Do we take steps to reverse the tide or continue to watch our kids leave Iowa?

Lack of bodily autonomy, book bans, discrimination cited in Iowa's brain drain

“Flying away” photo by Rekha Basu

“What's driving Iowa's brain drain?” asked a front-page headline in last Sunday’s Des Moines Register. The story stemmed from an Iowa Workforce Development survey showing an 11 % increase over 2008 in Iowa college graduates planning to leave the state. Thirty eight percent now say they’re heading out.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/education/2024/08/30/a-peek-into-iowas-brain-drain-whats-driving-leave-or-stay-decisions-iowa-workforce/74967898007/

Is that really a surprise?

We always knew some inherent shortcomings would lure young people away: Brutal winters, scorching summers and no mountains or oceans within our borders to escape to. We used to shrug those off and remember we can live urban lives within minutes of farm country, lakes and bike trails.

We knew jobs here pay less: Median annual salaries of $55,000 for college grads compared to a national average of $62,286. But there were tradeoffs: Iowa had a lower cost of living and our kids could get top-notch educations in Iowa’s public schools and universities.

We knew we lacked the diversity of most of America but rationalized that those years between graduating and settling down into careers and families were ones to  experience the richness of the world outside this protective cocoon. When they returned, the next generation would be welcomed back to a live-and-let-live attitude and an exceptional sense of community. Essentially, you could craft the kind of life you chose in Iowa.

But those shortfalls aren’t the only reasons given by some of members of the current exodus. Today you hear more about a shift away from the Iowa values that once defined the state and its laws and policies, the values that drew me here from New York in the early ‘90s.

These ones are man- (and woman)-made.

One young woman the story quoted called Iowa “an amazing place to raise a family,” but noted the encroachment on “rights to our bodies,” and other changes under Gov. Kim Reynolds. She asked, “Do we want to stay in a state like this?"

Another young woman, a student at Columbia University in New York, wrote in a piece in a Cedar Rapids Gazette, “It doesn’t take long living outside of Iowa to recognize the benefits of being supported, rather than suppressed, by a government. I no longer fear the impending doom of book bans, low educational funding, restrictions to my bodily autonomy, or threats against my freedom to identify however I prefer without discrimination."

Another, a junior biology major of color, told The Register she sees a lot of racial discrimination here and will leave.

The tough truth is that Iowa strengths that have kept many of us here are crumbling. Iowa used to be an amazing place to raise a family. But public schools are being de-funded, with public dollars transferred to private, mostly religious schools that teach from morally judgmental points of view.

Family friendly? Good luck finding a hospital to deliver your baby in some parts of the state, where maternity wings are closing because they can’t find the ob-gyns to staff them. The state’s new 6-week abortion ban plays a role in that. Many doctors are fearful of having their hands tied in crisis situations.

The ban also cuts access to fertility treatments.

Family values? Our governor turns away federal funds to feed  poor children. Our state Supreme Court  requires abused children to be stared down by their abusers in court in order to testify against them. Our lawmakers cater to agribusiness at the expense of clean air, soil and water so you can’t even take your kids to some Iowa beaches in summer.

And the political indoctrination that comes with school book-bans and prohibitions against classroom teachings on gender identity or sexual orientation is chilling intellectual freedom. Five of America’s biggest book publishers are joining a lawsuit launched by four authors and the Iowa State Education Association, among other groups,  over violations of free speech.

Colleges or universities that get state funding are barred from teaching critical race theory or hiring staff on diversity, equity and inclusion. And we’ve seen the spillover effect in even private workplaces like John Deere.

I love Iowa. It’s been my home for 33 years. I have cherished friends and loved ones in this state. But I get the brain drain, because I often ask myself if I still belong here. Aspects of life that made Iowa great – its spirit of engagement and intellectual curiosity are two – are being stripped away in ways that could eventually be hard to recover from.

But in two months, we’ll have a chance to vote out some of the majority-party leaders  who have pushed or enabled some of these horrific encroachments on our freedoms, civil rights and educational opportunities. We can send a strong message with our votes Nov. 5 that could start a tidal shift.

If nothing else, let’s do it for the next generation.

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