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Happy Wednesday. After a brief intermission, I’m Zachary Oren Smith, and I’m happy to be back. Welcome back to Cornhole Champions.
The Friday News Dump is an Iowa classic. Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she wouldn’t run for reelection on a Friday. It was also a Friday when she signed a bill kicking trans people out of the Iowa Civil Rights Act. And last Friday, when most of us were clearing our inboxes, ready to hit the power button, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced she was squashing the beef she and the governor stirred up in Winneshike County.
In this edition, I’ll walk you through why Bird was going after local law enforcement. I’ll get into the bipartisan pushback that sent her packing without the apology she demanded.
Kenny tells us to know when to hold ‘em. A statewide Republican telling a judge to defund the police might be as good a time to fold as any.
But first…
Cancer rates under a microscope - This week, Iowa Starting Line debuted “The Hot Spot: Investigating Cancer in Iowa.” This series will examine why Iowa has the second-highest cancer rate in the US and is the only state where cancer rates are rising. The investigation will explore environmental factors from radon exposure—affecting three out of four Iowa homes—to nitrate contamination in thousands of wells and heavy pesticide use. The series promises to examine policy failures, healthcare gaps, and spotlight potential solutions while centering the human stories behind the statistics.
Static from congress - All four of Iowa's Republican House members and both of its senators voted last week to slash funding for Iowa PBS and Iowa Public Radio. The rescission bill removes $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which amounts to an 18% budget cut to Iowa PBS and a 10% cut to Iowa Public Radio. US Rep. Ashley Hinson celebrated stopping funding for what she called "left-wing propaganda at NPR and PBS," while US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks praised the elimination of "waste, fraud and abuse." The cuts affect roughly 280 member stations nationwide, with rural and smaller stations facing the biggest impact.
Q2 cash catchup - Every quarter, we get a look at federal races: what they raise, what they spend, what they have on hand. Last week, the second quarter numbers dropped. That covers April 1 through June 30. Here are some things I’m seeing:
Republican incumbents put up the most. The biggest winner was for Iowa’s 1st Congressional District’s Miller-Meeks (R-inc), who pulled in $1.3 million. She also ended the quarter with $2.1 million on hand, a sizable war chest for a competitive race. Her Republican primary challenger David Pautsch raised only $9,000. However, he didn’t raise a lot of money in 2022 and still pulled 44% of the vote. Miller-Meeks will likely face off in the 2026 general election against Democrat Christina Bohannan, who raised $773,000.
In the U.S. Senate race, newcomer Nathan Sage shocked political observers by outraising the entire field with $709,000—coming within spitting distance of incumbent US Sen. Joni Ernst’s $720,000. Sage is spending a lot, but he’s also in a primary with some big names. State Senator Zach Wahls raised $657,000 in just two and a half weeks after launching his campaign, while state Sen. J.D. Scholten brought in $176,000 from all 99 counties. Check the bottom of the letter for these raised/spent/on hand numbers for each of these races.
Check the bottom of the letter for all the numbers for the races.
And now, AG Bird and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day…
AG Bird drops suit to defund Winneshiek Sheriff
The Iowa Attorney General is dropping her lawsuit against the Winneshiek County Sheriff over a social media post. Bird says the county is in “full compliance,” though she never got the apology she attempted to compel from the sheriff.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird quietly dismissed her high-profile lawsuit against Winneshiek County Sheriff Dan Marx. In a release from last Friday’s news dump, she said the county “now fully complies” with state immigration law.
“Given that Winneshiek County has now fully complied with 27A, the state law prohibiting sanctuary cities and counties from receiving taxpayer funds, the state is dismissing the lawsuit to enforce 27A,” said Attorney General Bird. “Winneshiek County and Sheriff Marx are in compliance with 27A. They have committed to continue to honor ICE detainers and cooperate with federal immigration authorities.”
Bird’s announcement offered no details about what Marx did to suddenly satisfy her office, marking an abrupt end to a months-long legal battle that threatened to strip the rural county of all state funding.
Iowa Starting Line asked Bird’s office to elaborate on what had changed since Gov. Kim Reynolds’ complaint kicked off Bird’s lawsuit. A spokesperson replied, “The AG’s office has no further comment.”
The dispute started in February when Marx posted on Facebook that his deputies wouldn’t help federal immigration agents with requests he considered unconstitutional. Marx argued that ICE detainer requests — which ask local jails to hold people for up to 48 hours without warrants — violated Fourth and Sixth Amendment protections.
