Capital City Pride is an extravaganza of fun, food, and flesh. And lessons. I talked with so many people and took so many photos; I can’t post them all here because of space limitations. Everyone was so helpful! Even though I wasn’t wearing any kind of Pride gear to show my affiliation with LGBTQ+ people, they all recognized our shared humanity and welcomed me to take photos and sometimes record a brief interview.

Codye Leisure is a sterling silver jewelry designer with Hot Puppy Shop, and her friend Wendy Taylor is starting a new business called “Girlfriend Hooked Me Up.” They were all in on having fun and talking to customers.

I stopped by to speak with the people representing Plymouth Church in Des Moines, where “all are welcome.” I was pleased to see that several other “lefty” churches had booths welcoming Pride participants. Given that so many right-wing “Christian” churches vilify our LGBTQ+ friends, family, and neighbors, their support was reassuring. As I see it, while right-wing “Christian” leaders loudly capture the attention of the public and the media as they preach and legislate hatred and division, “lefty” churches do the real work that I learned long ago in Sunday School, like love thy neighbor, welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, etc.

The young women on the right stopped by to talk with the Plymouth people and told us they were from England. I wanted to know more about why they were here, but they were more interested in talking with the folks from Plymouth than me, so I shuffled off.

Liv’s Creations had all kinds of pride gear and more. Much of the work is handcrafted. I spoke with Shadonna Head, center above, about the business. Below is the audio, followed by a lightly edited transcript. Like I always say, please try to listen to the audio, and you will feel like you are there with me.

Me: Tell me about Liv’s Creations.

Shaddona: Liv’s Creations is a company that I started to help me feel a little bit better about myself because I was diagnosed with lupus in 2018, and this keeps me calm. I like to be able to help other people by creating great items to make them happy. So, that’s how it came about, turning my creativity into a positive.

Me: Wow. That’s just lovely.

Us: Thank you, thank you.

When I saw Denise’s shirt, I had to ask her about it. Below is our conversation, lightly edited.

Me: Tell us about your shirt.

Denise: So, I got it kind of as a catch-all, cuz things are so ugly right now. It seems like nobody is kind to each other. So it was important to me to kind of capture just being kind and not being transphobic, racist, and ableist. You know, all those things.

Me: It seems to be pretty easy to do, right?

Denise: You would think so, but unfortunately, folks need the reminder every once in a while.

I saw this man sitting on the curb. His name is Donald, which he found ironic, given his “FUCK DONALD TRUMP” sticker.

I found a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to him. People tell me that I shouldn’t give cash to the homeless because I might enable their addiction if they have one, discourage them from seeking state assistance, and that instead I should donate to established organizations that help the homeless, whatever.

I really don’t care what they say. The system is broken, and I’m going to help whoever I can when I can.

While I was talking with Donald, I felt warmth over my right shoulder. A woman had stepped up behind me and moved to my side, handed Donald some cash, and said, “Love your ‘Fuck Donald Trump’ sticker.”

Then two people swooped in from my left and gave Donald a drink and some food.

He looked up, smiled, said “thank you,” and ate and drank with gusto.

Denise’s shirt above is a call to action, and it includes Donald. We need to love the stranger, feed the hungry, heal the sick, and more. It’s a statement of values that most Democrats and independents share. The power of pride is unity. That despite our differences, we are aligned. Where Republicans divide us and pit us against each other to gain power, Democrats can gain power by finding common ground and standing together.

Estimates are that 70,000 people came to Capital City Pride this year. They were of diverse backgrounds, and the majority were people who MAGA seeks to marginalize or even disappear. Some of them—trans and non-binary people—have had their civil rights taken away by Republicans in the Iowa Legislature. Iowa Republicans also want to take away marriage equality. MAGA is erasing the contributions of minority groups from history, letting Americans go hungry and without health care. Hundreds of thousands of people overseas—most of them children—have died since Donald Trump and Elon Musk killed USAID.

And I could go on.

Here, and with respect to Capital City Pride, despite MAGA attacks, the LGBTQ+ community and their allies are fighting back—as powerful warriors against injustice, leading the way.

As our friend Matt Russell reminds us, for Democrats to gain power, values must come first, and policy should follow. The values displayed at Capital City Pride are our way forward.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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Unity Point nurses, Teamsters, and supporters marched from the Iowa Capitol to Iowa Methodist Hospital on Monday to draw attention to their efforts to unionize (my fellow Iowa Writers Collaborative member and friend Jason Walsmith and I covered the Unity Point nurses a few days before the December unionization vote here).

Natalie Krebs with Iowa Public Radio has the story:

Nurses voted in early December, but they’re still waiting on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to review the validity of ballots that were challenged by Teamsters Local 90. The initial vote was 871 to 666 in favor of forming the union, but it doesn’t include the 251 ballots that are under review…

Dozens of nurses marched from the Iowa Capitol to UnityPoint’s Methodist Hospital. They claim UnityPoint executives are intentionally delaying finalizing the results of the election by filing objections with the NLRB…

Nurses said ongoing workplace concerns with pay and staffing are driving the need for a union.

UnityPoint filed an objection over concerns about how the election was run.

Amie Rivers with the Iowa Starting Line reports that UnityPoint spent $2.14 million in union-busting efforts in 2025. Doug Burns with The Iowa Mercury reports that nurses and union organizers estimate that over $6 million may have been spent fighting unionization.

Below is the audio of the brief interview I did with the Hennings, followed by a lightly edited transcript. As an old radio guy, I always appreciate it if you can listen to the audio to get a sense of the moment.

ME: So, why are you here today?

Amy: We are both critical care nurses at UnityPoint, and we have been organizing to create a union and got the Teamsters involved back in 2024. We organized for about a year and voted after the government delay back in December of 2025. The nurses won the vote by over a margin of over 200. The vote was approximately 871 yes votes and 666 no votes. Despite the over 200 margin, UnityPoint is continuing to employ delay tactics that are classic anti-union busting tactics, including they filed objections against the NLRB themselves. So as a government agency, they have to go through those objections in the process of those, but it is now June, and we’ve been waiting and waiting.

And we want to get to the bargaining table to get what we deserve, and our patients deserve, especially for patient safety.

Deb: We’re just demanding that UnityPoint recognize us. Nurses deserve better from our employer. Our patients deserve better in relation to that through better staffing. Us being able to give more time, pay more attention to each patient, make sure they’re safe.

And our personal safety is on the line too. We have very violent patients, and we supposedly have a zero-tolerance policy at UnityPoint, but our employer really doesn’t help us enforce that. Nurses are injured in the line of duty on a regular basis.

Amy: And then Unity Point asks what could you have done differently to prevent yourself from being hurt. Not what they could have done to help us.

ME: So it’s your fault.

Amy and Deb: Always. Exactly. Of course.

I did a short interview with nurse Alex Wilken, above left.

ME: How did the march go?

Alex: It was good. Lots of energy. We marched through the East Village downtown and then along Grand through downtown proper. When we are marching on the east side over there, there’s lots of people in their apartments out on their balconies cheering us on. We got lots of cars, you know, people sticking their fists out the window. So definitely feeling that community support, which is awesome.

ME: And what do you want?

Alex: We want Unity Point to drop the objections to the election so that we can be certified and begin negotiations so we can take better care of our patients.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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Despite threats of violence and an effort by at least one religious group to stop the event, hundreds turned out for Oskaloosa Pride on Saturday. Visitors were treated to a wonderful art exhibit at Studio Osky (see my TikTok here), vendors, and a drag show.

KCCI reported that:

Fathers for Faith and Freedom, a religious group, raised objections to the Oskaloosa City Council, claiming the event violates a city ordinance that prohibits adult entertainment at public events…

Oskaloosa Mayor David Krutzfeldt responded to a request for comment and said, “The City of Oskaloosa has done a careful study of concerns raised at a recent council meeting and is not planning any changes at the time of this writing. The event is allowed under city code and organizers have fulfilled the necessary requirements to hold it…”

Organizers of Oskaloosa Pride emphasized the event’s purpose, stating it provides an opportunity for people to celebrate themselves and their love within the community.

Muscoloosa News and Comment, a comedy Facebook page (the “Musco” refers to the influence Musco Lighting has in the community) shares its take on the event below. I’m not going to copy their entire Facebook post because you should really go to their post to read and follow. But I can’t resist posting some of it:

Fathers for Faith and Freedom Accidentally Host Oskaloosa’s Most Successful Pride Marketing Campaign

OSKALOOSA — Despite prayer circles, appeals to the City Council, consultations with attorneys (ChatGPT), hand-ringing, warnings of impending doom, and repeated references to mysterious “Second Amendment options,” Fathers for Faith and Freedom were unable to prevent the Osky Pride drag show from proceeding smoothly Saturday evening directly in front of the county courthouse.

In a disappointing development for local prophets of catastrophe, the event went off without a hitch.

Early reports that thunderstorms had been successfully manifested through coordinated prayer efforts appear to have been filed prematurely. While rain did arrive overnight, meteorologists confirm it merely cleaned the sidewalks and may have improved traction for several drag performers attempting ambitious splits.

Attendance was reportedly strong, aided in no small part by a week of free publicity generated by opponents of the event.

“It’s the most effective advertising campaign we’ve seen in years,” said Hannah Steinbeck of Osky Pride. “People who didn’t even know there was a Pride event suddenly had it on their calendars.”

Claims of Baal worship, mass hysteria, and the collapse of Western Civilization remain unverified as of press time.

I spoke with one of the people doing security for the event—Remelya Jackalope with the Transcendence Care Network. She was very kind and informative. Below is a recording of our brief conversation, followed by a lightly edited transcript. Please listen to the recording, if possible, to get a feel for the event. The crowd loved it, and you can hear their joy.

Me: So, how’s today going?

Jackalope: I think today’s been really powerful…there were some concerns for our safety, and I think everybody showed up with so much joy and celebration and love. There’s been harmony here. It’s been powerful for us as a community, and to show up here, is so many people here. It’s so loud. And there’s just been so much joy and love.

And this is about community connecting; it’s about community celebrating. We do that no matter what. And I think that’s the point. This not just the celebration, but the celebration when our lives are being threatened? And to do that, what we work to do is to make sure that there was harmony here. And so there were people here who showed up to, you know, to try to disrupt things.

I think the biggest part of what I want to share is that we continue to celebrate. We continue to give love to everybody. We continue to be proud of who we are. And we were the ones who made sure that there was peace here. We were the ones who made sure that Oskaloosa was safe today. And I think that that’s a part of what I want to share.

ME: And so what’s been your official role today? I see you’re part of security, but what else?

Jackalope: Yeah, so I was brought in as a national organizer to support event production and to support with security and to provide some education. So, my role is as an advisor to Oskaloosa, and that’s what we do at Transcendance Care Network. Is to make sure that trans folks who are organizing events all over the country are safe, and so we provide that education to do that.

ME: Okay, and do you mind sharing your name?

Jackalope: Yeah, my name’s Remelya Jackalope. I’m the founder, president, and executive director of Transcendance Care Network.

ME: Where is that based out of?

Jackalope: So, it’s a national network. We have five hubs across the country and 17 community partners. Our main hub is in Oakland, California.

ME: What can the public do to help?

Jackalope: Yeah, allies who want to help, show up and support, and show up and have conversations with them. Come to our events.

Come to the things that we’re doing. But right now, trans folks are being resilient and being powerful. And I think allies who want to get involved are there with us in the hard times, and they’re there with us to celebrate. And so when people are attacking us online or showing up to events to try to disrupt them, it’s about getting in between those who are trying to make our lives harder and us so that we don’t have to be the only ones who are doing that.

And so it’s about being alongside us and standing next to us. And I think really the main thing is that I want to say is it’s about asking how we can do more for each other when there’s a society that’s saying, you know, that we need to do less for one another. It’s simply about showing up and saying, “Well, what more can I do right now to support my neighbors, my friends, my community, my trans allies right now?”

ME: It seems like there’s more and more attacks just in the last few years. Things like this event 10 years ago wouldn’t have caused any concern.

Jackalope: Yeah. I think there’s an attempt to create disharmony and to create disruption. And the thing is that trans people have been here throughout history. We’ve been here throughout time. So, even if somebody tries to take away our rights or even if somebody tries to attack us, we’re still going to be here.

This is an example of us celebrating, and we’re going to be here. And so those attempts to divide us- they’re just; it’s about asking who is trying to divide us right now? Who is trying to cause problems right now? And right now, we’re here to have fun. We’re here to love each other and to be in community.

And there are people out there who are trying to disconnect you and me. And why would I want to be in disconnection with you? I want to be in deeper connection with everybody. And I want to find more friends and find more community. We’re all humans.

And I think the most important thing I want to say is that trans people in our humanity…it’s just we want to be able to identify ourselves and to say this is who I am. And for the people who are listening to say, “Yes, that’s who you are. Okay, I accept you. Maybe I don’t understand it. Maybe it doesn’t make sense, but I can still be around you, and I don’t have to hate you. We don’t have to hate anybody, you know?

ME: And we can be friends.

Jackalope: And we can be friends. Yeah, absolutely.

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go.

