This week in the Iowa House, lawmakers debated 81 bills. Representatives advanced legislation focused on strengthening agriculture, improving public health, supporting Iowa families, and enhancing public safety.
Agriculture

This week, the proposed property tax mailers that were part of HF718 back in 2023 are being mailed out.

I had never heard of Charlie Kirk before he was killed in Utah. It turned out that he was very influential. In this vacuum of respectable leadership, he may have even been a future candidate for president. His skepticism of woke ideologies drew loathing from the so-called left, but agreement from “conservatives”.
 

Two headline-making bills that were passed by the Iowa House of Representatives in week seven of the 2026 legislative session include improving election laws and requiring commercial drivers to demonstrate English proficiency.

February 20 saw the passage of the first legislative funnel. This is a deadline lawmakers set to winnow down bills eligible for consideration for the remainder of the session. It doesn’t apply to spending bills, but does a good job of narrowing what lawmakers will focus on around the midpoint of their time spent under the Golden Dome in Des Moines.
 

Ghostie’s success has had glitches. I often evangelize about the benefits of electric fence.
 

Every year, public schools in Iowa spend billions of dollars to educate children, sparking taxpayers to ask school board members, administrators, and lawmakers: "Where does that money go?" The Hampton-Dumont Community School District is writing this article to help taxpayers understand how districts spend money and to dispel the mysteries surrounding school funding.
 

We sold last spring’s calves last week. Dawn wisely convinced me that feeding them to market weight when we don’t grow our own corn would leave no time for rest and be a little much for an old man. She’s wise and didn’t need to be propping me up in such overambition. Besides, every deviation from vertical integration (such as buying corn) is like a leaky bucket.

This week was packed with subcommittee and committee meetings because the first funnel deadline of Feb. 20 determines which bills survive for further consideration. With the exception of bills assigned to the Appropriations or Ways & Means Committees, bills that originated in the House had to pass through a House subcommittee and committee by Feb. 20 to remain eligible for floor debate.

By the time this story is put to print, just over one in every four people on this planet will have completed their first week of fasting for the month of Ramadan—and I am among that number.

I keep a jar and a postcard in the mudroom for spiders. I can plop the jar over the little guy, slide the postcard under him, and carry him outside. If I let him stay in the house he might get stepped on.
 

As we enter tax season, I often hear from seniors that they have been worried about the policy fights here in Washington. After a lifetime in the workforce, raising families, serving their communities, and paying into the system, many retirees are now living on fixed incomes while tackling the cost for groceries, housing, health care, and energy.

Week five of the legislative session focused on advancing policies that support Iowa’s agricultural community, strengthen economic growth and ensure responsible stewardship of public resources. This is also the week before the first legislative funnel, so most bills that originated in the House that fail to pass through both a House subcommittee and full committee are “dead.”

While volunteering in Des Moines with the Iowa Resource for International Service (IRIS) this weekend, I stumbled upon a few major realizations, which I would like to share with you all. The following is my opinion, informed by my own lived experiences. You reserve the right to disagree with me in any regard, though it is my sincere hope that each of us would express such nonconsensus civilly. With that stated, here goes:

It’s been a little bit since I’ve talked about the budget process, so I thought I’d share a bit about 

what has happened thus far and what must happen yet.   

Just a reminder that we started our budget process back in December.  The department heads 

began their work back then to develop operating budgets.  When we refer to operating budgets, we are