After Reynolds complained, Bird launched an investigation and sued Marx in March, demanding he comply with Iowa’s “sanctuary county” law. But the case took a strange turn when Bird’s office found Marx was actually following the law and honoring ICE detainers all along. The Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office deleted the original post.
READ – The full text of Sheriff Dan Marx’s Facebook post about immigration detainers can be read here.
Despite removing the post, Bird continued the lawsuit because Marx refused to post an apology that her office had written for him.
Winneshiek County Republican Party Co-Chair Thomas Hansen told Iowa Starting Line that he believed the lawsuit was state government overarching locals.
“I think it’s an attempt to take away the last vestige of some of the protections that ‘We the people’ have in having an elected sheriff that is beholden to nobody but us,” Hansen said. “If he goes out breaking the law, he gets prosecuted like everybody else. But when it comes to protecting our constitutional rights and liberties, the county sheriffs are kind of a wall between ‘We the people’ and an overbearing government.”
WATCH – Hansen shared his thoughts on Bird’s lawsuit on Cornhole Champions.
The standoff sparked rare bipartisan support for Marx in his home county. KGAN reported about 100 residents picketed Bird’s visit to Decorah on Monday, with both Democrats and Republicans backing the sheriff’s right to free speech.
In his statement Friday, Marx said he explained to Bird that “it was never my intent to discourage immigration enforcement” and that his office “will continue to comply with Iowa code section 27A.”
Iowa Code Section 27A is the state’s “sanctuary county” law that prohibits local governments from receiving state funding if they discourage cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The law specifically bars counties from enacting policies that would discourage immigration enforcement.
Marx’s February Facebook post stated his office would “make every effort to block, interfere and interrupt” federal immigration actions if agents used what he considered unconstitutional paperwork instead of proper warrants. Bird argued this language discouraged immigration enforcement, making Winneshiek County ineligible for state funding under 27A.
However, Bird’s own investigation found that Marx was actually honoring ICE detainers and cooperating with federal authorities in practice—suggesting the violation was about the messaging in his post, not his actual enforcement policies.
Question for you
This week I'm thinking about what it means to pick your battles—and what happens when you pick the wrong one. My name loosely translates to “guy dies that picks weird hills to die on.” So I am familiar with the impulse.
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you started a fight or took a strong stand, only to realize later that you were wrong? Maybe at work, with family, or in your community? How did you handle backing down? Did you apologize, quietly retreat, or double down? What did you learn about knowing when to walk away?
Write me back with your thoughts. I might feature your response in this Friday’s edition.
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Cornhole Champions is a weekly podcast powered by Iowa Starting Line. It’s produced by me and edited by Rebecca Steinberg—who is absolutely crushing her first week with us. Our music is by Avery Mossman and show art by Desirée Tapia. We are a proud member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative.
Your friendly neighborhood reporter,
Zachary Oren Smith
Political correspondent
Iowa Starting Line
2025 Q2 numbers for Iowa’s federal races
US Senate:
US Sen. Joni Ernst (R - incumbent) - $720,000 raised. $344,000 spent. $3.4 million on hand.
Nathan Sage (D) - $709,000 raised. $375,000 spent. $334,000 on hand.
State Sen. Zach Wahls (D) - $657,000 raised; $30,000 spent. $626,000 on hand.
State Sen. J.D. Scholten (D) - $176,000 raised. $19,000 spent. $157,000 on hand.
Jim Carlin - R - $8,000 raised. $84,000 spent. $1,000 on hand. (NOTE - $78,000 spent was from his personal money.)
Iowa’s 1st Congressional District:
US Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R - incumbent) - $1.3 million raised. $280,000 spent. $2.1 million on hand.
Christina Bohannan (D) - $773,000 raised. $60,000 spent. $820,000 on hand.
David Pautsch (R) - $9,000 raised. $10,000 spent. $13,000 on hand.
Bob Krause (D) - Did not file
Travis Terrell (D) - Did not file
Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District:
US Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-inc) - $854,000 raised. $256,000 spent. $2.8 million on hand.
Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District:
US Rep. Zach Nunn (R-incumbent) - $798,000 raised. $192,000 spent. $1.3 million on hand.
State Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott (D) - $519,000 raised. $143,000 spent. $377,000 on hand.
State Rep. Jennifer Konfrst (D) - $251,000 raised. $81,000 spent. $170,000 on hand.
Iowa’s 4th Congressional District:
US Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-inc) - $69,000 raised. $233,000 spent. $1.5 million on hand.
Chris McGowan (R) - Did not file
