June 2024

Iowa Can Save Civics Education From Radicalized Teaching

Iowa Can Save Civics Education From Radicalized Teaching

June 26, 2024by John Hendrickson and David Randall

This article was published in The Gazette. House File 2545 will strengthen Iowa’s social studies standards and free Iowa from the radical materials imposed by extremist organizations who intend to rewrite history. Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law House File 2545, which begins to restore and strengthen American History and Western Civilization as part of Iowa’s K-12 social studies standards. ...

Hendrickson Report: DMR Iowa Poll Shows Iowans Understand Inflation

Hendrickson Report: DMR Iowa Poll Shows Iowans Understand Inflation

June 22, 2024by John Hendrickson

The Register poll should be a lesson for policymakers that Iowans understand that inflation is directly caused by government spending. As regular ITR Live listeners and viewers know, our own John Hendrickson has opinions.  Most of these opinions cover topics within the ITR Foundation issue set, but some do not.  We believe John’s thoughts need to be shared with a […]

Property Taxes are a Big-Ticket Item in Everyone’s Budget

Property Taxes are a Big-Ticket Item in Everyone’s Budget

June 20, 2024by ITR Foundation

A strong, 2 percent cap on the growth of a local government’s property tax collections from year to year should be instituted by the state legislature. Gas is expensive, the cost of groceries continues to rise, and insurance companies say they need to charge more because of the weather. Plus, because we live in Iowa, there’s another big-ticket item we […]

Property Tax Rates Under Iowa’s New Notification Law

Property Tax Rates Under Iowa’s New Notification Law

June 19, 2024by Sarah Curry, DBA

Transparency requires accurate data and enforcement mechanisms when local governments don’t follow the rules. Taxpayers across the state of Iowa received notices this spring that outlined proposals their local elected officials put forth for property taxes for the upcoming fiscal year. Many citizens expressed concern about the notices because they saw significant increases from the year before. So...

A Look Into the Finances of Iowa’s Community Colleges

A Look Into the Finances of Iowa’s Community Colleges

June 12, 2024by Sarah Curry, DBA

Federal, state, and local funding helps subsidize community college tuition costs. As an agricultural state, Iowa has historically had a lot of ground to cover establishing institutions of higher learning. In 1950, only one-third of Iowans aged 25 and over had high school diplomas or more education. The most-recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau raises that figure to 93% of all Iowans.   [&helli...

Uncle Sam Isn’t Responsible for Iowa’s Strong Fiscal Foundation

Uncle Sam Isn’t Responsible for Iowa’s Strong Fiscal Foundation

June 11, 2024by John Hendrickson

Understanding what policies deserve credit for Iowa’s success allows the state to continue along its successful path. Success has many fathers, according to an old saying, but failure is always an orphan. The secure foundation of Iowa’s fiscal house proves the adage, with both fiscal conservatives and big-government advocates crediting their respective policies. The former claim Iowa’s fiscal heal...