Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers Condition of the State speech

LAW FIRM. KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT TEN STARTS NOW. FOR THE NINTH AND FINAL TIME, GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS, WHO IS NOT RUNNING FOR REELECTION, LAID OUT WHAT SHE WANTS TO ACCOMPLISH DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND HER ANNUAL CONDITION OF THE STATE ADDRESS. FROM PROPERTY TAXES TO CANCER PREVENTION. THE PROPOSAL SHE OUTLINED COULD AFFECT IOWANS ACROSS THE STATE. KCCI CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA RUCKER, IS LIVE AT THE STATEHOUSE WITH WHAT’S AT STAKE AND WHAT COMES NEXT. AMANDA? WELL, STACY AND BEN, THERE WAS A LOT RIDING ON THIS SPEECH. THIS IS GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS FINAL OPPORTUNITY TO GET HER PRIORITIES PASSED BEFORE SHE LEAVES OFFICE. AND AS EXPECTED, SHE RELEASED HER PROPERTY TAX PLAN. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF PIECES TO THAT. BUT SHE ALSO HAS LOTS OF OTHER PROPOSALS THAT REACH FAR BEYOND TAXES AND INTO OTHER AREAS OF EVERYDAY LIFE. FOR IOWANS. GOVERNOR KIM REYNOLDS WALKED INTO THE CHAMBER WITHOUT A REELECTION CAMPAIGN AHEAD OF HER, BUT WITH A LONG TO DO LIST FOR STATE LAWMAKERS AT THE TOP OF HER LIST, PROPERTY TAXES, IT’S A TOP PRIORITY FOR IOWA REPUBLICANS ACROSS THE BOARD THIS YEAR, PROPERTY TAXES ARE RISING FASTER THAN INFLATION, FASTER THAN PAYCHECKS, AND FASTER THAN POPULATION GROWTH. IN FACT, OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS, THEY’VE GONE UP MORE THAN 10%. AND THAT’S NOT ACCEPTABLE. UNDER REYNOLDS NEW PLAN, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO RAISE REVENUE BY MORE THAN 2% A YEAR, AND PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENTS WOULD HAPPEN LESS OFTEN EVERY THREE YEARS INSTEAD OF TWO. SHE’S ALSO PROPOSING A PROPERTY TAX FREEZE FOR HOMEOWNERS 65 AND OLDER. NO ONE SHOULD BE TAXED OUT OF THEIR OWN FRONT DOOR, REYNOLDS SAYS. THIS WILL SAVE TAXPAYERS $3 BILLION OVER THE NEXT SIX YEARS. BUT THAT’S ALSO LESS REVENUE FOR CITIES AND COUNTIES. THE PROPOSAL DOES INCLUDE A NEW GRANT PROGRAM FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS WHO SHARE SERVICES. REYNOLDS ALSO HAS A PITCH FOR YOUNGER IOWANS. I’M ALSO PROPOSING TO CREATE A TAX DEDUCTIBLE SAVINGS ACCOUNT FOR FIRST TIME HOME BUYERS, MODELED ON IOWA’S 529 PROGRAM. SENATE REPUBLICANS HAVE THEIR OWN PROPOSAL, WITH SEVERAL BIG DIFFERENCES IN HOW TO OVERHAUL IOWA’S PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM. HOUSE REPUBLICANS WILL RELEASE THEIR OWN PLAN. LEADERSHIP WILL HAVE TO FIND A COMPROMISE TO GET TAX REFORM PASSED THIS YEAR. BOTH CHAMBERS SAY THE NEGOTIATIONS START NOW. THE SENATE OBVIOUSLY COME OUT WITH BILL EARLY. WE PLAN ON COMING OUT THE BILL NEXT WEEK AND THE GOVERNOR COMING OUT WITH SOMETHING. I THINK IT GIVES US TRUE MOMENTUM AND SHOWS IOWANS THAT WE’RE TAKING THE ISSUE OF PROPERTY TAXES VERY SERIOUSLY. HEALTH CARE WAS ANOTHER MAJOR FOCUS, ESPECIALLY AS IOWA FACES ONE OF THE HIGHEST CANCER RATES IN THE COUNTRY. EVERY YEAR, MORE THAN 2000 IOWANS ARE DIAGNOSED WITH THIS TERRIBLE DISEASE. EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM HAS BEEN AFFECTED BY IT IN SOME WAY. THIS YEAR, REYNOLDS IS ALLOCATING $50 MILLION FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO EXPAND CANCER SCREENING, EARLY DETECTION AND TREATMENT. WITH MORE FUNDING AVAILABLE OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. WE’RE MAKING EARLY DETECTION THE NORM, NOT THE EXCEPTION, REYNOLDS SAYS. THAT MEANS MORE SCREENINGS, MORE RADON MITIGATION, MORE HEALTH CARE ACCESS CLOSER TO HOME, ALL AIMED AT CATCHING CANCER EARLY WHEN TREATMENT IS MORE EFFECTIVE. LAWMAKERS FROM BOTH PARTIES SAY THIS IS ONE AREA WHERE THERE’S ROOM TO WORK TOGETHER. THAT’S ONE OF THOSE AREAS WHERE WE’RE NUMBER ONE IN OUR GROWING CANCER RATE, AND THAT IS NOT A PLACE WHERE WE WANT TO BE NUMBER ONE. SO WE REALLY NEED TO BE FOCUSING OUR EFFORTS ON ON LOWERING THOSE. NOW IT’S UP TO LAWMAKERS TO DECIDE WHAT MOVES FORWARD AND HOW FAST. AND A QUICK POINT OF CLARIFICATION THERE. THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE SAYS THAT EACH YEAR, MORE THAN 20,000 IOWANS ARE DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER EACH YEAR. THAT’S SOMETHING THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO ADDRESS NOW. REYNOLDS ALSO HAD SOME OTHER BILLS THAT SHE WANTS TO MOVE FORWARD THIS YEAR ON PUBLIC SAFETY, SOME TO PROTECT FAMILY FARMS IN IOWA AND OTHERS TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL STUDENTS. THERE WAS SOME FRUSTRATION FROM IOWA DEMOCRATS, WHO WERE DISAPPOINTED THAT THE GOVERNOR DID NOT BRING UP WATER QUALITY OR PROPERTY RIGHTS, AND STACEY AND AMANDA, DURING THE ADDRESS. THE GOVERNOR ALSO OUTLINED STEPS AIMED AT PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY. THAT’S RIGHT. AND THERE WERE A LOT OF PIECES TO THAT, BEN. ONE WAS THAT SHE WANTS TO REALLY ADDRESS CHILDHOOD OBESITY IN IOWA. ONE OF THE WAYS THAT SHE WOULD DO THAT IS TO BAN CERTAIN FOOD DYES AND PRESERVATIVES IN SCHOOL MEALS. THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE ALSO SAYS THAT ONE OF HER TOP PRIORITIES FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS IS BACK. THIS YEAR, SHE WANTS TO MAKE BIRTH CONTROL AVAILABLE WITHOUT A PRESCRIPTION. STACEY AND AMANDA, THE GOVERNOR, ALSO TALKED ABOUT HELPING VETERANS AND HOW THE STATE COULD DELIVER BETTER DELIVER SERVICES TO THE VETERANS. THAT’S RIGHT. THE GOVERNOR ACTUALLY SAID THAT IOWA RANKS AMONG THE WORST STATES IN THE COUNTRY FOR HOW WE DELIVER SERVICES TO OUR VETERANS, AND THE GOVERNOR IS INTERESTED IN FIXING THAT AND A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS SHE WOULD CHANGE HOW COUNTIES RECEIVE MONEY FROM THE STATE, HOW MUCH MONEY THEY GET, AND THE STATE WOULD ALSO OFFER FREE TRAINING ON HOW TO PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES. SO THERE IS A LOT THAT THE GOVERNOR LAID OUT IN HER AGENDA, AND TIME IS TICKING. SHE ONLY HAS A FEW MONTHS NOW TO WORK WITH LAWMAKERS TO TRY AND GET ALL OF THIS DONE. LIVE

