What better time than RAGBRAI to take a moment to appreciate Iowa? Let’s take a moment to be grateful we are Iowans, a moment to knowledge our bounty, our beauty, our history, and our “Iowa nice!”

Thousands come from all over the world and for a week a community grows while feasting on sweet corn and pies of all kinds made by local church people. It’s a chance for Iowa to show the country, the world, our best.

It’s a time to reflect on the past, question the present and dream of a future Iowa. Will we continue to watch cancer rates soar? Will we wonder about the education opportunities awaiting or not awaiting our students when summer winds down? Will our graduates continue to call Iowa home, prosper and want to raise future Iowans or will they flee? Will our families be able to afford health care? Will the cost of living continue to spike? Will Iowa jobs be lost or reinvented by AI? Will there be a market for the corn and beans thriving in our summer humidity? Will the price of gas keep us from taking that annual trip to the Iowa State Fair or a trip anywhere, even to an outing of mini golf and ice cream on a warm summer evening? What does our future look like and who will lead us?

Will leadership be honest, fair, compassionate? Will leadership care about making life easier for ALL Iowans or just for themselves and their campaign donors? Will leadership listen and learn from the smallest voices and most disadvantaged among us? Will future leadership embrace and model integrity, decency and “Iowa nice?”

All questions to ask of the community of RAGBRAI riders and the Iowans who host them, as we peddle our values from town to town across our beautiful, bountiful state.