Lutheran school, ABATE visit Capitol

Week five at the Capitol was fast-paced as we worked toward the first legislative funnel deadline. With funnel week approaching, committees were busy advancing bills and narrowing priorities to keep legislation moving forward.

It’s a critical point in the session, and the energy at the Capitol certainly reflects it.

Capitol conversations

This week, I had the opportunity to meet with several organizations and constituents who were visiting the Capitol to share their priorities and perspectives.

To start the week, I was able to visit with students from the Lutheran Interparish School from Williamsburg, where they were learning about our beautiful Capitol.

I visited with representatives from ABATE of Iowa to discuss their 2026 legislative priorities, including access to Capitol Complex events for their annual charity toy run, the impact of autonomous vehicles on motorcycle safety and ATV road use clarification.

I also met with Brooklyn Dvorsky of Solon and Kayla Jack of Victor on behalf of the Iowa Occupational Therapy Association to discuss their legislative agenda, and Jennie Wunderlich and Kevin McCreedy of McCreedy-Ruth Construction visited alongside members of the Home Builders Association of Iowa. They wanted to talk about housing affordability, property tax reform, regulatory relief and workforce development across Iowa.

During Iowa Farm Bureau Day on the Hill, I connected with Jessie Prizler of the Iowa County Farm Bureau to discuss priorities important to Iowa farmers and rural communities.

I also met with James Graham, who was advocating on behalf of Americans for Prosperity, as well as Rusty Campbell of Johnson County and Roger Bush of Kalona, who were visiting the Capitol to share their perspectives.

I am grateful for the opportunity to hear directly from constituents and stakeholders who take the time to engage in the legislative process.

  Buy Photo

Legislation

One bill that generated headlines this week was Senate File 2252, filed to attract the Chicago Bears to build their new stadium here in Iowa. The proposal would expand an existing state economic development program to include professional football stadiums.

As an Illinois native, I am especially happy to welcome this conversation and the opportunity it presents. Iowa has worked hard to position itself as competitive, fiscally responsible, and open for growth. We know our state is a great place to live, work, and raise a family, and we are more than ready to welcome new opportunities.

An investment of this size could bring increased tourism, job creation and new entertainment options to our communities. You know what they say: If we build it, the Bears may come.

With our first legislative deadline approaching, we have been busy with subcommittee and committee work. One bill we discussed in the Agriculture Committee this week was SSB 3119, a bill relating to animal feeding operations by establishing regulations regarding shellfish and clarifying applicable penalties under state law.

As we work through the next week and discuss legislation, I am always happy to be working on bills that help Iowa agriculture and our rural communities.

Water quality is a topic we hear a lot about at the Capitol and around the state from Iowans. It is an important issue, and one that we take very seriously, as do farmers all across this state. I would like to highlight some of the good things happening on water quality.

The Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy was created to reduce nutrients in surface water. The goal of the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy was to focus efforts on voluntary methods, backed by data, that efficiently improved water quality. Since its implementation, hundreds of millions of dollars have been dedicated to implementation of those methods and practices to improve soil health and water quality.

In 2018, the legislature created a water quality infrastructure fund, established a water quality financing program and provided cost-share programs for infrastructure on agricultural and urban land for this initiative. Senate Republicans, along with the House and governor, passed this legislation to provide long-term funding specifically for water quality and to partner with farmers to address this issue.

While Iowa ranks first in the nation for corn, pork, egg and biofuel production, we also rank first for a number of proven water quality improvement practices. These rankings include practices like saturated buffers, buffer strips, conservation tillage and water quality wetlands.

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship has nearly 450 public and private partners across Iowa, and 2025 saw record-high demand for the cover crop cost-share program.

Iowa is an agricultural state, and our state’s farmers work hard day and night to feed the world. We care about our land, and we care about our water. We live here with our families and drink the water just like everyone else does.

Rather than letting left-leaning organizations push more mandates onto farmers and promote more government ownership of land, we need to continue partnering with Iowans to implement proven, voluntary and responsible water quality practices.