Most of Iowa’s population growth from 2023 to 2024 came from international migration, according to U.S. census data.
Over that period, Iowa’s population grew by 23,000 people, and 84 percent of that was from immigration.
The nonprofit U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants helps people resettle. Leslie Olson works in their Des Moines office. She says people choose to stay in Iowa for the same reasons as anyone else: available jobs, affordable housing, and welcoming people.
“I think the challenge is when people feel like they have to decide between, am I going to support Americans, or am I going to support refugees and that's not a real decision that people have to make. You can actually invest in all of this, you know, in the community,” Olson said. 16SECS
Olson said a lot of the agriculture industry relies on immigrant labor. In recent years, refugees came from Afghanistan, Venezuela and Ukraine, among other nations.
Olson said political rhetoric that casts refugees as violent is misinformed. She said they must go through numerous background checks before they’re let into the country.
*Additionally, with Monday marking President Donald Trump's second inauguration, tribal leaders are assessing what that means for their communities nationwide.
Tamara Grove is a Republican state Senator from Lower Brule, South Dakota. She said there is reason to be hopeful in the next administration, due to the representation of states with high tribal populations in the incoming government.
Grove said she believes that having U.S. Senator John Thune of South Dakota in the Senate Majority Leader position “will open up some doors.”
On the other hand, Pine Ridge Democratic Representative Peri Pourier said she’s cautiously optimistic about some cabinet picks, including North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Trump's pick for Secretary of Interior.
Pourier said Burgum “has a good grasp on trust responsibilities with Native American tribes and the treaty obligations.” She added that sheI hopes Burgum initiates policy reform, particularly with public safety initiatives.
*In other news, a lawmaker wants to protect South Dakota farmers and ranchers from so-called agro-terrorism by criminalizing spying on agriculture operations.
That bill also could allow the state to withhold location information on the state’s largest livestock operations.
Senate Bill 14 in the South Dakota Legislature is based largely on laws in Iowa that make it illegal to use cameras or false pretense to gain access to or employment at farms and ranches for ill intent, such as obtaining video footage intended to show animals being abused.
The bill’s lead sponsor, state Senator Casey Crabtree of Madison, told South Dakota News Watch that while there haven't been many incidents of spying on farms in South Dakota, a mink farm in Arlington has faced some issues.
A South Dakota Farm Bureau policy expert called the bill a proactive effort to strengthen state laws protecting farms before any further incidents occur.
The bill is likely to draw criticism during debate due to one section that appears to bar the state Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources from releasing a list of permitted concentrated animal feeding operations in the state in most cases.
*Additionally, Iowa’s corn crop in 2024 reached the highest yield per acre ever recorded in state history.
It was also the second-largest corn crop ever produced in the state, according to an annual USDA report with state and national summaries.
Iowa’s soybean crop also ranked as the second largest in state history.
Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said in a press release that “the combination of low commodity prices and high input costs means Iowa’s ag economy remains soft.”
Naig said building and expanding markets for Iowa’s products will remain his focus in the year ahead.