ITR Live: Iowa Politics and Conservative Policy

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library — Dr. Pepper Zero firmly in hand — for a wide-ranging episode covering American patriotism, election integrity, faith in politics, and Iowa voter registration trends. The episode opens with a reflection on America's 250th birthday. Chris wanted more. The fireworks, the parades, the national moment — it didn't feel commensurate...

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library for a special episode: the first public look at the ITR Foundation's June 2026 general election poll. These are, as far as Chris knows, the first published numbers of the cycle on Iowa's major statewide races — and the results are worth paying attention to. The poll covers the generic ballot, issue priorities, candidate...

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library for a week-in-review episode — Chris flying without his Dr. Pepper Zero. Trivia wraps last week's Smoot-Hawley question and a new one goes out just in time for Independence Day: what president was born on July 4th? The episode opens on the Ian Roberts saga — the KCCI interview, the body cam arrest footage, and the stubborn cont...

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library with a packed episode covering Iowa's fast-moving post-primary political landscape. Both gubernatorial candidates have now selected their running mates: Rob Sand tapped Dave Muhlbauer, a farmer from western Iowa, while Zach Lahn chose State Representative Derek Wulf of Black Hawk County, also a farmer. Chris and John break down...

The Iowa primary is in the books, and Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library to break it all down. The headliner on the Republican side was the governor's race, where Zach Lahn edged out Congressman Randy Feenstra 38% to 37.2% — a razor-thin margin that nonetheless produced a clear nominee. Chris and John unpack what drove Lahn's late momentum, why Feenstra...

Governor Reynolds signed the property tax bill into law, and Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are here to put a bow on it. The 2% revenue cap takes effect July 1st, with estimates putting the relief at $4 billion over six years. The response from local governments has ranged from genuine concern to full-blown hysteria — pools, libraries, trails, economic development, and public safety all report...

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...

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson are back in the Hendrickson Library with a construction update and a timely speed limit tangent that turns into a teachable moment. The legislature just passed a bill raising Iowa's rural speed limit from 55 to 60 — a bill Chris introduced in 2020 and couldn't get out of subcommittee, partly citing the first line of a Sammy Hagar song. The fiscal note on...

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...

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 Policy Director Dr. 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 igno...

Six years ago this week, the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic — and within days, America shut down. Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson mark the anniversary with a candid conversation about why the biggest policy event of a generation has been largely memory-holed, and why that's dangerous. Iowa, under Governor Kim Reynolds, was among the best-managed states in the country — but the nati...

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 R...

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 Financ...

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...

Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson kick off a Presidents’ Day episode from the Hendrickson Library with a quick reset on the show’s running trivia thread—last week’s question on FDR’s failed 1937 “court-packing” push—and a new prompt for listeners: who was Abraham Lincoln’s political hero? They also trade a few studio-quality-of-life notes (and Chris’s ongoing desire for better signage) before mov...

Chris Hagenow is joined in-studio by returning guest Alan Ostergren for a wide-ranging episode that quickly locks onto the political backdrop shaping Iowa’s 2026 cycle: money, organization, and the reality that statewide races are now fought on presidential-scale budgets and media saturation. They break down the latest Iowa campaign finance reports and what the numbers actually signal—especially o...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson break down the first full week of the 2026 Iowa legislative session, with a sharp focus on property taxes, government spending, and the tone being set by legislative leadership. After years of debate, property taxes are unmistakably front and center—across party lines—marking what could be a pivotal session for Iowa taxpayers. The hos...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson return as the Iowa Legislature prepares to convene, with property taxes once again emerging as the central issue of the upcoming session. The conversation reflects growing bipartisan recognition that unchecked local government spending is driving tax increases and that meaningful reform must focus on structural restraint rather than s...

In this episode of ITR Live , Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson provide straight talk on Iowa’s economic conditions , cutting through political messaging to focus on what the numbers actually show. With the latest Revenue Estimating Conference in the books, the hosts explain why Iowa’s fiscal position remains strong—but why that strength should not be misinterpreted as a green light for higher sp...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson look ahead to the coming Iowa legislative session, where property taxes are already shaping up as the dominant issue. As lawmakers, interest groups, and local officials ramp up pre-session conversations, the hosts break down what’s being discussed publicly—and what still lacks concrete detail. While nearly everyone agrees property tax...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson dig into a set of issues that will shape Iowa’s upcoming legislative session — from Des Moines’ $7 million subsidy for a new soccer stadium to a stunning $1 billion fraud scandal unfolding in Minnesota’s state-administered social programs. The episode begins with lighter winter banter and trivia, but quickly turns toward major policy...

In this episode of ITR Live , Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson tackle a theme that is becoming impossible to ignore in Iowa: local and state government continue spending aggressively while taxpayers are told to “tighten their belts.” Using several real-world examples straight from recent headlines, the hosts walk through how cities, counties, and state agencies keep subsidizing private developme...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and John Hendrickson cover everything from the latest developments in the 2026 Iowa governor’s race to the broader political shifts shaping both Iowa and national politics. With new candidates entering the race and familiar names making their bids official, the hosts analyze how the field is taking shape and what it means for Republican voters. The conver...

In this episode of ITR Live, Chris Hagenow and Sarah Curry break down the results of Iowa’s November local elections, where billions in local debt and dozens of bond measures were on the line. From record-breaking approval totals in Des Moines to a wave of rejections across rural Iowa, the results reveal a complex picture of how taxpayers view government spending at the local level. Sarah shares h...