‘Bold and not beholden’: Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds inaugurated to second term

DES MOINES — After being sworn into office for a second full term Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds started her new term at the helm of Iowa’s government with a look back at her first.

Speaking to a crowded hall in Des Moines’ Community Choice Convention Center, Iowa’s Republican governor reflected on the past four years of her time as governor, much of it dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reynolds defended and celebrated her decision to “swim against the current” during the pandemic. She pushed to keep many businesses open early on, and she required schools to offer at least 50 percent in-person instruction by August 2020.

Her policies during the pandemic drew heavy criticism from Democrats and health experts, but Reynolds said those were the right decisions.

She contrasted those policies with those of other states that took more stringent precautions in requiring masking and keeping some public places closed longer following federal and public health experts’ recommendations.

“The disconnect between these leaders and the people who have to live with their decisions was both irrational and inexcusable,” she said. “What else can we conclude when states shut down schools, closed businesses and restricted their citizens for two years, and then characterized it as just, quote, following the science?"

Turning point

Reynolds alluded to her past struggle with alcoholism, saying her recovery has helped her be a better leader. She was arrested in 1999 and 2000 for driving under the influence, and she’s referred to the experience as a turning point for her.

She said she began living by the motto “one day at a time” at the time because “I had a problem, and I had hit bottom.” That perspective, she said, allows her to make the decisions she thinks are right, regardless of outside input and election consequences.

“Having that perspective has given me freedom. A freedom to be bold and not beholden,” she said. “Not beholden to others, to elections, or even to what’s popular.

“Instead, I have the freedom to do what I believe is right — right for our state, right for our citizens, and, most of all, right for our children — regardless of the personal consequences to me.”

The inauguration marks the end of the 2023 legislative session's first week. Reynolds proposed a sweeping private school assistance package on Tuesday, which would make $7,598 in state funding available to parents to pay for private school expenses. The program would be open to all public and private school students, regardless of income, within three years. It would cost an estimated $341 million when fully implemented.

Reynolds, formerly the lieutenant governor, became the state's first female governor in 2017 after then-Gov. Terry Branstad was tapped to serve as ambassador to China by former President Donald Trump. She also served as a state senator and the Clarke County treasurer.

She was elected to the office in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 by a near-20 percent margin, with 58 percent of the vote.

Weekend celebration

At her swearing-in Friday, Reynolds was accompanied by her husband, Kevin, her parents and her three daughters and their families. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen administered the oath of office.

The swearing-in was marked with fanfare and local talent. Maddie Poppe of Clarksville, who won the “American Idol” crown with her singing, and “The Voice” contestant Jon Mero sang before and after Reynolds’ speech.

Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg also was sworn in Friday, and he focused his remarks on his work on the Empower Rural Iowa initiative. Investments made by the initiative will improve the quality of life and economic prosperity in rural Iowa, he said. The program also has put hundreds of millions in state and federal dollars into building out rural broadband.

Rural communities are “a place where Iowans can build their lives with unique freedom to chart their own course, where citizens can pursue abundant opportunities in safety and security, where you can truly have it all,” Gregg said.

An open house was held at the Capitol and at Terrace Hill, the governor’s mansion, with an inaugural ball planned for the evening.

At the Capitol open house, Reynolds presented awards to three charities — Wildwood Hills Ranch, Concerns of Police Survivors and YSS, a youth mental health service — that will receive proceeds from the inaugural events.

“These inaugural ceremonies are all about highlighting everything we love about this great state,” Reynolds said. “And near the top of the list is the way Iowans take care of those in need.”

Comments: CMcCullough@qctimes.com