Our country is in crisis. Republicans broke it, and Democrats need to be sent to Congress to clean up the messes Republicans made, as they have since Ronald Reagan took our country down a dark path. Help Josh Turek beat Ashley Hinson. Find out more about Josh here. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter here.

Enjoy the conversation, and thanks for your support.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go.

Luke Elzinga is the board chair of the Iowa Hunger Coalition, a statewide anti-hunger advocacy organization. He’s the Policy and Advocacy Manager for the Des Moines Area Religious Council (DMARC).

We had a wide-ranging conversation about hunger in Iowa, Republican SNAP cuts nationally, and here in Iowa (thanks to all of the subscribers who watched it live!).

Luke lays it out—exactly how Republican cuts to SNAP are hurting our fellow Iowans, and how the current situation is unsustainable and will only worsen if we continue on the path Republicans are taking us.

At one point, we discussed how Republican cuts to SNAP constitute structural violence against the poor and hungry (I provide more examples and a deeper discussion of structural violence, including how it disproportionately hurts minorities, immigrants, and other marginalized groups here: An Old Woman Sitting on the Sidewalk: structural violence and lessons in humanity.)

Structural violence is a form of violence wherein some social structure or social institution may harm people by preventing them from meeting their basic needs or rights.

Food, shelter, safety, and the opportunity to work are among our basic needs and rights, and preventing people from meeting them is structural violence.

We gloss over structural violence by suggesting these are simply “policy” or “ideological” differences.

Call it what it really is.

VIOLENCE.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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Note: Phoebe Wall Howard is an award-winning reporter who worked for The Des Moines Register, covering organized labor and politics. She now writes Shifting Gears on Substack and is a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

Warning: This column includes language that may be offensive or upsetting to a person unaccustomed to graphic terms or profanity.

With fewer than 48 hours until the polls open for the Iowa primary election, I read with interest about the heated race for governor among Republicans.

President Trump breathlessly weighed into the race with his Truth Social account on Friday, May 29: “Randy is MAGA all the way! … Randy Feenstra has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Iowa — RANDY WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!”

When I was driving around western Iowa in April — from Iowa City over to Carroll up to Storm Lake and back to Denison — you couldn’t help but notice Feenstra signs dotting the manicured front lawns.

Yet political reporter Laura Belin headlined her piece on Sunday, May 31, “As Feenstra sinks, GOP establishment hits panic button. Even with Trump’s backing, Feenstra could lose.”

Fact is, voter support in Iowa for President Trump has grown steadily over the past decade: 51% in 2016, 53% in 2020, and 55.7% in 2024.

So this situation captured my attention and inspired me to dig a little deeper.

Why would longtime MAGA voters not support MAGA pick Randy Feenstra?

Zach Lahn (pronounced “Lane”) has had the resources to personally invest millions into his campaign, as documented by campaign finance reports.

I wanted to learn more about the surging candidate:

• People don’t seem to mind that he has been living in Kansas and recently relocated to Iowa to run for governor.

The Kansas Reflector (part of StatesNewsroom) reported on Friday, May 29, that Lahn declined to respond to questions about why he chose to run for governor in Iowa instead of Kansas or his decision in 2024 to transfer his voter registration to Iowa after voting in Kansas elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022.

The Des Moines Register reported that Lahn had flown 37 flights on his personal plane between Iowa and Wichita since Oct. 1, 2025, which Lahn has said were taken to visit family.

• Lahn is listed as co-founder and “head of school” at Wonder, a private K-12 school in Wichita, Kansas, since 2017 that charges $10,000 annual tuition. Its website provides little detail about operations, though it does note that the first Wonder graduate has a passion for Jesus and self-improvement.

• Lahn and his current wife, Annie, co-founded Wonder in 2017. Each was married to others when they met. They now co-parent seven children. Annie was married for a decade to Chase Koch, son of multi-billionaire Charles Koch and co-founder of the Chase and Annie Koch Foundation.

• When founded, Wonder was “supported by Annie and Chase Koch,” according to a Wichita State University website. (Wonder private school, located on the college campus, had a lease agreement for $90,000 a year.) The Koch family members are known as major benefactors of Wichita State, for whom the Charles Koch Arena and Koch Global Trading Center are named.

• Lahn has little content on his LinkedIn professional profile, which is standard in the business world as a point of reference for investors. It does not appear to have been updated recently and has no photo. Lahn is “Zach L” and head of school at Wonder.

(LinkedIn does not mention Lahn grew up near Sioux City, graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, worked for Montana and Colorado members of Congress, and served as Montana director of Americans for Prosperity, the libertarian advocacy group founded by Charles and David Koch.)

• Lahn is “steward” of The Homeplace, a 100-year-old farmhouse in Belle Plaine, Iowa, which he purchased in 2015 as the great-grandson of the original homeowner and builder. Restoration of the home was featured on a reality TV show that aired in 2023.

  ---

Sex toy claims and documents

But what really captured my attention in the race for governor was a 15-second ad dropped by Randy Feenstra on Wednesday, May 27:

“Zach Lahn says he represents Iowa values. But Lahn invested a million dollars in a sex toy company called FirmTech. They’re even connected with Porn hub, a website hurting marriages and harming children. Zach Lahn’s phony values end where his profits begin.”

Yes, The Des Moines Register had reported on Monday, May 18, about Lahn’s investment in a “men’s sexual health company.” His campaign did tell the newspaper that FirmTech initially produced ‘medical devices,’ and that he stepped down from the board in 2023, before the company released ‘pleasure’ products.”

So, never mind that a primary investor in a company focused on men’s sexual health also runs a private school for children K-12.

A basic online search for FirmTech surfaces references to the “cock ring” that constrains blood flow to help men maintain harder erections longer.

The company says on its homepage, “Put a ring on it” and “Get Harder, Longer-Lasting Erections & Intense Orgasms.”

Porn hub specifically promotes the FirmTech cock ring. The description of the device and its impact posted at pornhub.com is too graphic for me to repeat (you will have to click on the link to read it—be forewarned that you will likely permanently alter your algorithm for ads).

Lahn at FirmTech

The Lahn campaign told The Des Moines Register that FirmTech initially produced medical devices and that Lahn stepped down from the board in 2023, before the company released pleasure products.

That claim is undermined by a YouTube video released a year earlier and cited in federal documents portraying FirmTech as a “sextech startup” that delivers pleasure products.

Fact is, Lahn was a major investor in a small company creating products and technology that help erectile dysfunction (ED) and is actively sold as a pleasure product. Yet he’s trying to create distance.

In a filing with federal regulators signed on June 20, 2023, by Elliott Justin, then-and-now FirmTech CEO, Lahn is listed as one of three company officials signing the Form C paperwork. It does not list a title for Lahn.

Here’s what the submission to the Securities and Exchange Commission includes:

• FirmTech was formed on Sept. 16, 2020.

• Only three directors are listed for FirmTech. The directors are Elliott Justin, founder and CEO, Dr. James Hoteling, urologist and associate professor at the University of Utah, and Zachary Lahn, head of school at Wonder.

• The document said early stock ownership gave Justin 58.5% of the voting power, and Lahn had 28.2% as an investor through the Selah Group LLC.

• Lahn appears to have paid $1 million on Sept. 8, 2021.

• Overview: First smart erectile ring that increases pleasure and performance while aiding ED and heart disease

• Since being founded in 2020, milestones have included “most innovative sex toy” from XBIZ, designed an advisory board of sex experts and urologists to address problems with men’s health, raised $2.5 million for R&D, launched successfully in 2022, “sold 1000s of C-rings months after launch”

Only three signatures appear at the end of the regulatory filing dated June 2023: Zach Lahn, general counsel Rachael Kierych and CEO Elliott Justin. He doesn’t have a title listed. Small print at the bottom says they’re authorized company representatives.

They’re selling c**k rings

So, it appears that Lahn was affiliated with FirmTech through June 2023, a year after the launch of the cock rings.

At issue, one could reasonably ask, is why an early major investor would insist he had no idea the market direction of the product and whether that’s even credible.

The product patent application, submitted by inventor and CEO Elliott Justin, is dated August 25, 2021. Is Lahn suggesting that, as a primary investor and board member of a startup, he didn’t understand what was being submitted on behalf of the company’s future? That makes zero sense in med-tech.

The official erectile device design patent date for FirmTech was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 7, 2023. Related patent designs include sexual aids, sexual stimulation, masturbation devices, vibrators, and adult toys.

Trying to eliminate shame

The patent application actually includes the link to a YouTube video as an additional citation. Hatch Duo, an industrial design and product engineering company that worked with FirmTech, posted the video titled “Designing and innovating the future of sex tech: A look at FirmTech’s performance ring.”

It includes the banner: “It’s time to heat up your sex life with technology and comfort.”

The video was posted on June 27, 2022.

“It’s no secret that early-stage sextech startups or entrepreneurs navigating this industry may face roadblocks due to the stigmatized nature of conversations surrounding sexual health and wellness,” Hatch Duo wrote. “Sextech consists of technology designed to enhance and innovate sexual wellness and experience. If founders are willing to educate and normalize conversations about sex … we believe it’s essential to remain open-minded.”

FirmTech, a sextech company founded with money from Zach Lahn, has a mission to “change the conversation away from ‘erectile dysfunction’ to ‘erectile fitness.’ Normalizing the phrase eliminates shame and empowers men.”

Ironically, Lahn’s desire to distance himself from FirmTech suggests shame.

Or, maybe he just thinks it might hurt his ability to win his bid for governor.

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It’s a special event for writers and readers. You don’t have to be a writer to attend; you just have to appreciate the power of words and song. Some of the very best writers, filmmakers, and songwriters in the Middle West and beyond attend, as well as agents and publishers from across the country. Please join us. Your life will never be the same. There are no stuffy lectures, and there are people there whose mission is to empower you to be the best writer/reader you can be. If you are a writer, filmmaker, or songwriter, we are there to open doors for you, based on our collective hundreds of years of experience beating down those doors, some of which many writers don’t even know exist. Let us help you be the best you can be, and I assure you we will learn from you as well. There is no hierarchy—we are all students of the written world. The most common question asked is, “What do YOU write?”

This event powers me—gives me strength to write in these troubled times because I know I am part of a supportive community that really cares. Friendships are made, and lives change.

I love this event so much that in the few days following every retreat, I write a love letter to Julie Gammack, thanking her for the remarkable gifts she shares with us all.

Here is my letter from last year. Read it, and I think you will have some idea of the magic of the Okoboji Writers and Songwriters Retreat.

Please consider joining us!

Thanks to everyone who tuned into Kit’s and my video yesterday. I had fun talking with her about people who work in retail and listening to some of the stories she shared. Kit writes what I call “sticky” stories at The Voice of the Front Line. Sticky stories are stories that once you read or hear them, you want to tell them to others, again and again.

For example, I loved “Everyone Cries in the Fitting Room – What Torrid’s 200 Store Closures Really Cost: Is this an end to a fiercely supportive frontline community?

And Retailers Broke the Cashier Job, Then Acted Surprised Nobody Wanted It: Costco, Target, and Walmart pull back on self-checkout.

Kit’s 20+ years of experience in retail informs every story she tells. In anthropology and sociology, this is called participant observation, where the researcher becomes one of the people she studies. The insights gathered are important to understanding how human systems work from the perspective of an insider. A researcher from the outside would likely not gain the insights Kit does.

I hope you enjoy our discussion!

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go.

Note: I sent the link to my May 18 column, Trump’s Coming for our Elections: What are we doing to prepare? to leadership at the Iowa Democratic Party. I received the following response:

Thanks... We have a voter protection director and are prepared for the elections…we are actively recruiting and training volunteers to be election observers so that we have eyes and ears at the polls to alert our rapid response network immediately if issues arise. Anyone who is interested in volunteering with our voter protection team can email voterprotection@iowademocrats.org.

A newly formed group, Iowans For Decency, which includes many former teachers, students, and allies at Valley High School in West Des Moines, rallied Saturday at the Capitol to send a message to the public and to Iowa Republican Senate candidate and current Representative Ashley Hinson, a Valley grad. They took turns reading parts of a letter written and signed by over 60 teachers, highlighting what they see as a failed voting record that hurts Iowans.

Doug Burns has the story and a vertical video of the event here. Laura Belin has the story and a horizontal video here. Both are fellow members of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. They are fantastic journalists. Please consider a free or paid subscription to their work. The world is a better place because they are with us. Please support them if you can.

Peter Hedges, in the photo above, is also a member of the collaborative. The world is a better place because Peter is with us as well.

From the Iowa Capitol Dispatch:

Retired teachers stood at the podium holding up lined black signs with chalked messages detailing how participants believe Hinson has failed to demonstrate decency. Areas highlighted included: hurting Iowans, starting wars, kidnapping immigrants, spending recklessly, starving Americans, destroying nature, defunding education, taking down the media, eliminating health care, alienating allies, lying to constituents, disapproving of others, ignoring corruption, and dismantling the future.

Patrick Standley is my friend. He farms in Marion County, Iowa, where I live. He and his husband Matt Russell own Coyote Run Farm near Lacona. Matt’s my friend too.

