Six candidates for Iowa state offices discussed water quality, immigration, health care, education, workforce development and other issues affecting northwest Iowa during a candidate forum Sept. 30 at Buena Vista University.
The forum, held at 7 p.m. in Room 100 of the Forum, was sponsored by PFLAG of Storm Lake and SALUD. Organizers said the event was intended to bring candidates from different political backgrounds together to listen to one another and discuss issues facing local communities.
Candidates were given equal time to respond to questions, followed by questions submitted by audience members.
The candidates were Iowa State Sen. Lynn Evans, R-District 3; Democratic Iowa Senate candidate Mike Frantz, District 3; Independent Iowa Senate candidate Rachel Gravert, District 5; Republican Iowa House candidate Keith Glienke, District 5; Democratic Iowa House candidate Stephanie Steiner, District 5; and Democratic Iowa Treasurer candidate John Norwood.
Water quality divides candidates
Water quality produced one of the clearest policy disagreements of the evening, particularly over whether Iowa should rely primarily on voluntary conservation programs or consider mandatory requirements.
Frantz argued that nitrate contamination is a serious public health concern and said Iowa should continue monitoring water quality while addressing the causes of nitrate pollution.
He supported conservation practices including cover crops, buffer strips and wetlands restoration. He also said the state should not rule out mandatory measures if voluntary efforts do not adequately address the problem.
Evans emphasized voluntary conservation programs administered through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship. He pointed to practices including cover crops, saturated buffer zones, wetlands restoration and rotational grazing.
Evans said farmers should be encouraged to adopt conservation practices rather than face mandatory requirements.
That position is consistent with Evans’ broader campaign emphasis on rural Iowa, agriculture and property rights. His campaign website also highlights his opposition to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline and his support for limits on eminent domain for private pipelines.
Steiner argued that voluntary efforts have not done enough to reduce nitrate pollution. She supported conservation practices, but said farmers need resources to transition to different agricultural systems.
Glienke, a farmer and former member of the Cherokee County Soil and Water Conservation District Commission, discussed conservation practices on his own farm, including no-till farming, cover crops and strip-till. He said incentives for practices such as nitrogen stabilizers could help farmers reduce nutrient loss.
Gravert said Iowa already knows many of the practices that can improve water quality, but argued that implementing them can be expensive and may reduce farmers’ income. She suggested state assistance for conservation practices and connected the issue to the need to retain young taxpayers and grow Iowa’s population.
Norwood approached water quality through agriculture and economic development. He argued that Iowa needs to diversify its agricultural economy and create markets for crops that can contribute to soil health and reduce dependence on traditional corn and soybean production.
Immigration and workforce needs
The candidates largely agreed that Iowa needs legal immigration to address workforce needs, particularly in agriculture, although they differed over enforcement and pathways to legal status.
Norwood said Iowa needs workers to support its agricultural and broader economy and argued that Congress needs to address what he called a “broken immigration system.” He supported legal immigration, green cards and an expanded guest-worker program. Norwood has described the state treasurer as Iowa’s chief financial officer and has focused his campaign on using state finances to support economic growth.
Steiner said the federal government should make visa processes more efficient and provide a path to permanent citizenship for immigrants who have lived in the United States for decades and contributed to their communities.
Glienke emphasized the importance of immigrant labor to northwest Iowa’s agricultural and business economy.
Evans said he supports legal immigration and wants less burdensome legal pathways while opposing sanctuary policies.
Frantz argued that Iowa benefits when immigrants are able to become workers, taxpayers and permanent members of their communities.
Gravert focused on the impact immigration enforcement can have on employers. She said communities that depend on programs such as J-1 visas could be affected if workers or employers become fearful of immigration enforcement.
Candidates split over LGBTQ issues
The discussion of human rights and LGBTQ issues produced some of the sharpest ideological differences among the candidates.
Glienke focused on transgender participation in women’s sports, arguing that biological differences can create an unfair advantage.
Evans emphasized parental authority and said schools should focus on academic subjects rather than what he described as adult social issues. He argued that separate sports and locker rooms exist because of biological differences rather than animosity toward transgender people.
Steiner argued that recent policies have removed civil rights protections and contributed to fear and bullying among transgender students.
Her campaign’s published platform similarly emphasizes individual rights and civil liberties, stating that Iowans should not face discrimination because of gender or sexual orientation and that government should protect equal treatment under the law.
Frantz framed the issue around equal treatment under the law and said government should not divide people based on identity.
Gravert questioned whether some concerns surrounding LGBTQ issues are supported by evidence. She referenced misinformation about transgender people and schools and argued that lawmakers should distinguish between legitimate concerns and exaggerated or false claims.
Norwood approached the issue from a historical perspective. He said some questions involving transgender athletes could be left to individual sports organizations to establish their own standards rather than being addressed through a single statewide policy.
Rural health care remains a challenge
Candidates also agreed that rural Iowa faces challenges in recruiting and retaining health care professionals, although they proposed different solutions.