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers Condition of the State speech

Updated: 11:02 PM CST Jan 13, 2026

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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivered her Condition of the State address Tuesday night. KCCI broadcast the speech live on the air, with replays available in the video player above and on our YouTube and Facebook pages. You can also watch clips from the speech below.Reynolds, 66, announced last spring that she would not seek reelection this year. She delivered her Condition of the State speech from the Iowa House chamber at the Capitol in Des Moines.Reynolds got her start in politics as treasurer in largely rural Clarke County in southern Iowa and was then-Gov. Terry Branstad’s lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2017. She was appointed Iowa governor in May 2017 when Branstad left office to become U.S. Ambassador to China. She was elected in 2018 to her first full term, beating Democrat Fred Hubbell, and beat Democratic opponent Deidre DeJear to win her second term in 2022.» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play Video clips from 2026 Condition of the State addressCondition of the State: Gov. Reynolds remembers late lawmakersCondition of the State: Gov. Reynolds honors slain Iowa soldiersCondition of the State: Gov. Reynolds provides updates on wounded Iowa soldiersCondition of the State: Families of deployed servicemembers recognizedCondition of the State: Reynolds details new property tax proposalCondition of the State: Reynolds shares details on Iowa’s fight against high cancer ratesCondition of the State: ‘In lowa, we fund students, not systems’

DES MOINES, Iowa —

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivered her Condition of the State address Tuesday night.

KCCI broadcast the speech live on the air, with replays available in the video player above and on our YouTube and Facebook pages. You can also watch clips from the speech below.

Reynolds, 66, announced last spring that she would not seek reelection this year. She delivered her Condition of the State speech from the Iowa House chamber at the Capitol in Des Moines.

Reynolds got her start in politics as treasurer in largely rural Clarke County in southern Iowa and was then-Gov. Terry Branstad’s lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2017. She was appointed Iowa governor in May 2017 when Branstad left office to become U.S. Ambassador to China. She was elected in 2018 to her first full term, beating Democrat Fred Hubbell, and beat Democratic opponent Deidre DeJear to win her second term in 2022.

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Video clips from 2026 Condition of the State address

Condition of the State: Gov. Reynolds remembers late lawmakers

Condition of the State: Gov. Reynolds honors slain Iowa soldiers

Condition of the State: Gov. Reynolds provides updates on wounded Iowa soldiers

Condition of the State: Families of deployed servicemembers recognized

Condition of the State: Reynolds details new property tax proposal

Condition of the State: Reynolds shares details on Iowa’s fight against high cancer rates

Condition of the State: ‘In lowa, we fund students, not systems’