Season 2 - Episode 32

Another legislative session is over.
Another season of Deciding Iowa comes to a close.

This year we talked about:
💧 Water quality
🏥 Healthcare and Medicaid
📚 Public education
💰 Taxes and state budgets
🌾 Landowner rights
🏛️ Government accountability
…and the long-term future of Iowa.

No matter where you fall politically, one thing matters most:

Be an educated voter.

Pay attention.
Ask questions.
Read beyond headlines.
Watch what is funded, what is cut, and what priorities move forward.
Understand how decisions made at the Capitol impact your family, your schools, your healthcare, your taxes, your community, and your future.

Democracy works best when people stay informed and engaged — not just during election season, but all year long.

Thank you to everyone who watched, shared, challenged ideas, asked thoughtful questions, and cared enough to stay involved.

Iowa’s future will not be decided by silence or apathy.
It will be shaped by informed people willing to participate.

🗳️ Vote.
📖 Stay informed.
🤝 Stay engaged.

Be well, Iowa.

#DecidingIowa #IowaPolitics #IowaLegislature #BeAnEducatedVoter #CivicEngagement #Iowa

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

Hello, Grammar County in all of Iowa. I'm Dr. Sean Ellibrook, and I'm a cancer scientist, biochemist, and house district 57 candidate.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

And I'm Dr. Emily Babers. I'm a physician, mama of three, and a health advocate.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

Our last Design Iowa episode.

SPEAKER_00 0:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 0:15

There's so much we wanted to see realized this past legislative session. A comprehensive water plan that prioritized keeping pollutants out of water and lets us know how much water we actually have below our feet. And privatized Medicaid, proper school funding, support landowner rights, a balanced budget.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

And we saw very little of that. Wow, that's kind of a gut punch. Uh-huh. The Republican leadership has had 10 years of almost complete control here in Iowa to address water quality, but in that time they've done very little and our water has gotten worse.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Yeah, you know, finally this year, after they realized, oh shit, this is going to be a big deal for us in November, they passed a last-minute surprise appropriations package mainly focused on water treatment upgrades.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Yeah, but we saw no movement on eminent domain or Medicaid. However, they did create a new health care tax that will end up raising Iowans' healthcare costs, which is a big yikes because healthcare is already a major concern for Iowans.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

The Iowa legislature continued their attack on public education by underfunding public school districts and shifting more money to vouchers without oversight.

SPEAKER_00 1:25

Yeah. And then to add to that injury, they deregulated homeschools, allowing public funding for religious textbooks and programs, and gave more money to charter schools.

SPEAKER_01 1:37

You know, a few years back, I was like, do they know what they're doing? Now I'm pretty sure they know exactly what they are doing. Our public schools are being asked to be more open market competitive, with less resources and both hands tied behind their backs through rules unique to them. Former Iowa Republican Governor Bob Ray, a champion of public education, would be in disbelief. Vote blue in November to save public education.

SPEAKER_00 2:04

Yeah. I mean, I share values with many Iowans across the spectrum. We love this state and we want to take care of it. But to take care of the land and its people, the Iowa government needs money from a combination of income, sale, and property taxes.

SPEAKER_01 2:20

You know, and Iowa has just reduced our property taxes, but that tax relief needs to be sustainable.

SPEAKER_00 2:25

And cuts cannot be on the backs of county and city governments and local school districts. So the truth is these cuts have not been sustainable, not after the state's income tax and corporate tax reduction already put Iowa's budget in a billion-dollar deficit two years in a row.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

It is clear the state needs more revenue to balance its budget. So what tax is left?

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Actions like this will force increases to regressive sales taxes that impact everyone. However, like we mentioned in a prior episode, these disproportionately take money from lower income Iowans the most. And I know that lower income Iowans cannot afford to be squeezed like that.

SPEAKER_01 3:07

No, they don't.

SPEAKER_00 3:17

The message being that they don't trust Iowans' voting judgment. Iowans deserve their votes to elect fully vested leaders without artificial partisan limitations.

SPEAKER_01 3:32

We need to return to a time when purple common sense saw us overcome obstacle after obstacle and made Iowa public education a draw for families and businesses alike. Government should create common sense legislation and prioritize you and me that will give you safe water, Iowa can uh lower uh cancer rates, healthy public schools and rural communities, and economic prosperity. The next election means everything. Please get out and vote, Iowa.

SPEAKER_00 4:02

I agree. This season has been particularly important to watch because of the economic position Iowa has backed ourselves into. I want this place to be a place for me and my family, but also many other families for many generations. I'm afraid we're losing that, Iowa. But it's worth fighting for, so please get out and vote.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Emily, it has been great working with you on the deciding Iowa episodes.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

You too, Sean. Thank you, everyone who has watched and shared and posted. We're signing off.

SPEAKER_01 4:34

Be well, Iowa.