this email” — Jessica M.
“You people are sick and wrong…these people need mental help and lots of it! Get some help!” — Brian M.
“Take some comfort from the fact that those who hurl such invective at you are very damaged human beings, so caught up in anger and prejudice that they just cannot see others for who they really are. For me, reading what you write reveals a luminous person of great character, empathy for others, and courage. You shine, gal, you shine! Hang in there and take care of yourself!” — Greg C.
