“My goal is to empower the people of Iowa, and I think over the last several years we made great progress on that,” Shipley said. “But I will be very frank, we face many serious challenges, and there are a lot of challenges that are likely to persist whichever party comes into power.”

O’Donnell called the election a referendum on a decade of Republican control at the Statehouse. He criticized the use of reserves to cover state spending that exceeds revenue.

“In Iowa we ran an estimated $1.4 billion budget deficit in the last fiscal year,” O’Donnell said. “It is projected to be $1.2 billion in the current year. Republicans are covering these losses with reserves they built by underfunding schools, universities, health care, courts, and more.”

But he said a third of the money set aside has already been spent, and meanwhile Iowa’s economy is lagging.

O’Donnell named school funding, rural hospitals, nursing home staffing and oversight, and clean water as priorities.

Shipley emphasized inflation and expanding therapeutic access to psilocybin, a compound found in some mushrooms.

“We passed a bill in the House twice, only for it to get killed in the Senate,” Shipley said.

On property taxes, O’Donnell called state limits on local revenue “kind of a ham-handed way to try to control or limit property taxes.” He favored a more progressive income tax and greater state support for local property tax relief.

“Every local government I’ve worked with or observed has done its best to balance those needs in a fiscally sound way, and now many of them are struggling to maintain those services,” O’Donnell said. “I think the state should have a bigger role in property tax relief at the local level.”

Shipley said local governments should scrutinize spending and share services. He said exempting primary residences from property taxes was theoretically possible.

“We need to always have downward pressure on local spending,” he said.

He tied lower taxes to the ability to afford essential projects.

“We need to have lower property taxes so when it comes to something we absolutely need, like a new middle school for our children, we can sustain that on the taxpayer,” Shipley said.

O’Donnell said Iowa should end privatized Medicaid administration, which he called “kind of a disaster for hospitals and providers to work with.” He said differing rules and claim denials force hospitals to spend money on appeals.

“That adds to the cost of health care. That damages the bottom line of our hospitals,” he said.

Shipley emphasized prevention, including food-as-medicine programs and Double Up Food Bucks. He criticized using nutrition benefits to buy sugary drinks and other foods he linked to chronic illness.

“We have a system right now where we subsidize the illness and then we subsidize the health care,” he said. “We can’t burn the candle on both ends like this, and if we can’t figure this out and figure it out soon, the financial consequences are going to be enormous — not just for the state, but for the nation.”

On workforce development, Shipley supported aligning education with local jobs and allowing community colleges to offer four-year degrees. He also suggested requiring building trades or industrial arts instruction.

O’Donnell said schools should teach critical thinking and adaptability, and Iowa should be more welcoming to young people.

“I’ve always said I don’t see schools as a place to produce cogs for an economic machine, but to prepare people to live as good citizens,” he said.

The candidates also differed over a pesticide exposure study led by John Fagan at Fairfield’s Health Research Institute. Shipley said about $30,000 has been invested in the project, which tracks exposure over time.

“That is a unique scientific contribution that has not been thoroughly studied,” he said.

O’Donnell questioned the sample size and pointed to the University of Iowa’s larger INSIGHT project.

“It’s not really going to produce any useful data,” he said of the local study. “The sample is too small, it’s too random, and now we have the INSIGHT project … that’s basically going to do the same thing with $10 million for bio monitoring of blood and urine, and things like that for pesticide exposure, etc.”

He later clarified that he respected Fagan’s credentials.

“Dr. Fagan is a legitimate scientist. There’s no doubt about that, and I respect his abilities,” O’Donnell said.

On economic development, Shipley favored lower taxes and fewer regulatory barriers, along with help for farmers changing products or production methods.

O’Donnell called for more accessible small-business assistance and questioned incentives for a steel plant in Lee County.

“I would rather see 10 businesses employing 175 people than one business employing 1,750 people,” he said. “I think we need to encourage that kind of help.”

Both supported addressing remaining broadband gaps. O’Donnell favored grants for underserved areas; Shipley said he wanted more information about where service is lacking.

Asked how voters should measure progress, Shipley cited lower income taxes, fewer cancer cases, better water quality and more local food in schools.

O’Donnell said his goals would take more than one term.

“What I want to see is Iowa on the path to stronger schools with better support, rising test scores, and happier and healthier kids,” he said.

In closing, Shipley defended the Legislature’s tax cuts and criticized reliance on government spending.

“Government’s not going to be the solution to every problem,” he said. “It’s just not.”

District 87 serves all of Van Buren County, and southern Jefferson County (including Fairfield) and parts of Henry County (including Mt. Pleasant).