I don’t remember when I first met these guys, but it was maybe 15 years ago. It was at the Farm Bureau office in Knoxville. I think it was when then Congressman Dave Loebsack (D) was in town for a meeting with constituents. For people who don’t know about the Farm Bureau, it’s a propaganda arm of big corporate agricultural interests and an insurance agency pretending to be the voice of farmers.

After the meeting, Pat, Matt, and I talked in the parking lot as everyone else at the meeting faded away. I don’t remember what we talked about, but I remember being impressed with them and liking them from the get-go.

These two guys, in their feed caps, flannels, Carhartts, and boots, were lean, tall, and handsome. As Donald Trump would say, they were from central casting.

Me? Not so much. As we talked, I found myself trying to stand up straighter and sucked in my tummy.

We’ve been friends ever since.

Pat is a Valley High School graduate.

Coyote Run Farm was the equivalent of Grand Central Station for Democratic presidential candidates during the run-up to the 2020 general election. Among the candidates who visited Matt and Pat’s farm were Tim Ryan, Beto O’Rourke, Kamala Harris, and Joe Biden. Matt also met with Tom Steyer, Pete Buttigieg, Elizabeth Warren, Andrew Yang, Corey Booker, and Amy Klobuchar.

I was at many of these meetings.

If my memory is correct, Pat was only at these events on the farm, seldom speaking, but always watching and listening attentively when he didn’t have to break away to attend to farm business in the barn or a nearby pasture. As co-host, sometimes he helped candidate staff with logistics for the event and with the media. Both were needy. Pat also helped wrangle P-Dog and Angel, the farm dogs. They were needy, too.

In one memorable moment, walking away from me and the rest of the media, then Presidential candidate Joe Biden put his arm over Pat’s shoulders and whispered something.

Pat smiled.

Our friend Peter Hedges is also a Valley High School grad. Wikipedia tells us that Peter is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, film director, and film producer. Peter’s novel What's Eating Gilbert Grape was adapted into a critically acclaimed movie of the same title, for which he wrote the screenplay, launching his film career.

He’s also done much, much more, including planting the seed of what eventually became Iowans for Decency.

Peter oozes creativity, compassion, and kindness, and he attributes a major part of his success to the education he received at Valley High.

Several months ago, Peter texted/emailed/called me (I forget which) to tell me that I was invited to a party/reception at a nice bar/restaurant in the East Village in Des Moines, where a bunch of Valley High Grads/retired teachers/friends were going to discuss plans about how best to publicly share their disappointment and even anger at what Ashley Hinson has become as a member of Congress.

It was a very nice bar/restaurant.

I’m more comfortable in dive bars where I can scratch where it itches, drink Miller Lite without being judged, and where you just might spot people who have never met before making out at the other end of the bar.

But I survived.

The place was packed with retired Valley teachers, former students, and more. Peter was there as host. I spotted Matt and some other friends, talked with random people, and tried not to be underfoot.

When I was able to make it to an open spot at the bar, much to my surprise, Pat was tending bar, behind the scenes, as always, working.

I learned a lot about what people thought of Ashley Hinson, which wasn’t much. It was a kind of all-Valley High reunion. I quickly learned that there was lots of expertise in the room, some of whom had flown in from other parts of the country, that everyone attributed their success, at least in part, to the education they received at Valley.

Over 200 people were at the Capitol for the event. I saw Peter when I first walked in, and he greeted me with a big hug, thanked me for coming, and started introducing me to people.

While talking with Peter, I saw our friend William Staplin, a scientist and Valley grad, sitting in the first row of chairs, and I gave him a little wave. Of course, Peter was busy, and I soon made my way over to chat with William, and he introduced me to several people, including Jen Harrison, who works on press releases for Iowans for Decency. Jen told me about her being “DOGED” from the EPA, which was crushing. Maybe Jen will share this story in the comments below if she reads this. William introduced me to other people, and I met and spoke with many more, but most of it is a blur, in part because there were so many people to talk with and because my brain is leaky. I’d love it if other speakers/members of the group would share their thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

At one point after the program began, Peter asked everyone to turn to their neighbors and share stories about a favorite teacher from their past. Although I was standing on the margins of those assembled, away from most everyone, I felt compelled to share with someone near me, and I don’t remember who, that one of my favorite teachers was Mrs. Schneckloth in third grade, who one day said to the entire class something like, “If I want to talk current events, I can always ask little Robbie Leonard about what’s happening.”

Pat couldn’t be there in person at the Capitol on Saturday because of a family commitment, but he was there in spirit. Margo Myers, a Valley grad, told us that at the first meeting, it was decided that there would be a second meeting, and that everyone should invite a fellow Valley grad they knew who shared their values to the next meeting. She said that she invited Pat, and during the second meeting, Pat finally spoke:

Enough with the talking! What are we doing? What are we going to do?

Matt followed Margo as speaker and shared some of Pat’s thoughts and his own. Matt told us something like, “Teachers at Valley High School grounded Patrick with the tools to live a life of meaning, purpose, and service…He had a teacher, Mr. Horstman, who had a sign in his homeroom that said, ‘All are welcome here, gay or straight, but no fighting allowed,’ and that it was the first time he had ever seen public affirmation of himself as a gay teenager.”

I watched in admiration as one by one, the educators and former students powerfully made their points. The short speeches resonated and affirmed the shared values of not only the Valley teachers and former students assembled under the golden dome that day, but of the vast majority of Iowans.

They stand in sharp contrast to MAGA values.

Iowans for Decency also took out a full-page ad to publish the letter in the Des Moines Register on Sunday.

The letter opened:

Dear U.S. Congresswoman Ashley Hinson,

And the final paragraph was:

We are saddened by your votes, loyalties, and words as a United States Congresswoman. You are failing your state and country. Your actions are antithetical to good and just decency. We hoped you had learned stronger values after being raised in West Des Moines. As we would love to encourage a former student and native of our community to follow her ambitions, our fragile country and world deserve better. Iowa needs a senator who will lead with decency. Therefore, as educators, citizens, and Iowans, we oppose your candidacy for the United States Senate.

Sincerely, WDM Educators from Iowans for Decency

Some have expressed concerns that these former teachers are criticizing a former student, and that teachers shouldn’t do that.

To unpack that concern, let’s just highlight one criticism from an Iowans for Decency press release:

Erika Cook, Ph.D., a former West Des Moines administrator and chief academic officer for the State of Iowa added, “There is nothing right or decent about defunding USAID, causing deaths to millions of innocents, and incarcerating thousands in detention centers without due process. As a registered Independent who has voted for both parties, and as someone who has worked on both sides of the political aisle, now isn’t about liberal or conservative policies, but about right and wrong.”

There is blood on Ashley Hinson’s hands.

As I’ve written before, Trump and MAGA Congressional Republicans:

…are ending lives and livelihoods, not just here, but around the world, where the death count climbs as they work to make billionaires even richer. There is blood on their hands. Buckets of blood. Swimming pools of blood. Lakes of blood. And it’s on purpose.

And the retired teachers who served the public school district from which Ashley Hinson graduated are supposed to be quiet? To say nothing about these atrocities?

MAGA has silenced millions of Americans who rightfully fear for their jobs should they resist. I understand that people have to protect their source of income, but many of us (especially those of us who are retired) have little to lose.

MAGA wants us who don’t fear for our jobs to be silent, too. Frighted. Scared to speak. Comply.

Iowans for Decency won’t.

Let’s all take Patrick Standley’s challenge, and ask ourselves:

Enough with the talking! What are we doing? What are we going to do?

And then let’s do what we can to defeat Ashley Hinson and every other MAGA candidate.

Enough of the suffering.

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I’m honored that one of Iowa’s best newspapers, the Gazette, published my column, Iowa is a battleground state. Will Trump try the steal here? on Sunday. While I share a version of the column below, please go to the Gazette link to assist with their metrics if you don’t mind, and read it there, then come back, because I share some information following my column that I believe we all need to consider about protecting our elections, where there wasn’t enough room to share in the Gazette version. The time to prepare is now.

While you are at the Gazette, please enjoy their other stories, and consider a subscription.

Iowa is a Battleground State, and Trump will begin the Steal Here

On election night here in Marion County, Iowa, for many years, most of our local candidates running for office and their families gathered on the first floor of our beautiful, historic courthouse to learn the results. Our courthouse was built in 1886; its architecture, Romanesque Revival, projected power and authority across generations. Applause breaks out as our county conservation officers arrive, bringing in ballot boxes from far-flung precincts. As the auditor’s office compiles results, we wait on the first floor of the rotunda, where soon, staff shares the results on a large computer screen. When the results are announced, those in the media file their stories. Everyone shakes hands, offers congratulations or consolations, and we all head home.

There has been lots of discussion that Trump will work to “subvert” the midterm and general elections this year, as there should be. Trump has already tried to overturn one election through a variety of means including violence, has said that we shouldn’t hold the midterms, has election deniers in place for the general election should we have them, has called for the elections to be nationalized, is pushing for the SAVE act that will disenfranchise voters, especially women and minorities, is demanding states to turn over their election data (Iowa has already given ours up), which will allow the federal government to purge voter rolls, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.

He continues to make false claims far and wide, sowing uncertainty. And in that uncertainty, he will act to subvert the midterms if we have them at all. Whatever he does during the midterms is preparation for the general elections. Take him at his word.

Iowa will be in Trump’s crosshairs in the general election. The Cook Political Report has our governor’s race a tossup, calling it a “barnburner.” Polling has Democrat Rob Sand with 8-12 point lead over his eventual Republican challenger. Although The Cook Political Report has the Senate race as leaning Republican, polling calls it a dead heat. The Cook Political Report has two of Iowa’s four House seats as tossups, and other sources consider three races as competitive. Sand’s popularity may well help elevate others on the ticket.

Respected political journalist and consultant Barry Piatt believes it will be tough, but Democrats could sweep all major races this fall, for innumerable reasons including, Trump’s lack of popularity, his grifting, the tariffs and trade wars that have harmed the farming economy, inflation, the Epstein files, and Trump’s war on Iran that has driven up fuel and fertilizer prices, in part.

Trump’s path to retaining the Senate and the House runs through the Iowa midterms. If his efforts to steal the elections don’t begin in Iowa, I’ll be surprised. It’s the perfect location. Control of Congress could shift depending on what happens in close Iowa Senate and House races. Should Iowa Democrats win two or three of the House seats and the Senate seat, any losses elsewhere will likely yield a Democratic Senate and/or House.

Trump has focused his political punishments on blue states so far, but stealing the election will be easiest in a red state like Iowa. Why is that? He’ll have a compliant Republican Governor, Legislature, Attorney General, and Secretary of State.

They will do anything he asks.

After Iowa, maybe Ohio, North Carolina, Alaska, and Georgia will be targets.

At a recent local Republican town hall, I asked a local law enforcement officer, a dear friend, what he would do if Trump didn’t hold, or stole, the midterm or general elections. He was surprised at the question, then laughed, said something about “conspiracy theories,” and then asked, “How can you not hold an election?”

I then told him that Trump had said the elections shouldn’t be held, and much more. He hadn’t heard that, or anything else I had to say, since he only consumes MAGA media.

So, when I asked, “What if ICE comes and intercepts our ballot boxes from our conservation officers when they bring them to the courthouse?”

He thought for a moment and then said, seriously, “ICE isn’t getting our ballot boxes.”

The time to prepare is now. Actually, preparation should have begun months, if not years ago.

What are the Iowa Democratic and National Democratic party going to do? Are they going to fight, or roll over? Are they preparing? Let’s hope so. Will we have poll watchers in place? Are the lawyers lined up, ready to go with lawsuits? Are local law enforcement agencies ready for what might happen? Are our progressive groups planning and coordinating for the resistence? Our lefty clergy? Are the people who planned our peaceful “No Kings” rallies and others ready to go to stage the biggest protests in history? Have lines of communication been establish? Are we ready to punish the corporate powers who support the MAGA movement?

What else?

We have to plan for the worst. If it doesn’t happen, we lose nothing—actually, we will be building community and power.

In 2018 after the Midterms I knew Trump wouldn’t leave office in 2020 without a fight. I called the column, “White House Down.” Numerous publications rejected it, calling it too “speculative.”

The reality was worse than I anticipated. Worse than anyone anticipated.

In November of 2024 after the election and before Trump’s term began, in anticipation of his planned mass deportations I wrote “Document the Atrocities; the time to prepare is now.” (the Gazette also published it, but I can’t find the link, sorry),

The reality was worse than I anticipated. Worse than anyone anticipated.

I fear the same for the upcoming midterms and general elections—especially if there is little or no coordinated planning to resist the MAGA treason.

As I sit here at my kitchen table writing these final words at 4:55 a.m., my windows are open and I hear the sound of thunder in the distance.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go.

Zachary Oren Smith with the Iowa Starting Line broke a big story last week.

Read the column here. Zachary’s Substack with the Iowa Writers Collaborative is here.

I think it’s a big story because MAGA media and Republicans, including Donald Trump, trivialize Democratic protests by saying that protestors are being paid. THEY DO THIS ALL OF THE TIME!!! Once again, it's more MAGA projection.