Steiner pointed to the challenges facing rural hospitals and obstetric care and called for improved reimbursement and health care funding.
Iowa has a shortage of maternity care in rural areas. According to the March of Dimes’ 2026 Iowa report, 39.4% of Iowa counties are classified as maternity care deserts.
Steiner’s campaign has made rural health care one of its central priorities. Her platform calls for strengthening rural hospitals, supporting health care workers, lowering prescription costs and improving access to care close to home.
Glienke emphasized recruiting medical students with Iowa ties and offering student-loan assistance to physicians who return to rural communities.
Norwood said Iowa needs to consider different models for delivering health care in rural communities while addressing a nationwide shortage of medical professionals.
Gravert argued that health care should not be treated solely as a traditional consumer product and said access to care has become increasingly difficult for some rural residents.
Frantz called for greater incentives to attract medical professionals to Iowa and connected health care access to the state’s broader effort to make communities attractive places to live.
Evans pointed to Buena Vista University’s rural medical education efforts as a model that could be expanded to other small colleges.
Education debate centers on teachers and funding
The 2026 KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks Iowa 27th nationally in education, placing it in the lower half of the states. The ranking incorporates measures including fourth-grade reading, eighth-grade math, high school graduation, and early-childhood education.
Evans highlighted recent education policies involving literacy instruction, mathematics, cell phones and chronic absenteeism, as well as efforts to address disruptive classroom behavior that can affect teacher recruitment. He said he helped secure more than $1.23 billion in K-12 funding since 2017 and highlighted an 11% increase in third-grade reading proficiency.
Frantz argued that educators and librarians, rather than elected officials, should have the greatest influence over education. He criticized book restrictions and opposed using public tax dollars to fund private-school tuition.
Norwood described public schools as foundations of local communities and economies. He argued that Iowa’s school-funding system does not adequately account for differences between growing and declining communities or the cost of educating students with special needs.
Glienke supported greater local control, suggesting education funding could give local school boards more flexibility to determine how money is spent.
Steiner emphasized teacher recruitment, wages, housing, and predictable school funding. She also argued that public money should remain in public schools.
Gravert, who has worked as a high school teacher, said education policy needed to account for how legislation actually affected classrooms.
Audience questions turn to Iowa’s future
During the final portion of the forum, audience members asked candidates about Iowa’s population, wages, youth engagement and how they would balance campaign promises with governing.
One audience question focused on how Iowa could retain young people and address workforce needs. The question referenced Iowa’s outmigration of college-educated young adults.
Candidates connected the issue to wages, immigration, education, health care and economic opportunity.
Frantz connected low wages and the cost of living to young people’s decisions about whether to remain in Iowa. He said he regularly speaks with younger residents while campaigning and mentioned hiring a Buena Vista University student as an intern.
Gravert said Iowa needs to create opportunities that make young people want to remain in the state. She has similarly connected schools, healthcare and economic development in her campaign’s focus on strengthening rural communities.
Steiner said elected officials need to communicate directly with younger residents. She said she would hold town halls at least twice a year and remain accessible through phone, text, and social media.
Evans pointed to public forums, community events, and his involvement with K-12 schools as ways of reaching younger Iowans. Glienke said social media can help candidates reach young people, although he criticized the platform as a “cesspool” for political discussion.
Norwood emphasized the role of each generation in maintaining democracy and pointed to classroom visits and internships as ways for young people to become involved in government.
Candidates differ over minimum wage
Another audience question asked candidates whether Iowa should raise its minimum wage, which remains $7.25 per hour.
Frantz, Gravert, and Steiner supported raising the minimum wage.
Frantz argued that higher wages could help Iowa retain young workers and said the current minimum wage is insufficient for people facing college debt and other living expenses.
Steiner supported beginning at $15 per hour while also addressing broader cost-of-living concerns.
Gravert supported an increase, but acknowledged that higher labor costs could create challenges for small businesses.
Norwood favored allowing local governments to determine minimum wages based on local economic conditions.
Glienke said agricultural employers often already pay well above the minimum wage to attract workers and suggested that wage decisions could be handled locally.
Evans said the market should primarily determine wages and argued that economic-development incentives could help businesses support higher wages.
Candidates discuss accountability and compromise
The audience also asked candidates how they would balance campaign promises with the need to compromise once in office.
Gravert said she would remain committed to her constitutional principles while being willing to compromise on the details of legislation.
Norwood said the treasurer’s office should focus on the state’s finances rather than partisan politics. He said elected officials should listen first and work toward what is financially possible.
Evans pointed to policies he campaigned on, including mental health workforce development, teacher pay, and greater flexibility in school funding. He also cited his opposition to an eminent-domain project as an example of breaking with his own party.
Steiner said elected officials should view themselves as public servants and listen to constituents even when their views differ.
Glienke said his responsibility would be to represent residents of House District 5.
Frantz similarly said elected officials should represent the people who elected them. He described returning a $2 campaign donation after determining that the donor’s values did not align with his own.
The forum concluded with the audience questions. Afterward, attendees were able to meet with and speak to the candidates.