Sand and Lahn posture for independents. Not-so-golden arches. Education concerns. And the ‘most passive aggressive’ road in Des Moines.

7/1/2026

The nominees for Iowa’s Governor’s race are officially locked up by State Auditor Rob Sand and businessman and farmer Zach Lahn. Meanwhile, their lieutenant governor picks — Crawford County Supervisor Dave Muhlbauer for Sand and Iowa Representative Derek Wulf for Lahn — have been donning cowboy hats and spurring each other across social media and in TV advertising. Seriously. 

Since Randy Feenstra’s campaign focusing on Lahn’s history of investing in “pornographic products” failed to gain traction, Sand and his campaign are taking a different approach. This time, the attempt is to point out the ties between Lahn and Kansas. Lahn co-founded a private school in Kansas in 2018 and voted in Kansas elections in 2018, 2020 and 2022. He changed his voter registration to Iowa in 2024. The Sioux City Journal said Lahn voted in Iowa elections in 2014, 2016, 2024, 2025 and 2026. It was also reported that Lahn flew in his personal airplane to Kansas 37 times since October 2025. Sand was quick to note Lahn’s Kansas ties on the night of his democratic primary win. Sand has since added, “He said if elected governor, he’ll change his living situation to be in Iowa as much as humanely possible.” 

Lahn has been clapping back on X.com regularly. In one post, he stated, “Rob thinks every illegal deserves a place in Iowa. But our family isn’t enough for him?” A leaked audio recording showed Sand speaking about the merit-based judicial system, saying Republicans have weakened it to make it more political, and that he wants to reverse those changes but not before his first term as governor ends. “These are not the words of a unifying moderate. This is the mindset of an Ivy Leaguer that thinks he’s better than you,” Lahn posted. 

Although Lahn bemoaned Sand’s quick jump to prod at Lahn’s Iowa roots, it appears he simply wanted to wait a week or so before joining in. Where it appears the two agree (or at least how they both want — and need — to attract independents) is their shared disdain for the two-party — or uniparty — system. Sand’s campaign slogan since the jump has been “not redder or bluer, but better and truer,” opting for green and orange colors. Lahn has been criticizing the “uniparty” politics and also opted for green colors to promote his campaign. …

According to a recent study from Restaurant Furniture based on 8.7 million customer reviews, Iowa has the 13th-lowest rated McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. In Iowa, based on 84,144 reviews, our golden arches average ranking sits at 3.33. Of those, Davenport shines with the best average rating in Iowa at 3.52. Roswell, New Mexico, ranks the highest at 3.97, which is clearly due to alien manipulation. The lowest rating belongs to Auburn, Alabama, at 2.86. …

This is a better ranking for Iowans. KIDS Count Data Book ranks Iowa 10th for overall child well-being. This is a drop from last year’s ninth-place ranking. The reason for the decline is because of education, where Iowa has fallen below the national average. Nearly 75% of eighth graders fell below proficiency in math, and nearly 75% of fourth graders fell below proficiency in reading.

Almost every state has seen declines in education outcomes since 2019, but Iowa’s have been notably bad. Iowa now ranks 26th in preschool participation, 32nd in fourth-grade reading, 24th in eighth-grade math and 26th in high school graduation rate. Iowa’s ranking was spared from the bottom due to high composite scores in overall well-being (813) and family and community (732). The education score is 394. …

Here is some good news for Iowans. According to Everway, a company that provides solutions for neuroinclusion through its assistive technology software, Iowa ranks eighth in the nation for disability-inclusive employment. The report states that 54.7% of people with disabilities in Iowa are currently in work. South Dakota ranked first with 61.5%, Nebraska at 58.7%, Colorado at 57.8%, Utah at 57.5% and Minnesota at 55.5% rounded out the top five. The bottom five were all southern states, with West Virginia at the lowest with 36.4%. …

The Minnesota Star-Tribune, a media organization covering the Twin Cities, reported that the newspaper may soon become owned by a nonprofit. The privately owned company is not required to make financial disclosures, but it reportedly has about 170,000 subscribers, which includes nearly 110,000 on digital platforms. This number dwarfs The Des Moines Register, which we recently reported as having 26,235 subscribers for the Sunday Register and 20,039 for the Monday through Friday average between print and digital. …

The Des Moines Area Association of Realtors released its May 2026 housing statistics. The number of available homes rose by 4.7% to 4,130; home sales increased by 2.3% to 1,435; the median sale price went up 2% to $306,000; and days on the market increased by 8.2% to 66 days. As for homes that were financed, 1,005 were conventional, 204 were with cash, and 117 were by FHA loans. …

University Avenue drivers who have felt particularly perturbed by their commute have had their feelings validated by American River Wellness, self-described Substance Abuse Professionals. The company might be in line for some new customers if people keep driving on the road that they say is Des Moines’ most passive aggressive. The traffic issues may not send drivers into full-blown road rage, but those who refuse to let people merge, those who close gaps, those who block intersections and those who sit in the passing lane do cause enough frustrations to make this road the top of the list in the metro.  

University Avenue, which spans Des Moines and West Des Moines, was ranked the 60th most passive-aggressive road nationwide, with the report stating, “It has a way of turning simple cross-town driving into a slow contest over who gets to keep their place. It is polite Midwestern stubbornness with a blinker on.” …

Heading toward the end of her tenure as Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds signed Executive Order 19, establishing the Office of Outdoor Recreation. Not to be confused with Darth Sidious’ Order 66, this office will be an extension of the Iowa Tourism Office, a division of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. Reynolds said that outdoor recreation contributes nearly $6 billion annually to Iowa’s economy and supports nearly 50,000 jobs. She says the executive order will aim to support, enhance and expand Iowa’s outdoor recreation sector while also creating a centralized structure for public and private stakeholders that actively invest in outdoor recreation. This makes Iowa the 25th state to establish an outdoor recreation office. No Jedi were harmed in the creation of this office. ♦