The Iowa Legislature finally wrapped up Sunday evening after an all-weekend push, and Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are here to make sense of what actually happened. The headline: Iowa passed a meaningful property tax bill built around a 2% revenue limitation — the reform ITR has championed for years. It's not a dramatic overnight cut, but it puts a real ceiling on what local governments can ...
An update on Iowa's property tax bill: The House picked up the Senate file, amended it with their own language, and passed it 64 to 23 — with three Democrats crossing the aisle — sending it back to the Senate. Chris and John walk through the standout moment from the House floor debate: Ways and Means Chairman Carter Nordman's defense of the 2% hard spending cap. His argument is the one that matter...
Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back at the Hendrickson Library for another episode of ITR Live, checking in on Iowa politics as the legislative session heads into its final stretch and the June primary begins to take shape. With 46 days until primary day, the race for governor is heating up — and candidates across the board are hitting the airwaves in chore coats and barn settings, leaning...
Iowa's conservative tax reform story didn't happen by accident — and Governor Kim Reynolds made that crystal clear at the annual ITR/NFIB Tax Day Luncheon in Des Moines. With roughly 200 attendees packing the Hilton downtown, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson recap what the governor had to say about Iowa's decade-long transformation from one of the worst tax climates in the country to one of the ...
Property tax budget hearing statement season is here — and if you flipped that mailer over, stared at confusing percentages, and had no idea what you were looking at, this episode was made for you. Chris Hagenow and ITR Foundation Research Director Sarah Curry break down exactly how to read the statement that arrived in the mail: what to focus on (dollar amounts, not the levy rate), what to ignore...
The Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference released its March forecast this week, and the numbers tell an important story. Iowa's FY2026 general fund revenues are projected at $8.111 billion — down 9.3% from the prior year, with the current year revised down an additional $46 million from December due to federal tax changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The good news: Moody's and Fitch both reaff...
Iowa's 2026 governor's race is already drawing national attention — and this week it got expensive. Randy Feenstra launched a seven-figure statewide TV ad tying Rob Sand to the open borders left and positioning himself as the candidate who will "stand tall" on immigration. Chris Hagenow and ITR Foundation Policy Director John Hendrickson break down what the ad signals about the Republican primary,...
Candidate filing season is underway, and the next few weeks will reveal not just who’s running—but who can’t get on the ballot. Chris and John flag what to watch: retirements, surprise re-runs by incumbents, and especially the volume (and seriousness) of primaries against sitting legislators—potentially on both sides of the carbon capture pipeline issue.They then revisit TIF (Tax Increment Finan...
Sarah Curry returns to the studio to break down the K–12 budget process and why school spending decisions matter for property taxes—especially because, in most places, schools make up the largest share of the property tax bill. The core premise is simple: if “spending drives taxes” is true for cities and counties, it’s true for school districts too, and taxpayers deserve to understand what local b...