And what do we hear from the Iowa legacy media about this scandal?

Crickets…

I don’t understand why I can’t find any local coverage of Zachary’s story by major media outlets in Iowa. If I missed anything, please share in the comments.

I didn’t write this column to criticize any member of the Iowa media. Many are my friends, and I appreciate their hard work and dedication. That said—

WTF???

Who, besides Zachary, covered this story locally when the legacy media didn’t?

Independent journalist and Iowa Writers’ Collaborative member Laura Belin did. Of course she did. That’s what she does. Read her story here, along with much, much more.

Now, let me put in a plug for independent journalism. Please consider supporting Zachary and the Iowa Starting Line here. And Laura Belin is one of the best in the business, and you can support her here.

Both Zachary and Laura are two of the maybe 75-80 members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. We fill in the gaps of political coverage across the state and more. Since most of us are independent, we can say and write things other reporters can’t because of pressure from above.

And don’t forget our legacy media—they provide great news coverage—we should all support them, even if they dropped the ball on this story. If you read legacy and independent media, and can afford to pay for it, please do—on all media platforms.

Congratulations on the scoop, Zachary!

Note: For context, whenever Zachary and I are in a room together, we are like naughty middle school boys at the back of the room getting into trouble. For even more context, he’s a bit annoying when he calls me “Grand-dad,” but it’s fun when people believe him…

Below is an invitation to an event in Des Moines at the Capitol rotunda at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday.

I don’t understand the vague nature of the press release, but since the event is tomorrow, I don’t think I’ll spoil anything by saying it involves Iowa native, filmmaker, author, Iowa Writers Collaborative member, and our friend Peter Hedges.

And the candidate below who lacks decency? Let me just say her initials are “A.H.”

Below is the press release.

Contact: Jen Harrison, Iowans for Decency

jen@iowansfordecency.org

515-206-3334

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 12, 2026

Dozens of Former Educators to “Demand Decency” from Iowa Federal Candidate

Teachers to Present a Letter to a Candidate they Believe is Failing Iowans

Des Moines – As Iowa prepares for graduations across the state, dozens of former West Des Moines teachers will gather at the state capitol Saturday to present a letter to a candidate who is running for federal office. The letter will provide examples associated with 14 different issues of how the candidate has failed to demonstrate decency as a current elected official.

The educators will be joined by West Des Moines alumni and members of a new values-based grassroots group who will ask others who care about Iowa to sign their letter and demand decency.

When: 11 am, Saturday, May 16th

Where: State Capitol Rotunda, 1007 E. Grand Avenue, Des Moines, IA

Iowans for Decency, is a new values-based grassroots organization empowering everyday Iowans to protect democracy with decency, truth and integrity. We value honesty, humility, morality, science, history and the U.S. Constitution.

For more information or to get involved, contact info@iowansfordecency.org or visit iowansfordecency.org

I hope to see you there!

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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By Phoebe Wall Howard

GUEST COLUMNIST

Editor’s note: Phoebe Wall Howard is an award-winning reporter who worked for The Des Moines Register covering organized labor and politics. She now writes Shifting Gears on Substack and is currently a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative. She is the daughter of a U.S. Army veteran, granddaughter of a U.S. Navy veteran, and niece of U.S. Air Force veterans. She is married to a master electrician who recently worked on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project as a member of the IBEW.

Dear Zach Wahls,

I have never met you. I don’t know you.

Fact is, I don’t care if you win or lose your race for U.S. Senate.

I don’t have a dog in this fight.

Not you.

Not your Democratic opponent, Josh Turek.

Not the likely Republican nominee, Ashley Hinson.

But I do have questions.

An email from Anna Brichacek landed in my mailbox at 10:37 a.m. Wednesday.

It was titled: “We’re under extra scrutiny.”

Who? I wondered. Who is under extra scrutiny?

I don’t know Anna. I have never heard of Anna Brichacek.

When I opened the email, I noticed it came from “team@zachwahlsforiowa.com.”

OK, Anna works for the guy running for U.S. Senate from Iowa.

She identified herself as campaign manager in the email and wrote that she and Wahls need to make “tough decisions” about how much TV airtime he can afford.

And that’s where my financial contribution comes into play, apparently.

The campaign email (including boldface type) said:

“Grassroots campaigns like ours are under extra scrutiny, especially when we’re going up against so much DC super PAC money.

Chuck Schumer, D.C. insiders, and outside groups will all be looking at the same thing: whether Zach Wahls can compete with the millions of dollars pouring into Iowa from Super PACs and corporate donors and win this race …

We’re determined to get our message out to voters across the state, and we need to move quickly because early voting starts today. This fundraising deadline will determine just how much we can do … We’re betting that our people-powered campaign is more powerful than the special interests.

We’re close to where we need to be, but we still have ground to cover today. Can you chip in $3 before midnight and help us reach our $100,000 goal?”

At the end, the plea for money was signed by Anna.

Hmm

It’s standard protocol in grassroots campaigns to have letters signed and sent by candidates themselves. That way, they take ownership. But OK.

I was curious who was asking me for money, this Anna Brichacek.

The letter said she and Wahls, a state senator from Johnson County, Iowa, were fighting Senate Minority Leader “Chuck Schumer, D.C. insiders and outside groups.”

As it turns out, according to her LinkedIn professional profile, Brichacek is a political consultant based in Washington, D.C.

Before working for Wahls, she was the coordinated campaign director at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in 2024-2025. Yep, the same organization Schumer oversees as the top Senate Democrat.

From January 2017-2021, he was minority leader. From January 2021-2025, he was majority leader. From January 2025 to present, he has been minority leader. So he was at the helm when Brichacek was there, too.

Now I, for one, am no fan of U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. And I’m not alone.

But the issue here is with Wahls transparency.

After all, his campaign motto is “Iowans over Insiders.”

Brichacek is running a campaign against Schumer and D.C. insiders — yet she worked directly for the DSCC organization Schumer led to help elect Democrats.

Previously, Brichacek ran a congressional campaign in Texas, directed an independent expenditure campaign in Ohio, ran (Elizabeth) Warren for President efforts in Ohio and Boston, and ran a congressional campaign in New York.

Wahls is running against Schumer and D.C. insiders with a campaign director who learned the game under Schumer and remains, by every definition, a D.C. insider who travels the nation running campaigns.

Nothing wrong or unethical for Brichacek. It’s what people do. However, it is notable that Wahls demonizes the crowd from which he selected his campaign manager.

I reached out to the Wahls campaign team and his senior advisor at 5:46 a.m. CT today (Thursday) seeking an explanation by 9:30 a.m. By 10:20 a.m., they had not responded by email, text, or phone.

This was the question submitted: “How can Zach Wahls say he’s breaking with the establishment led by U.S. Sen. “Chuck Schumer, D.C. insiders” when the Wahls campaign director lists publicly on her resume being a political professional based in Washington, D.C. whose last employer, from April 2024 to January 2025, was the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) as deputy coordinated campaigns director when Schumer was the Senate Democratic leader?

Ironically, Brichacek does have experience running a political campaign in Iowa prior to the Wahls campaign. She spent 16 months working for Iowa State Sen. Liz Mathis in 2021-22 in her bid for a U.S. House seat. Mathis lost to incumbent Ashley Hinson.

So this isn’t Brichacek’s first rodeo. Her playbook isn’t new to Hinson.

Behind the scenes

On a side note, a reader in Iowa who has long supported U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts wrote to tell me about reaching out to Warren’s office directly to urge the senator to reconsider her endorsement of Wahls. The Iowan doesn’t think Wahls reflects Warren’s commitment to transparency.

I don’t know if he does or if he doesn’t.

But I can tell you this: I wrote a deep dive earlier this month for Iowa Mercury about claims Wahls is making against VoteVets and the fact that labor groups supporting Wahls have actually funded VoteVets.

Note: VoteVets has spent millions on Turek, whose father served in Vietnam. Turek has lived a life in a wheelchair with spina bifida, a condition associated with war chemical exposure. Thus, VoteVets is investing in Turek as part of its ongoing campaign to fund policymakers the 501©4 PAC believes will protect veterans.

When I asked the Wahls campaign how the candidate can reconcile this apparent conflict, they sent me a quote from a union leader. As a national political reporter since 1991 who covered campaigns at The Des Moines Register, I can’t recall ever having any campaign reply with a response from a third party.

(I’ll share the details with you below. But stay with me here.)

The Wahls campaign never answered my question about the VoteVets issue and, when I resent the request, never acknowledged or responded to the email.

Meanwhile, Wahls is asking me for money.

This made me curious. Wahls prides himself on the message of a grassroots campaign that represents Iowa values. When I reviewed his FEC data from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, I noticed that less than 25% of the $3,167,670 in contributions to Wahls came from Iowans.

Donors range from Devin Gould, senior policy adviser to U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, to key players in AI and trial lawyers in California.

Major donors listed include Alexander Turner, a research scientist at Google’s DeepMind; Williams Saunders and Steven Bills of Anthropic; Leo Gao and Gabriel Wu at OpenAI; Tao Lin at Anthropic PBC; Benjamin Trumbull and Kyle Landeer at Apple; and San Francisco trial lawyer John Keker and his team.

Here’s the breakdown:

Iowa $791,106.27; California $451,700.85; New York $193,679; Illinois $117,363.50; District Of Columbia $110,437; Massachusetts $77,454; New Jersey $49,735; Maryland $46,382; Virginia $39,267; Colorado $35,658.33; Florida $32,780; Arizona $26,623; North Carolina $23,225; Texas $21,610; Washington $21,343.53; Hawaii; $15,285; Minnesota; $13,758; Tennessee $13,000; Georgia $12,783; Wisconsin $12,636; Ohio $11,811; Missouri $11,690; Connecticut $10,140; Wyoming $8,250; Michigan $7,350; Arkansas $6,450; Pennsylvania $6,438; Indiana $5,950; New Mexico $4,650; South Carolina $4,600; Oregon $4,375.50; Maine $3,375; Vermont $3,033; Delaware $2,600; Rhode Island $2,200; Louisiana $1,750; Nevada $1,375; Montana $1,075; Nebraska $700; Idaho $605; Kansas $548.50; New Hampshire $250; Mississippi $100; Alaska $74.

All good candidates get money where they can find it. Cash is essential to run a campaign. And it’s a hellish process to endlessly beg. This situation is strange because Wahls seems to be carpet-bombing his Democratic opponent rather than waiting for the general election. But OK.

He questions the integrity of outside money, but he accepts outside money.

Crickets from the Wahls campaign

When I reached out to Wahls to ask about the VoteVets issue, his senior adviser Andrew Suchorski responded via email. Below is the exchange. It left me puzzled.

Dear Zach Wahls Team,

I’m a former reporter at The Des Moines Register who writes on Substack as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.

I’m writing about the fact that Zach Wahls is critical of VoteVets while at the same time touting endorsements from major donors to VoteVets.

I would like to include a response from the Wahls campaign in the story, in hopes of reconciling the unusual situation.

The story is written and ready to go. I will hold until 10 a.m. ET. Then I’ll note that I’ve left a message for the campaign and add a response when I hear back. My number is below for texting or calling. Thanks so much.

Phoebe —

Our campaign received the following statement from Andy Roberts, President of UA Local 33, after reading your article. We ask that you please include his statement below:

“I take personal offense to this clearly biased “reporting” from an out of state writer who thinks they know better than Iowa’s labor leaders. To use my local’s endorsement of Zach in a clear hit piece against our candidate is exactly the type of shady, back-handed politics that is the reason the Democratic party has lost the support of rank and file union members over the past elections.

Let me be clear: Zach Wahls fights for us, while this unprecedented $6.7 million dollar ad buy fights for the D.C. insiders.” - Andy Roberts, UA 33 President

Dear Andrew,

• Please note that it is standard protocol for any campaign to provide a response to candidate conduct and public statement. I am still awaiting that response.

• What is the official name of Andy Roberts’ union? I am assuming it’s Plumbers & Steamfitters UA Local 33 based on public information, not what was provided by you or him.

• Has Andy Roberts contacted his peers who donated to VoteVets on behalf of the Plumbers & Steamfitters organization urging them to discontinue their support? That’s an important issue it sounds like he may be pursuing and I’d like report it first.

• Is Andy Roberts suggesting that his peers, other labor leaders, are making a mistake by financially supporting VoteVets? If so, what VoteVets policy issues conflict with Mr. Roberts’ agenda or Wahls’ platform?

• Is Andy Roberts planning to discuss his concerns with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who lives in Massachusetts but is coming to Iowa to campaign? Do Roberts or Wahls think Warren’s colleague, U.S. (Sen.) Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, is a pawn of Chuck Schumer because he received VoteVets money.

• Are Andy Roberts and Zach Wahls alleging all Democrats who have benefited from VoteVets money are pawns of Schumer? Roberts is referring to these Democrats as D.C. insiders. There are a lot of local and state candidates endorsed by VoteVets. How does that reconcile with the insider claim?

***

Voters and reporters in Iowa have asked if Zach Wahls or his team have responded to my query. A week has passed. No, the answer is no.

