Public Education
When I was growing up, if someone learned I was from Iowa, they would often comment on the state’s public education system, and I remember feeling really proud to be an Iowan in those moments. Unfortunately, over the last decade, we have dropped from 4th to 24th in education. Public education funding in Iowa has not kept up with inflation, yet our educators are burdened by ever increasing regulations and restrictions. Taxpayer dollars are being funneled into private schools with little to no oversight or regulation. As a result, many communities are experiencing growing inequities in educational opportunities for Iowa students. Adequately resourcing and staffing our public schools is an important step toward improving Iowa’s public education for the 500,000 children served by Iowa’s public education system.
Cost of Living
Iowa’s economy was ranked last according to at least one source in 2025. Iowans are increasingly feeling financial pressure as the cost of living rises, wages remain stagnant and jobs are lost. At the same time, we are in a workforce crisis as college graduates and young adults are leaving the state. We need to make investments that spur economic development across all levels of business while at the same time investing in economic development around quality of life. This will enable our state to grow and address the workforce crisis. At the state level we do not have much control over inflation and interest but we can do more to lower the cost of living for Iowans. I support reducing child care costs, investing in affordable housing, increasing benefits for workers, and incentivizing small and medium business growth and development. While we cannot create mountains or oceans to keep people here, I believe we can retain people by using policy to improve Iowans’ quality of life.
Water Quality
Iowa’s water and soil health is critical to our future and impact all Iowans. Our legislative efforts need to incentivize sustainable agricultural practices that support responsible management of our natural resources in Iowa while at the same time allowing agricultural practices to continue to flourish.