Norwalk Area Democrats

10/18/2026

41 Iowa hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2000, about a third of them, mostly in rural towns. Some Iowa moms now drive an hour or more to give birth.

Jesus sent his followers out with a simple charge: “Heal the sick… Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:8)

Caring for life means caring for moms and babies, too. That includes a hospital close enough to reach and health insurance to cover the care.

Tomorrow, Oct. 19, at 5 p.m. is the last day to request a mailed ballot or pre-register. Early voting is open now through Nov. 2 at the Warren County Auditor’s office, and Iowa has same-day registration if you missed the deadline.

10/17/2026

😬

10/14/2026

Who gets your votes for Warren County Soil and Water Conservation Commissioner (you can vote for two)? What even is this position?

Emily McCauley cares enough about clean water and soil health that she stopped our last monthly meeting asking for our vote. You can learn more about her on her page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61591475343679
and Ballotpedia page:
https://ballotpedia.org/Emily_McCauley_(Warren_County_Soil_and_Water_Conservation_District_Commissioner_Board,_Iowa,_candidate_2026)

Here's a little bit about this nonpartisan unpaid position:
Iowa’s conservation districts are a subdivision of state government, governed by District Commissioners who are elected at the general elections on a nonpartisan basis for four-year terms. The commissioners are unpaid volunteers. A commissioner doesn’t receive compensation for their services but is reimbursed for expenses incurred in carrying out their duties.

Their responsibilities include setting conservation priorities, resolving soil loss complaints, establishing acceptable soil loss limits, publishing annual reports, approving soil conservation plans, and helping manage district funds and personnel. A big part of the practical work is steering cost-share money: commissioners take part in regular monthly meetings, learn the SWCD laws and programs, develop and carry out soil and water resource conservation plans, and help direct financial incentive programs.

Emily McCauley is running for election to the Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District Commissioner Board in Iowa. McCauley is on the ballot in the general election on November 3, 2026.[source]

10/13/2026

Funny, Ashley Hinson sold all of her public stocks and acts as if that’s the only stock she has, when she in fact has over $5 million worth of private stocks.

That stock is still being traded, and that is how she and her family have enriched themselves. It’s insurance stock, and her husband set up a meeting with the insurance agencies as a shadow lobbyist this last year— she ended up voting for policy that enrich them all. So now she’s facing an ethics complaint.

Your half truths have gone on too long.

What else are you hiding?

If Ashley Hinson, wanted to fight for Iowans, she had opportunities to prove it.

Protect children from sexual predators:

You could have joined the bipartisan petition to force a vote on releasing the Epstein files. You refused. Your eventual yes vote doesn’t erase your earlier opposition to efforts to bring those files into public view. Demand accountability for every perpetrator, regardless of wealth, connections, or party.

Feed children:

You could have opposed cuts to food assistance and fought to expand school meals and summer nutrition. Instead, you supported Trump’s spending package that cut SNAP and Medicaid. Hungry children need food. Families need health care.

Stand up for farmers:

You could challenge trade policies that threaten their markets, fight for reliable access to credit and disaster assistance, strengthen conservation programs, and support purchases of locally grown food for schools and food banks. Farmers deserve dependable customers and a fair chance to make a living.

Honor veterans:

You could insist on timely health care, fully staffed VA facilities, mental health treatment, housing, and food security. The spending package you supported removed the special exemption that protected veterans from SNAP’s work requirement time limits. That is an actual consequence behind the patriotic campaign rhetoric.

You could use your office to demand answers, challenge your own party, and put Iowans first—even when it costs you politically.

Protecting children takes more than a scare ad. Supporting farmers takes more than a farm photo. Honoring veterans takes more than waving a flag.

Iowans deserve someone with the backbone to fight for them.

Vote for Josh Turek

10/13/2026

I try not to post “political” things on my school board account, but I’d be derelict in my responsibility to our district if I failed to advocate for Rob Sand for governor. There are many reasons why I believe he is the best choice, but perhaps the most important is his unwavering support for public schools.

While Rob’s children attend public school right here in the Des Moines area, Zach’s children attend private school in Kansas. More importantly, Zach’s most recent job was to create and manage a private school with the Koch family (before leaving the enterprise after his affair with Annie Koch). Zach makes it well known that his intention is to increase the breadth and scope of private school vouchers here in Iowa.

Rob understands that private schools are the right choice for some families and does not want to eliminate ESAs. He only wants to place some guide rails around them to avoid fraud and abuse. He believes that any entity receiving taxpayer dollars should be held accountable through the auditing process. I know how hard our CFO and her team work to earn their A+ accounting rating so that our community can see where their money is going, private schools should have to do the same.

Rob also believes that in order to accept public dollars, private schools should also have to accept the public. Upon application to a private school, many admins send a letter of inquiry to prior public school teachers to see if they have anything “concerning” to report related to behavior, special needs, etc. Allowing this sort of “cherry-picking” will eventually lead to a publicly funded 2-tiered system of severe inequities.

Finally, throughout my 5+ year tenure on the board, the state legislature has continually passed unfunded and poorly constructed mandates that have done nothing to improve the experiences of students and serve only to bog down teachers, administrators and parents with additional unnecessary tasks. We need a governor who will listen to school staff and can provide some needed balance at the state level. That is why my family will support Rob Sand for Governor.

10/13/2026

Hey come out and meet Rory Taylor for Iowa District 22 this Sunday!

10/13/2026

Have a safe harvest season! Thanks for your hard work feeding the world! Too bad about those Trump-Iran War diesel prices!

On this National Farmer's Day, we wish Iowa farmers a continued safe, successful harvest season!

10/11/2026

You can't call yourself pro-family and vote against feeding families. AND you can't call yourself fiscally responsible by giving up $42 million in federal food and health aid, to save $8 million....

10/10/2026

Sinikka Waugh is just 140 followers away from 1,000. Let’s get her there this weekend!

She’s running for Iowa Senate District 11 to protect our land, our water, and our local schools. Following her page is the easiest way to keep up with where she’ll be and what she stands for.

Follow here: https://www.facebook.com/sinikkaforiowa
Then share this post so your neighbors can do the same. If every person who sees this follows and shares once, we’ll blow past it by Monday.