Since then, I’ve only received requests for money, all on Wednesday. The first at 10:37 a.m. Then a second solicitation, unsigned, at 6:40 p.m. And a third solicitation, from “ZW” at 9:09 p.m.

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Original news reporting, analysis, and features by award-winning journalist Phoebe Wall Howard. Topics range from the auto industry and politics to sailing and spotlight profiles with a Detroit perspective. Please consider subscribing here.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

While I don’t like being stopped for road construction any more than anyone else, I enjoy it whenever I’m lucky enough to be the first person in line to be stopped by a flagger, because then I get to talk with him or her and learn more about their lives, hopes, and dreams.

Flaggers on road crews do important work, work long hours, and I’ve learned they are always happy to talk with me. We are social creatures, and when one has to stand on their feet for hours on end, in all kinds of weather, isolated from most human contact, I’ve found that flaggers always appreciate having a conversation.

I’ve previously written a couple of stories about my past conversations with flaggers I’ve met, talked with, and learned from; they are here and here. Here is one where I show my appreciation of road crews in general.

I enjoy talking with people who have a hand in building our roads because building and maintaining our roads is an underappreciated art and science. I think roads are miraculous, one of the greatest inventions of all time, second perhaps, only to pockets.

Growing up working in the construction industry, I like talking to people who are in the business of building things, given that those of us who work in that industry are often taken for granted. As I slowly follow a pilot car, I always nod, smile, or wave at every road worker who catches my eye because not doing so makes me feel like I’m treating people like furniture, which I won’t do.

The other day, I pulled off Highway 92 on my way home from Osky to Knoxville on Attica Road. I knew that road construction was going on, and I could have driven on to the next exit to get off and backtrack home. But I didn’t. I pulled up to the flagger holding a stop sign, stopped, and he came over to my window to talk with me. He had dark skin, pretty eyes, and was in his late teens or early 20’s.

He asked me something like, “Are you in a hurry?”

“How long’s it going to be?” I replied.

He looked back toward where crews were laying asphalt. “Maybe five minutes?”

I pulled out my phone and turned on my recording app. Center left, always ready to go.

“That’s not long. I’m a writer. Ok if we do an interview about your work here on the road crew while we wait?”

“Sure. That’s OK.”

Below is a recording and a lightly edited transcript of our brief interview. If you have the time and inclination, please listen to the recording so you can get a better perspective on the young man while you sit in the truck beside me—here, let me move some junk off of the seat so you can sit down.

ME: What’s your name?

OSCAR: My name is Oscar.

ME: Oscar, okay, and you’re from Ottumwa?

OSCAR: Yeah.

ME: And we’re here in Knoxville, and you’re a member of the road crew that keeps us safe and the workers safe, and you’re holding a stop sign, and here we are.

OSCAR: Yeah.

ME: And so how’s the work?

OSCAR: It’s good, good money, long hours. Nothing too, like I won’t say, like it’s extreme, but it’s just long hours—that makes it pretty rough.

ME: So, you got here at 5:30, and so you’re working until how long?

OSCAR: Usually, we’re done here by like 7:30.

ME: 7:30 at night. So, that’s 14 hours. Is it dangerous what you do?

OSCAR: Dangerous? Depending on, like, how you want to handle it, cuz like, since I’m a flagger, I mean, me standing in the middle of the road could be pretty dangerous if someone’s not paying attention, they could just drive off, but I try to stand on the side, like, to protect myself. But I would say dangerous…not extremely dangerous. The pavers could be pretty dangerous, but we have. Like we have regulations that we have to follow, that way nothing bad happens.

ME: Okay. Well, here comes the car with the flashers.

OSCAR: That’s our boss right there.

ME: Uh-oh, is he going to wonder what we’re doing?

OSCAR: No. He just drives past back and forth to check on everything, making sure everything’s going how it’s supposed to go.

ME: And you haven’t been doing this too long, huh?

OSCAR: No, this is my first week.

ME: Is this like something you want to keep doing? You enjoy it?

OSCAR: This is actually a job I’m taking before I go off to college.

ME: Oh, where you going to college?

OSCAR: Indian Hills in Ottumwa.

ME: Wonderful.

OSCAR: Yeah.

ME: That’s such a beautiful campus. They do a great job.

OSCAR: Yeah, this is something just so I can save up some money. Hopefully, help with pay my tuition and just a quick little job before I go off to college.

ME: And what are you going to study?

OSCAR: Automotive mechanics.

ME: Okay, and then you’re going to ...I mean what would be the perfect job?

OSCAR: Hopefully, be a mechanic. The mechanics here pay pretty good, but like I want to be like a mechanic on, like cars, like working in an auto shop.

ME: You want to own your own auto shop someday?

OSCAR: I would love to.

ME: You would?

OSCAR: Yeah. I would love to own my own auto shop. Hopefully, somewhere like in the city, I can get some pretty good jobs.

ME: Yeah. To me, when I’ve got a mechanic, they’re just invaluable. And a lot of it involves interpersonal skills that I like to.... Well, here’s an example. One time I was driving by my mechanic’s shop, and I got a call from him, and he said, “Your right rear tire is low, come back. That’s great service, isn’t it?

OSCAR Yeah.

ME: You think you’d like to, you know, do that and work with people? Is that part of what you would enjoy? Is it? Or do you just want to just… Is it just working on the cars?

OSCAR: Working on the cars and…trucks…

ME: Okay. Have you always wanted to do that?

OSCAR: Yeah. I like cars myself. I’m like a truck guy, and I like working on trucks and building them up.

ME: Well, my truck is too old and beaten up for you (laughter)…I guess it’s somebody’s done a good job keeping it going, but you can’t do much with it.

ME: So do people get mad?

OSCAR: Yeah, people do get mad. Um, and also they get kind of like impatient. Like yesterday… cuz we have signs saying that, like no pavement markings, not to get… onto the fresh pavement that was just laid.

And we had we have cones, we have signs, and we also have like road closed signs, and even despite all of that someone still drove through the cones, drove through the paved asphalt that we had just put down, and the road signs that we put to not go into the road.

ME: Wow. So how do you deal with the anger?

OSCAR: Well, with the anger, well, kind of we deal with it, with not dealing with it. We just let them sit there.

ME: And are people nice?

OSCAR: Oh, yeah, there’s nice people. Yeah.

ME: Anything else you’d like to share about your life, your hopes, your dreams?

OSCAR: That’s pretty much it. Where I’m at right now, just working, getting money, and hopefully going off to college and going on from there.

ME: Great. Well, thank you.

OSCAR: Thank you.

I then drove to Fareway to get groceries. Normally, when I’m done buying what I need, I don’t like to have the grocery store baggers carry out my bags because they have better things to do than help me when I don’t need it. But sometimes I have more than I can carry, and since they won’t let me push a cart out, I accept their help. And I always have a conversation with them, because I won’t treat them like furniture. Plus, I’m an anthropologist and a reporter. I can’t learn anything if I don’t ask questions.

The teenager who helped me had raven-colored hair and porcelain skin. I’ve talked with her many times before, mostly about the weather. Remembering my conversation with the flagger on the road crew, I asked her something like, “Do people ever complain about stuff when you are helping them with their bags to their cars?”

“Yeah, and it’s getting worse lately,” she said, loading bags full of groceries into the bed of my truck.

“What are they complaining about?”

“They’re complaining about how expensive groceries are.”

“But they know that’s not your fault.”

“That doesn’t stop them.”

“It’s just going to get worse,” I said. “Much worse.”

“I know,” she said. “The war in Iran has to end. And for more reasons than just our grocery prices.”

Most of the time, we writers know how our stories are going to end before we get there. Other times, we have no clue until we get to the end.

Like now.

As I type these words to bring this column to a close, I realize that these young people taught me several things, the first one a reminder that I’m so lucky and privileged that I didn’t have to work construction or other hard work until I died, like millions of people around the world who do now and have had to do throughout history. Most of us forget this.

A second one is that I didn’t recognize and appreciate the fact that there I was, walking out of Fareway, with so many bags full of food that I had to have a helper because I couldn’t carry the bags out all by myself, when people are going hungry and starving all over the world, including in my own town.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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Note: This was posted Thursday evening. It has been updated to include Turek’s response.

I received this announcement in an email from Senator Tom Harkin tonight, Thursday, May 7.

Endorsement of Josh Turek

I was proud and honored to represent my fellow Iowans for 30 years in the US Senate. Thank you, Iowans, for giving me that opportunity, over five statewide elections, to work for you.

I have a pretty good idea of what it takes to win an election, and then to faithfully represent all Iowans, not just those who voted for you.

That’s why I am supporting Josh Turek for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary on June 2.

Josh Turek has the Iowa values, the Iowa work ethic, the Iowa “can do” spirit, and has won election and re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives in a very challenging area for Democrats.

There’s a saying that “rough weather makes good timber.“ Josh has had some pretty rough weather in his life, and he is “good timber.”

In fact, Josh is as strong and resilient as a good Iowa Burr Oak!

He will be a strong and successful advocate in the US Senate for the people of Iowa and for our nation.

I ask you to join with me in voting for Josh Turek for U.S. Senate in the June 2 primary, and sending him on to Washington to work for all of us.

Senator Tom Harkin (Ret.)

Turek’s statement:

“I am truly humbled and honored to have the endorsement of my political hero, Senator Tom Harkin. Everything I have been able to accomplish has been because of a great United States Senator from Iowa. Senator Harkin and his work on the ADA gave me and so many other disabled Americans an on-ramp onto society. The ADA is an example of the life-changing impact of good public policy championed by good public servants,” said Josh Turek. “As Iowa’s next U.S. Senator, I will continue Senator Harkin’s prairie populist vision, fighting for the working class, social and economic justice, small family farms, and the little guy. Iowa is ready to have a fighter in Washington again, and it will be beautifully poetic when the man who takes back Senator Harkin’s seat is only here because of his work.”

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

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I met Tiffany Muller, with End Citizens United, last month at an event with Democratic Senate Candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls. It was sponsored by Progress Iowa and End Citizens United. Radio Iowa has the story.

It was a great event, and I wanted to learn more about how End Citizens United is trying to get corporate PAC money out of politics and how we can help.

I hope you enjoy the interview.

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

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Note: To be transparent, I have expressed my support for Wahls’ primary opponent, Josh Turek, here, here, and here. In my memory, I have never publicly supported any candidate in Iowa in more than 20 years covering Iowa politics.

This time I have to make an exception. There’s just too much to lose should Iowa Democrats choose Wahls over Turek in the primary election to face Republican Ashley Hinson in the general. My opinion is we can’t risk it. Most of what I share below is in the public realm, but some important information has not, to my knowledge, ever appeared in the Iowa media, so most Iowans don’t know about it. It’s critical they do before the primary on June 2.

Some of what I have to say might seem trivial, but it’s part of a general pattern of behavior that does not speak well of Wahls or his electability. On the other hand, some of what I have to say is crucial for Iowa Democrats to know, because if Wahls is the nominee, he has given the Hinson campaign numerous gifts that she and/or her campaign will use to blow him up like a tiny fishing boat in Venezuelan waters, with the blowback possibly destroying other Iowa Democratic campaign boats along with his. Please hear me out until the end, where I present the most critical information, and then judge for yourself and vote accordingly. If you don’t agree with me, that’s fine. Let’s hash it out in the comments.

I attended a Wahls campaign event in Newton last week on Monday. KCCI has the story. It was a good crowd of maybe 25 people, including leaders of the Jasper County, Iowa, Dems. I saw several friends in the crowd who are dedicated Democratic voters.

Wahls knocked it out of the park. People loved his stump speech. I’ve seen several, and he does a nice job of mixing up his narrative and getting the audience stirred up. He told a troubling story about his fear for his two moms and the rest of his family after hearing Republicans speak for a class assignment when he was very young. I believe it was when he was watching the Republican National Convention on television. Maybe in middle school? It was heartbreaking.

He also told us about his efforts to help people who were driven out of their mobile homes by heartless hedge fund managers. He laid out broad, progressive themes that resonated with the audience, and I presume, most if not all progressive Iowans. He answered lots of questions from the audience, and hung out after, answering more questions and taking selfies.

He spoke with ease, familiarity, and passion, and I agree with almost everything he had to say. When he was the Iowa Senate Minority Leader, I was at first impressed with him and wished him well. I shared some language with him about the Republican school voucher scam that I thought he might want to use in debate, and he shared it on the Senate floor, if I remember correctly. I found his work with people fighting hedge fund managers pricing people out of their mobile homes, valiant. I drove to Indianola, and asked around in trailer parks there and in Knoxville to see if hedge fund managers were screwing people here. I don’t remember if he asked me to, or if I volunteered. Regardless, I was happy to help him with this important work, and I continue to wish him success with it.

As the town hall in Newton concluded, there was a post-meeting happy “glow” among the audience rooted in shared mission and hope. As the kids would say, people were “viben…”

But they didn’t know what I know, what the Hinson campaign also knows, and what you will learn about below.

