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Capitol Notebook: Iowa Gov. Reynolds plans to move forward with nuclear energy task force
Also, Iowa Department of Education awards $2 million in grants to create safe, supportive classrooms for students with behavioral health needs
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Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds told reporters Tuesday she likely will move forward with plans to create a nuclear energy task force to make recommendations about adding nuclear energy to the state’s energy portfolio.
Reynolds has said the state must look to future energy needs with the rise in artificial intelligence, growth in data centers and reshoring of U.S. manufacturing. She said that means a focus on nuclear energy and an “all-of-the-above” energy portfolio that ensures Iowa has a stable electrical grid “regardless of whether it’s hot, cold, windy or cloudy.”
The task force was among the strategies included in Reynolds’ energy plan, which failed to advance during the 2025 Iowa legislative session.
Reynolds’ sprawling energy policy stalled in both chambers over opposition to a provision that would have allowed energy companies with infrastructure in Iowa the first opportunity to build new electric transmission lines. While intended to spur investment in the state's transmission infrastructure by giving existing companies the first opportunity to build or maintain new transmission lines, the provision has been criticized by some as anticompetitive.
“I wasn't able to get the energy bill through the legislative session. We'll take a look at that, see if it's something that we should bring forward,” Reynolds told reporters Tuesday at the grand reopening of a wind turbine production facility in West Branch.
“Again. I'll probably go ahead at some point and stand up the nuclear task force so we can get to work on that and just start putting some of the parameters together on that,” she said. “From whatever those recommendations are, then we'll go to the Legislature and give them the opportunity to actually have people weigh in and actually go through the legislative process.”
NextEra Energy filed a request in January with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to potentially restore its operating license, a first step in bringing its 622-megawatt unit at Duane Arnold in Palo back online. CEO John Ketchum said during an earnings call that recommissioning the plant could be achieved by late 2028, if the company decides to move forward with it.
Iowa’s lone nuclear plant, Duane Arnold closed in October 2020 after NextEra’s power purchase agreement with key customer Alliant Energy ended. The plant first came on line in 1975 and was licensed to operate until 2034, but the company closed the plant early, hastened by the August 2020 derecho that damaged parts of the facility.
State awards $2M for therapeutic classrooms to eight school districts
The Iowa Department of Education on Wednesday awarded more than $2 million in competitive grants to eight school districts to establish therapeutic classrooms designed to support students whose emotional, social or behavioral needs affect their ability to succeed in a traditional classroom setting.
The classrooms integrate therapeutic practices and supportive structures to foster a safe, calming and inclusive space that promotes both academic and social-emotional growth.
“We commend this year’s awardees and their community partners for their leadership and commitment to modeling best practices in skill building, stress and trauma coping, mental health treatment, and crisis prevention and intervention,” Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow said in a statement.
School districts awarded grants for the 2025-26 school year are:
- Bondurant-Farrar
- Cedar Rapids
- Cherokee
- Davenport
- Durant
- Keokuk
- Pella
- Spencer
The classroom grant was established through state legislation signed into law in 2020 and is part of a statewide effort to increase mental health supports for children, youth and families. Therapeutic supports include skill building, support to cope with stress and trauma, mental health treatment and crisis intervention and follow-up.
The awarded funding will serve more than 150 preschool through 12th-grade students, establish 17 new therapeutic classrooms and expand mental health supports for youth across eight counties located in five of the state’s Behavioral Health Districts, according to a news release.
More information about Therapeutic Classroom Incentive Grants is available on the Iowa Department of Education’s website.
Bailey Kelley named Iowa director of elections
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate announced a new director of elections Wednesday.
Bailey Kelley, who most recently served as deputy director of elections in Pate’s office, was chosen following a nationwide search, Pate said in a news release.
Kelley worked in elections in Johnson County before joining the Secretary of State's Office.
“Bailey has extensive experience in elections and academia and has proven herself as a valuable member of our team,” Pate said. “ … Iowans can continue to expect fair, accurate, and smooth elections administered across the state.”
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