Hinson wants Wahls to be the nominee

Hinson certainly wants to run against Wahls rather than Turek. From the Iowa Capital Dispatch in March:

Hinson told reporters she believed Wahls was currently positioned to be her likely opponent in the general election.

“Let’s just say I think Zach Wahls seems to be running away with it right now,” Hinson said. “He’s raising the money. He seems to have the momentum…”

NOTUS reports:

The focus on Wahls appears — even to some Iowa Republicans — to be a not-so-subtle effort to influence the Democratic primary, boosting Wahls’ visibility and leveling criticism that might actually endear the candidate to liberal voters…

“I’ve talked to several people close to Hinson, and their preference would be to run against Zach Wahls,” said a longtime Iowa Republican operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly about internal party thinking…”

Another party strategist said the continued emphasis on Wahls over Turek has become a running joke among politicos in the state because it is so unsubtle.

“If you only read the Hinson campaign press releases, you wouldn’t know Josh Turek was even a candidate in this race,” said the second Republican operative, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

The question is, why?

It would be easy to conclude that Hinson would prefer to run against Wahls more than Turek, simply because it would be easy to paint Wahls as an Ivy League-trained millionaire from the “People’s Republic of Iowa City” who is out of touch with Iowans, and because Turek had actually won and retained his seat in the Iowa legislature in western Iowa by defeating Republican opponents. Wahls has never faced a Republican challenger. Turek has, and won.

But it’s much deeper than that. My arguments are presented below, in no particular order, except that the most important information Iowans need to know is presented in the last sections.

Rewriting the History of His Ouster from Leadership

Wahls presents his ouster as Senate Minority Leader in 2023 as a badge of honor in his campaign, emphasizing that the firing of two long-term staffers was part of his vision to turn the party in a new direction that the old guard didn’t want to go. Other Democrats in the legislature say there was more to his removal than the two firings.

As I read it, he was ousted because he wasn’t an effective leader. The fact is that he was unanimously ousted from leadership by his peers.

Dismissed. Repudiated.

He couldn’t find a single Democratic legislator who believed he was leadership material. Not one.

Democrats didn’t want him leading the Iowa Senate just three years ago, and now he wants to fail upward into the U.S. Senate?

Wahls thinks we are easily fooled. Ashley Hinson won’t be.

Promotion of Nate Boulton after Sexual Assault Allegations

Investigative journalist Andy Kopsa, originally from Iowa, on April 23, wrote: “I’ve had it. No more covering up for sexual predators: Zach Wahls needs to answer questions.”

Kopsa is referring to sexual assault allegations against the then-candidate for Governor, Nate Boulton, that were reported on in May of 2018. She provides some background about the allegations, then writes:

…Zach Wahls - yes that one - gave this guy another chance. You bet he did. Bros before hos amiright? Someone needs to ask him why he covered up for Boulton - sorry - why he promoted Boulton - during his catastrophic and short-lived leadership in the Iowa State Senate.

You should read all of Kopsa’s column, as there is much more than I can share here. Among her conclusions are:

To win Iowa someone with moral clarity on sexual assault needs to face Ashley Hinson so they can look at her and without having to blink say “Rep. Hinson, you are covering up for a man adjudicated of rape. How can you live with yourself?”

This may well have also played a role in Wahls’ being ousted from a leadership position. I don’t know for sure, but there are plenty of people who do.

Hypocritical Criticism related to “Dark Money” in the Turek Campaign

Wahls is critical of the Turek campaign for accepting money from the PAC VoteVets. As I have written before:

“Wahls’ criticism of Turek taking PAC money from VoteVets is a red herring. Many Democratic members of Congress who are veterans have received support and endorsements from the group, including Senators Tammy Duckworth, Mark Kelly, and Reuben Gallego, among others. Check out the full list here. These are leaders we desperately need. Criticism of VoteVets is a destructive narrative that only helps MAGA. And in this race, Hinson.”

The hypocrisy, as I see it, is The Next 50, a PAC that Wahls was previously the Executive Director of, and took money from, is the same kind of hybrid PAC that VoteVets is.

So, Wahls thinks it’s OK for him to take “dark money,” but not Turek?

Wahls thinks we are easily fooled. Ashley Hinson won’t be.

To make matters worse—integrity-wise—on Wednesday, the Wahls campaign issued a press release with a message from Senator Elizabeth Warren, who has endorsed Wahls, that read in part:

“I’m going to be direct with you: Massive amounts of money are pouring into Iowa’s Senate race right now.

A DC super PAC is spending seven figures to influence the outcome of this primary.

The PAC she is referring to, of course, is VoteVets.

Here, I’m disappointed in Elizabeth Warren. She criticizes VoteVets as part of her support of Wahls, but promoted the organization as a presidential candidate in 2019.

So, super PAC money is good for Wahls, but not for Turek? Puleeeeze. You can watch the ad here. Apparently, Elizabeth Warren thinks we are easily fooled, too…

The Chuck Schumer Line of Attack

Related to the VoteVets issue, one of Wahls’ major lines of attack on Turek is that the U.S. Senate Minority Leader, Chuck Schumer, backs him.

There’s not much love in local Democratic circles for Chuckles, which suggests that this line of attack might be successful. Every few days, I get a text from Schumer asking for a donation, and it pisses me off. Is the national party so out of touch that it thinks an appeal from Schumer will work in Iowa? But it must work if they keep doing it, anyway…

This line of attack is fine, but only if Wahls didn’t meet with Schumer or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. If he did meet with Schumer or the DSCC to seek support, and they didn’t decide to back him, then this is either a contrived attack or sour grapes.

During the press gaggle after a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate forum on April 8, Laura Belin with Bleeding Heartland asked Wahls directly, and he waffled, saying something like, “Well, I’ve met with lots of people.” Here is the video.

He needs to answer Laura—yes or no. To me, his non-answer implies he did meet with Schumer or his associates, and he’s hiding it from us.

Zach Wahls thinks we are easily fooled. Ashley Hinson won’t be.

FTX Cryptocurrency Scandal under Wahls Watch

Andy Kopsa thinks there is something fishy about a cryptocurrency donation Wahls received on behalf of the party. She writes:

Let’s just rip the band-aid off, people. It’s the $250K from FTX (a now bankrupt criminal cryptocurrency exchange) crypto-bros that the IDP (Iowa Democratic Party) is now on the hook for, received under Wahls leadership tenure, that is the elephant in the room. It wasn’t just his firing people off the cuff, people - it was his refusal to even talk about the mechanism for repayment of that money - and apparently, he didn’t tell his colleagues about it until they got a notice from SDNY.

I don’t see ANY evidence of wrongdoing by Wahls or the Iowa Democratic Party, but many questions remain that need to be answered. I reached out to the IDP several times for comment on this issue and other issues presented here in this column, but I received no response. That’s OK. I wouldn’t speak to me either this close to a primary election.

Tom Barton’s reporting for the Gazette, first on January 29, 2026, and updated on April 11, provides background on the FTX crimes and donations to both Iowa Democrats and Republicans.

Barton writes:

State Sen. Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville running for U.S. Senate, was serving as Senate Democratic leader at the time the caucus accepted campaign contributions later tied to disgraced cryptocurrency executives. He was ousted from the leadership post the following June amid broader internal tensions within the caucus.

Wahls did not respond to a request for comment. A staffer who worked with the Senate Majority Fund at the time said party officials had no knowledge of fraud when the donation was accepted.

Why didn’t Wahls respond to Barton, one of the best reporters in Iowa? Does he have something to hide?

Zach Wahls thinks we are easily fooled.

First Class Flights?

A Washington Examiner column by former WOI-TV reporter Samantha-Jo Roth, published on April 1, pointed out that Zach’s flying and hotel expenses while he was Iowa Senate Minority Leader didn’t mesh well with his populist message.

Wahls’ campaign told Roth that they felt the costs were well worth it since he raised over $770,000 during that time period.

That may well be. It probably is.

But, to me, the issue is, did he fly first class? One of the flights itemized cost $2,472. Past Democratic leaders tell me that they never flew first class because they felt it was irresponsible to do so.

I asked the campaign if Wahls flew first class on the donor's dime, and after repeated requests, I reluctantly went off the record for the conversation.

So I know the answer, but I can’t tell you. Why hide it?

Zach Wahls thinks we are easily fooled.

A Millionaire Paying himself from his Campaign

Zach Wahls is a millionaire. Federal filings show he paid himself from his Senate campaign. Between October and December 2025, he received roughly $17,700 in salary from campaign funds, more than most of his staff did over that period.

I kept thinking about this at the Newton event. I believe that there were at least four staffers there, but I could be wrong.

While nearly $18,000 isn’t much to a millionaire, even $500 or $1,000 could be life-changing for a lowly staffer busting their asses for him. Wahls’ campaign emails ask people pinching pennies to donate, $5, $10, $25, $50, while he draws a salary, and while he could afford to pay his staff more, instead he pockets what he can.

Surely this money could be better spent elsewhere in the campaign. It also draws attention to his apparent wasteful spending as minority leader in the Iowa Senate.

Pocket the money when you could pay your staff more instead? That’s clueless, and part of a pattern of privilege.

Millionaire Wahls Cosplays as being Working Class

I admit I have a working-class chip on my shoulder, growing up as a carpenter’s son who was taught the trade, and I resent anyone who acts like they are working class when they aren’t. People should just be who they are. Don’t fake it.

I’ve gone on a rant about this before, and here is just a bit of it:

Have you ever lived paycheck to paycheck, pounded a bazillion nails, busted your knuckles day in and day out turning wrenches, waited tables until you dropped, stacked shelves until you can’t raise your arms anymore, or had a bad back and carpal tunnel syndrome from being chained to a keyboard all day?

With this attitude, agree with it or not, I read every one of Zach’s press releases and statements through the lens of him being a millionaire, acting like he is one of us who feels our pain. Maybe he does, but it comes across as fake.

For example, in a Wahls campaign press release from April 11:

Childcare shouldn’t be the biggest expense in a family’s budget. It forces parents to make impossible choices: cut back hours, take on extra jobs, or leave the workforce altogether. For lower-income families, it’s not just a burden, it’s a barrier.

I see it in my own life. Right now, childcare for my son costs more than my mortgage.

While what Zach says is true for lower-income families, looking at childcare costs and average mortgage payments after a 20% down payment in the Coralville area, the Wahls family must live in an extremely modest home, or had a hell of a down payment most of us couldn’t afford.

I’ve written before that I’m probably over-analyzing this, which is what I do, but when I saw this campaign ad of Zach on a farm, his Carhartt jacket was so crisp and clean that it looked like it was just pulled off the rack at Farm and Home, Fleet Farm, or Tractor Supply. Other people have told me the same thing, unsolicited.

It’s working man cosplay.

He should just be himself.

To be fair, millionaire Ashley Hinson is even worse, whining in the Des Moines Register on Monday:

I’m a working mom — whether it’s filling the minivan or feeding two teenage boys, high prices hit our family just like families across Iowa.

That’s B.S.

Both Zach Wahls and Ashley Hinson think we are easily fooled.

Wahls Posts About His Pornography Preferences on Reddit from 2011

The Washington Examiner has a story about it here, and the New York Times here.

I don’t care what Wahls posted on Reddit in 2011 when he was a young man. I was tempted to grab screenshots of his posts and share them here, but decided against it. It just seemed wrong. Please go to the Examiner or Times stories if you want to see them.

I only bring it up for two reasons.

First, I’d ask you to sit back and take a moment to imagine what the relentless multimedia attack ads about an even younger Wahls’ porn preferences might look like as pushed out by the Hinson campaign or MAGA super PACs.

Really think about it. Please. Imagine the worst-case scenario, because that is what we are going to get. I’m purposefully not telling you what I think the attack ads might look like, because I think we all need to consider what they might look like for ourselves, and draw our own conclusions about the potential damage.

Can you imagine the kinds of ads millions of dollars could buy? Ashley, of course, will stay above the fray, playing the average suburban mom just trying to raise her kids and make America great again.

They will also cross-populate these ads with the stories and images of other problematic actions by Wahls I’ve documented above. Those attacks will appear reasonable, because they are.

I fear they’ll hammer him so hard there will be nothing left of Wahls but a greasy spot on the floor of some hotel meeting room in Iowa City on election night.

Wahls’ response to the New York Times column that mentioned his Reddit posts was troubling. He thinks he’s invulnerable, and again, it speaks to his privilege and ego:

In an interview on Monday, Mr. Wahls said he was unconcerned.

“I think it’s a little funny that some folks are worried about Democrats’ ability to connect with American men, while others think that old Reddit posts by me as a college kid, talking about Playboy and porn like a normal guy would do, would scare me off from running,” he said.

He thinks it’s “a little funny?”

I think he’s delusional.

While this might be shrugged off in Iowa City, I doubt it will in rural Iowa.

And despite what “normal guys” do, I suspect that there are plenty of people around who would find fault with the objectification of women’s bodies and with politicians who celebrate it, telling us, effectively, that “boys will be boys,” to a reporter for the New York Times.

And the New York Times column was printed less than a year ago, on June 10 of 2025, not when he was a kid in 2011.

The second reason I brought up the Reddit posts is that I don’t think most Iowans are aware of them, and people should know about them, and consider their potential impact on the race before they vote in the primary. While I may be wrong, I don’t believe the Iowa media have covered the issue.

Why haven’t they covered it? Probably because we are midwesterners, who don’t like talking about these kinds of things, while reporters in D.C. and New York City are perfectly comfortable with it.

I talked to a respected member of the Iowa media, and asked her if she thought anyone was going to tell this story. I admitted to her that I was reluctant to do so, for a variety of reasons. She told me she didn’t think anyone else was going to cover it, and that I should write it, and let her know when it came out.

I talked to another respected member of the media and he agreed. “Write it,” he said.

So here we are.

The Cascading Effects

Now it gets even worse. If, as the facts about Wahls come out, and Hinson drives her attack ads home, should Wahls win the primary, it could well negatively impact not only voter turnout and vote tallies for the Senate race, but also the winnable races for Governor, for House seats, particularly in the First, Second, and Third districts, and down ballot.

Hinson wants Wahls to be her opponent, for the reasons I shared above and probably more. If Wahls wins the primary, and the attack ads start to take effect, I fear that as polling shows Hinson pulling away from Wahls, millions of dollars directed at the Hinson campaign will be diverted from her Senate race to be used against other Iowan Democrats running for office. The money could also be diverted to help defeat Democrats in races in other states.

We could lose it all.

I’m told that prominent Democrats advised Zach Wahls not to run for Senate for the reasons I lay out here and more. He should have taken their advice. He has placed so much at risk. He apparently doesn’t see it that way.

With the return of the successful Artemis mission around the moon and back, I have just one question for the crew.

Can you see Zach Wahls’ ego from space?

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

I dropped into a Progress Iowa Art Jam in Des Moines recently because I wanted to hang out with people who want to make the world a better place through art.

My friend Jen Sinkler is the Creative Director at Progress Iowa, and hosts the Art Jams with other Progress Iowa staff/members. The Art Jams are every other Friday. The next one is on May 8. Sign up here. You will have fun and meet some great people.

You will love it! Especially if you want to make the world a better place.

I’ve stopped by on a couple of occasions in the past, and most recently, Jen told me that she was excited about a new exhibit that was just about to open. The exhibition is titled “Printmaking Change: An Artful Show of Unity.” Unfortunately, circumstances made it difficult for me to view the exhibit until recently, so if you want to see it in person, you will have to see it today or tomorrow.

Our friend Doug Burns has the story with more background here.

Michaela Mullin is the co-curator of the exhibit, along with Jen Sinkler. Michaela is a Des Moines-based, Pushcart Prize-nominated poet, arts writer, and editor.

I asked Jen where the exhibit was going to be, and she walked over to a window and pointed across the street from the Progress Iowa office to the Polk County Heritage Gallery at 111 Court Avenue.

Much of the work in the exhibit is poster art which has a long tradition of helping bring about social change.

Here is what Guity Novin, a graphic designer and artist has to say about the history and power of poster art:

During the 19th century many artists looked at their art as a means for social change and correcting the ills and injustices of the society. Inspired by the ideas of enlightenment, they were taking the role of social critics. They were influenced by the values of modernity and enlightenment. Such values were in stark contrast to those of society at large. Poster art as social commentary was introduced by artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Theophile Steinlen, and Leonetto Cappiello . They assumed the roles of reporter and analyst in an exploration of their era and their society. Their subjects ranged from the daily struggles of working poor, the scenes in brothels, the lifestyles of addicts and outcasts and the hardships of the old and humble. It appears that these artists wished to analyze the social fabric of society and draw conclusions, perhaps for changing it. Their art appears to be critical of socio-economic structures which are seen as harmful, but it also celebrates the simple joys of humanity and somehow poeticize everyday life.

The exhibit, “Printmaking Change: An Artful Show of Unity,” continues this tradition in a powerful way.

Thanks to Progress Iowa, Fairness for Iowa coalition, Polk County Heritage Gallery, The Supply Hive, Michaela Mullin and Jen Sinkler for making the exhibit happen.

If you can’t make the exhibit in person, I recorded a video of the exhibit, and Michaela did a voice-over below.

Enjoy.

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our recent work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

I was the first one in the door at a local restaurant in Storm Lake, Iowa, this morning. It was a few minutes before it was supposed to open, but I tried the door anyway. It opened, I stepped through, and a 50ish bright-eyed waitress with a perfect smile welcomed me in.

“Sit where you want,” she told me, and so I did. I took a booth, like I always do.

She handed me a menu, paused, and looked at me, a cue for me to place my drink order.

“Coffee and water, please,” I said.

She hustled off, and I did what most of us do when we are alone in a restaurant: I stared into my phone.

Maybe five minutes passed, and I heard her greet other people coming through the door and answer the phone. I started to answer emails.

A couple of minutes later, she rushed up to my booth, saying something like:

“I’m so sorry, hon! People kept coming in, and I had to answer three phone calls, and I kept thinking of that poor man in the back, waiting for his coffee.”

“No big deal,” I replied. “I’ve just been reading.”

I saw her shoulders relax, and she smiled.

It dawned on me that other people might have complained in that situation, so I asked.

“Do people actually give you a hard time when you can’t serve them right away?”

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “All the time. All the time…”

“I just don’t understand,” I said.

She took off her glasses, started rubbing her eyes, and said, “You are going to make me cry.”

“Can you imagine,” I said. “Having so much privilege in your life that you think that you can give your server a hard time when he or she is busy?”

She started crying.

“I appreciate you,” I said.

She cried some more, composed herself, smiled, and continued her work. Helping all of us.

And I am so, so grateful for her, and the millions of others like her.

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

The headline above is from a version of a CBS story by Jonah Kaplan and Michael Kaplan that I saw, which was revised on April 9, 2026. I haven’t seen any local media coverage on it, so I figured that Iowans would want to know that Pete Hegseth is lying to us about the deaths of our fellow Iowans and others. Google tells me there hasn’t been any Iowa news coverage of this story.

So here we are. I stumbled on the story a couple of days ago.

The Iowa Capital Dispatch had an earlier story on the Iowans killed on March 5, 2026:

The U.S. Defense Department has identified Major Jeffrey O’Brien, a 45-year-old from Waukee, and Sgt. Declan J. Coady, a 20-year-old from West Des Moines, as Army Reserve members who died in the attack. The two soldiers from Iowa, alongside the other four who died in the strike, were all assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command, based in Des Moines.

Please read the full original story on CBS. It feels wrong for me to paraphrase the work of these reporters when I can let them tell the story. I am, however, going to give you some paragraphs from their work.

Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began have disputed the Pentagon’s description of events and said their unit in Kuwait was left dangerously exposed when six service members were killed and more than 20 wounded.

Speaking publicly for the first time, members of the targeted unit offered CBS News a detailed account of the attack and its harrowing aftermath from the perspective of those on the ground.

The members CBS News spoke to disputed the description of events from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who described the drone as a “squirter” — in that it squirted through the defenses of a fortified unit inside Kuwait.

“Painting a picture that ‘one squeaked through’ is a falsehood,” one of the injured soldiers told CBS News. “I want people to know the unit … was unprepared to provide any defense for itself. It was not a fortified position.”

That service member, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity because of rigid media restrictions within the military, said that in spite of the carnage that ensued, those inside the charred and splintered compound responded with swiftness, ingenuity and valor that saved lives.

“I don’t think that the security environment or any leadership decision diminishes in any way their sacrifice or their service,” the member of the Army’s 103rd Sustainment Command said in an interview. “Those soldiers put themselves in harm’s way and … I’m immensely proud of them, and their family should be proud of them.”

Here is some more of the CBS story:

Word of Hegseth’s description of the events at a press conference in Washington did not sit well with some of the survivors. The secretary had described the drone as a “squirter” that “happened to hit a tactical operations center that was fortified, but these are powerful weapons.”

And while several of those familiar with the events on the ground did not agree with the description, they did not want their remarks to be misconstrued.

“It’s not my intent to diminish morale or to disparage the Army or the Department of War more holistically, but I do think that telling the truth is important and we’re not going to learn from these mistakes if we pretend these mistakes didn’t happen,” one soldier said.

Asked if the attack was an inherent reality of engaging in combat, he agreed.

“That’s true,” he said.

Asked if this attack was preventable, the soldier added: “In my opinion, absolutely, yes.”

“I am very sad for their loss and it’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life,” he said. “But I’m also immensely proud of them and their sacrifice, and their family should be too.”

As are the rest of us.

In related news, on March 5, the Daily Beast reported:

The families of U.S. service members killed in Donald Trump’s war against Iran have gone public with tributes after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raged about coverage of their deaths, making “the president look bad.”

…They came from Minnesota, Iowa, Florida, Nebraska, and California. Authorities in Nebraska, California, and Iowa have so far ordered flags be flown at half-staff to honor the dead troops. No such order has come from President Donald Trump, who almost immediately ordered flags be lowered to honor far-right activist Charlie Kirk in the wake of his murder last September.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

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Yesterday, Politico posted the results of a new poll. I encourage you to read the entire article, but below are a couple of highlights, followed by a couple of important graphics with interpretation.

From Politico:

Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand holds an eight-point lead in the governor’s race, and Republicans hold slim leads in both the Senate race and the generic statewide ballot for Congress, according to the survey conducted by Democratic pollster GBAO for the center-left ModSquad, a group led by Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, who endorsed Turek.

Also from Politico:

The memo’s aim is to show that their preferred candidate, Turek, would be the stronger general election candidate. After sharing favorable and critical messages on the three candidates, the poll finds that Hinson maintains her lead on Wahls, while Turek pulls ahead of Hinson.

“In this environment, Democratic candidates Josh Turek and Zach Wahls both begin within striking distance of Republican Ashley Hinson,” the polling memo notes. “But Turek emerges as the stronger general election candidate: after balanced messaging, he moves ahead of Hinson, while Wahls continues to trail.”

Here is the memo:

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My column will always be free, but please consider upgrading to paid if you can afford it.

I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

And I’m now on TikTok, believe it or not. Here you go…I’m publishing videos and stories that you might not see here.

Note: Please read to the end of this post, where you will find some important reporting and commentary by award-winning journalist and investigative reporter Andy Kopsa. She’s an Iowan, and her work has been featured in the New York Times, The Nation, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, and others. Her commentary is no-holds-barred in a way seldom seen.

But before we get there, I need to provide some background.

Progress Iowa and End Citizens United hosted an Iowa Democratic Senate Primary forum on Wednesday last week with candidates Zach Wahls and Josh Turek, and my friend Zachary Oren Smith with the Iowa Starting Line, and I decided to get together and talk about it on Substack live on Thursday. Here is our conversation.

To be transparent, I have expressed my support for Josh Turek here and here.

As background, a Washington Examiner column by former WOI-TV reporter Samantha-Jo Roth published on April 1 pointed out that Zach’s flying and hotel expenses while he was Iowa Senate minority leader didn’t mesh well with his populist message.

Below are the first two paragraphs of the column:

Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls has built his U.S. Senate campaign around a message of standing up for working-class voters, but his time in public offices shows a taste for luxurious hotels, flights to coastal enclaves, and high-end eateries.

Internal Iowa Democratic Party records from Wahls’s time as the Democratic leader in the state Senate show thousands of dollars in reimbursements for travel, lodging, and meals, including a string of high-cost flights and hotel stays that far exceed what other party leaders have reported.

I followed up with Zach Wahls in the Crosshairs of the Washington Examiner: What’s the truth?

I wrote that determining the truth about his expenditures, lavish or not, lay with Wahls, writing:

Is Zach Wahls’ financial management a problem? Was he a wasteful spendthrift, or were his expenses wise investments?

We don’t know.

We can form any opinion we want, but we really don’t have enough information to know the truth. I don’t anyway, and neither, likely do you.

I suspect party leadership does, and many Iowa Democratic legislators do, but they aren’t speaking publicly, which is wise in a contested primary. Let the voters decide without them putting their thumbs on the scale.

So how do we find the truth?

The answer lies with Zach Wahls.

I asked him to come clean, but he hasn’t. So far.

Wahl’s campaign responded quickly, and I wrote, Wahls Campaign Responds to My Column and the Washington Examiner.

Since I’m a dumbass, I decided in fairness that I needed to get the campaign response out quickly, and since the Democratic Party had approved the expenses, I wrote something like “hey, that’s OK by me.”

Now, not so much. I responded too quickly. The campaign’s statement didn’t address whether or not Zach was flying first class on donor money and whether or not that aligns with his populist message.

Some friends have told me these expenses were trivial, given that Zach was such a successful fundraiser. I disagree, as does Kopsa below. It’s part of a pattern of apparent privileged behavior.

So, Zach isn’t forthright about first-class flights. Why?

All he has to say is, yes, I flew first class, and it was a mistake, or no, I didn’t.

If it’s the former, no big deal. People are forgiving. If the latter, why not say so?

I also made a mistake in not addressing this issue brought up in the Examiner column:

In addition to the party reimbursements, federal filings show Wahls also paid himself from his Senate campaign. Between October and December 2025, he received roughly $17,700 in salary from campaign funds, more than most of his staff did over that period.

My friend Nathan Sage, who also ran for the Democratic Senate nomination and later dropped out, was also paid by his campaign. But Nathan needed a salary to feed and house his family, like most of us would if we ran for a statewide office.

Does Zach? I don’t think so.

The financial technology platform Quiver Quantitative estimates that Zach Wahls has a net worth of nearly 2 million dollars. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be a millionaire, and I recognize the importance of millionaire donations to Democratic campaigns, but I think donors might like to know if they are paying a salary to a candidate who is a millionaire. Wahls’ campaign emails ask people pinching pennies to donate, $5, $10, $25, $50, while he draws a salary.

Surely this money could be better spent elsewhere in the campaign. It also draws attention to his apparent wasteful spending as minority leader in the Iowa Senate. Again, part of a pattern of apparent privilege.

I also read every one of Zach’s press releases and statements through the lens of him being a millionaire, acting like he is one of us who feels our pain. Maybe he does, but it just doesn’t feel right.

For example, in a Wahls campaign press release from April 11:

Childcare shouldn’t be the biggest expense in a family’s budget. It forces parents to make impossible choices: cut back hours, take on extra jobs, or leave the workforce altogether. For lower-income families, it’s not just a burden, it’s a barrier.

I see it in my own life. Right now, childcare for my son costs more than my mortgage.

While what Zach says is true for lower-income families, looking at childcare costs and average mortgage payments after a 20% down payment in the Coralville area, the Wahls family must live in an extremely modest home, or had a hell of a down payment most of us couldn’t afford.

I’m probably over-analyzing this, which is what I do, but when I saw this campaign ad of Zach on a farm, his Carhartt jacket was so crisp and clean that it looked like it was just pulled off the rack at Farm and Home, Fleet Farm, or Tractor Supply. Other people have told me the same thing, unsolicited.

It’s working man cosplay.

He should just be himself.

In the Substack live conversation I had with Zachary Oren Smith, we discussed Wahls portraying himself as the “outsider” candidate, willing to take on the establishment of both parties. One critique Wahls has of his opponent, Josh Turek, is that he is apparently U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s chosen candidate, although Schumer hasn’t formally endorsed him.

In our Substack live conversation, I challenged Wahls on a couple of points. Wahls needs to answer if he met with Schumer or his staff for possible support, and if his critique of Turek is sour grapes. During the press gaggle after the event on Wednesday night, Laura Belin with Bleeding Heartland asked him directly, and Wahls waffled, saying something like, “Well, I’ve met with lots of people.”

He needs to answer Laura—yes or no. His non-answer implies he did meet with Schumer or his associates, and he’s hiding it from us. Again, just say yes or no.

Dave Price with Gray Television, Kathie Obradovich with the Iowa Capital Dispatch, and Laura Belin on Iowa Down Ballot, have a good take on Schumer’s apparent support of Turek—that it only means that Schumer sees Turek as more likely to defeat Ashley Hinson.

While Wahls understandably doesn’t like it, in the general scheme of things, isn’t that a good thing? For Schumer to support the candidate most likely to beat Hinson? Turek?

Kopsa agrees below, as Wahls is clearly Hinson’s preferred opposition.

I also challenged Wahls’ narrative that he took on his own party after being ousted from a leadership position in 2023.

He was unanimously ousted from leadership by his peers, yet his saying that he took on/challenged his own party is a central part of his campaign messaging. The truth is, he was dismissed by his caucus. Repudiated. Unanimously.

Where most of us would be embarrassed, or even ashamed, he wears it as a badge of honor—a major leap from reality.

Right now, he’s a master of spin and evasion, and acting like someone he’s not. Or, perhaps unfortunately, does he actually believe what he’s saying?

My God, I hope not. I’d rather believe that he’s been duped by some well-paid beltway consultant who has never been to Iowa.

From here, and less than three years after being ousted from a leadership position in the Iowa Senate, he expects Iowa Democrats to let him apparently fail upward into the U.S. Senate?

By misleading us? Or living in an alternative universe?

Why not say something like, “Hey, I was young, new at the job, made some mistakes, but learned from them. I’m ready for leadership now, and am ready to serve in the U.S. Senate, in part because I learned from my mistakes.”

That would be a real badge of honor. We all make mistakes, and people, in general, are forgiving if we fess up.

While I have lots more to say, that’s enough for now.

No wait, one more thing.

Wahls’ criticism of Turek taking PAC money from VoteVets is a red herring. Many Democratic members of Congress who are veterans have received support and endorsements from the group, including Senators Tammy Duckworth, Mark Kelly, and Reuben Gallego, among others. Check out the full list here. These are leaders we desperately need. Criticism of VoteVets is a destructive narrative that only helps MAGA. And in this race, Hinson.

I don’t understand why the campaign thinks criticizing Turek over the VoteVets endorsement could be a winning issue. Trashing a PAC that helps elect progressive Democrats who are veterans to office is pure dumbassery.

I was walking out of the Wahls/Turek event Wednesday night with a journalist friend. He said something like, “If anyone deserves VoteVets’ money, it’s Josh Turek.”

Turek’s spina bifida was caused by his Dad’s exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam.

Before we get to Kopsa’s comments, let me say here that I will support whoever the Democratic nominee is, with every step and every breath.

I know that Zach will be understandably pissed at me about this column. His campaign will be pissed, his family will be pissed, and his supporters as well.

I can live with that. The decision to obscure the truth behind constant spin was made by Zach and his campaign, not me. As we swim in a river of MAGA lies, we need truth and clarity from Democrats, not spin.

And nothing here was done with malice.

We have a historic opportunity to elect an Iowa Democrat to the Senate. We have to defeat Ashley Hinson and regain the Senate. And Iowans can help do that.

If Zach Wahls can’t honestly answer the questions or deal with the issues raised here before the primary, and he is the eventual nominee, he will certainly be called out on these issues and more by Ashley Hinson, and she will use his weak and contrived responses to rain all hell down on him in the general.

The time to deal with it is now.

Believe it or not, this column is a gift, should the campaign choose to see it as such.

Andy Kopsa watched our conversation and commented on Zachary Oren Smith’s and my take on Substack live. As I said above, Andy’s work has been featured in the New York Times, The Nation, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Foreign Policy, and others. Below is that comment, shared here with her permission.

Buckle up.

Kopsa’s comments are unedited. Any editing would reduce the power of her writing. Annotations in italics are mine. Here we go.

By Andy Kopsa

I’m glad to see this intergenerational confab post whatever happened in DSM with Turek and Wahls. And thank the good people of Iowa on the ground doing the Lort’s work reporting in a news desert.

I want to preface this screed by saying it’s the hypocrisy. Wahls is the Hakeem Jeffries of this contest. The lies of omission, the covering up for serious charges behind closed doors. I hope that the press in Iowa starts asking deeper questions, pushing for actual answers to some deeply concerning issues. Wahls, Turek, Hinson - whoever. But this glossing over of the issues as some kind of much ado about nothing is either stupidity or willful ignorance.

Let’s just rip the band-aid off, people. It’s the $250K from FTX (a now bankrupt criminal cryptocurrency exchange) crypto-bros that the IDP (Iowa Democratic Party) is now on the hook for, received under Wahls leadership tenure, that is the elephant in the room. It wasn’t just his firing people off the cuff, people - it was his refusal to even talk about the mechanism for repayment of that money - and apparently, he didn’t tell his colleagues about it until they got a notice from SDNY.

(Note: Tom Barton’s reporting for the Gazette, first on January 29, 2026, and recently updated on April 11, provides background on the FTX crimes and donations)

First-class tickets are the low-hanging fruit here. And it isn’t funny. It’s deeply unnerving that the Wahls camp think it is just angry old people shaking their fists at the sky.

Iowans: When was the last time you flew first class? Actually, when was the last time you could afford to fly?

It’s that he facilitated the receipt, was the leader, and was accountable for one of the largest single donations from FTX I’ve found to a Democratic party. Not via some PAC - directly to SMF (Senate Majority Fund).

Then, he flew on out to the bowels of Silicon Valley the month after the massive FTX donation (I guess because the line item in his expense report for Delta for over $2K doesn’t have a destination - and he also bought flight insurance? The only time I’ve done that is when I’ve bought an expensive - economy - ticket to the Czech Republic or other foreign land, then proceeded to berate - throw a straight up hissy fit - and refused to take accountability for the money the IDP has to pay back.

The text thread to his senate colleagues? Hot crap, it is bad. I may share that at some point when it is redacted. But let me tell you - when I became aware of it and started talking to my Iowa peeps (former IA Dem electeds, officials) about it, the IDP leadership (including Rita Hart) wanted to talk to me about the issue. It felt like they were running cover for Wahls, which, if so, is just another sign the Dems need to get it together and stand for something.

I watched Laura Belin’s interview with Wahls from last year (I think), and she asked him about crypto bro money. He actually said that the Iowa Democrats were like, oh so many others around the country - victims of some FTX plot to just seed the country with all their dirty crypto bucks. You know what leaders do? They do what Beto O’Rourke did. He grew a pair of ovaries, said he got that grody dirty money - and then made sure it was returned.

Ask Ro Khanna why he isn’t backing Wahls. I’ve no idea why HRH Senator Elizabeth Warren is supporting Wahls? Probably because he backed her in her run. Who didn’t? I love that lady. I cannot imagine what she would think about his decidedly un-Warren-like comportment as steward of IDP’s money during his tenure.

If it were me and I had a net worth of over a million bucks, I sure as hell wouldn’t be trying to run as some sort of progressive who can empathise with, say, Iowa farmers - who are probably going to start jumping off barns, soon (like the farm crisis when friends of my dad committed suicide because they were losing generational farms) - AND then draw a salary from my campaign fund (while being worth over a million bucks).

Also, standing on a family farm does not a farmer make…..

That ain’t prairie populism folks - it just ain’t. It’s gross, but it is - from my years knowing Wahls, then offending and getting blocked by him (after I grilled him about elevating a man who had to drop out of the gubernatorial race because he was accused - very, very credibly - of being a sex pest).

Look it up - Wahls is drawing a salary. Just because it is allowed doesn’t mean you should. If there was a need-based reason - like Wahls had the wolf at the door, then sure. But this is just who he proves himself to be over and over and over again.

I’ve spoken to friends in Iowa - from that blue precious bubble in Iowa City (where my cousin works for county government, and my aunt and uncle struggle to get by) - who are so viscerally opposed to Turek it is stunning.

Why? I ask. Because he missed several abortion votes - and critically - the 6-week abortion ban. I was like, " Nope, not today, Satan. That is a deal breaker in my book. I actually thought - Jesus wept, is Turek trying to do a Fetterman?

Then I started poking around. You know why he missed that vote? Because he had a UTI. I was like - suck it up, buttercup (as a lady UTIs -amiright? But you see, it is way more nuanced than that.

One of the leading causes of death in people like Turek with spina bifida are UTIs. Fun side note: my Grandma had spina bifida (first surgery at 10 months old - just confirmed with an older cousin from Marshalltown right now). Then, when she was preggers with my dad, she had to make a choice: get your leg chopped off or lose your child.

Welp - lucky for all of us, she was like sure take the leg (she had a wooden calf - and as an eastern European ghoul - I tried to get after she passed to her heavenly reward. I settled for the gallstones she of course kept). And they did, on the farm, where dad was born, in the farmhouse I grew up in - in the middle of absolutely nowhere, 4 channels and existential dread over the threat of Soviet Invasion a la Red Dawn.

Which brings me back to the abortion thing (choices you know). I was able to find - without much effort - a statement Turek issued after that vote - apologizing to his constituents for missing the vote due to illness.

I relayed this to some lady friends who are ballstotheWahls for Zach - and the response I got smelled of maga-esque fielty - ‘well, there are rumors that wasn’t true, and he missed other votes, too.’ Just vibes and inability to consider what may have actually happened. Turek should answer for that - certainly. But cripes, people get a grip.

Oh, did I mention this was that crazy one-day BS maneuver the Iowa GOP did when everyone was on summer vacation? A vote that a metric ton of people missed? Democrats and Republicans.

If all Wahls has is that sticking point - and they are lying about it?

Look, it’s going to be hard as hell for any democrat in Iowa to win. Period. But the way Hinson is absolutely salivating over facing Wahls (and my god, the support he has among the Iowa GOP?) says she is scared of Turek as a candidate.

A few years back, I was talking to a couple of women of color who attended a young dems leadership summit with Wahls. The resounding theme? He’s not in Iowa for the long haul. And - get this - he was basically copying notes off the ladies ideas (because apparently the guy can’t craft a leadership plan by his own damn self).

Thank you for attending my ted talk. I look forward to a screaming call from his campaign manager (as they are want to do when any Democrat steps out of line - ask around, they will tell you behind the scenes.) My number is 867-5309.

You have to be a certain age to get that.

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I’m a proud member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please check out our work here. I also publish Cedar Creek Nature Notes, about Violet the Dog and my adventures on our morning walks at Cedar Bluffs Natural Area in Mahaska County, Iowa.

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