A clean energy group is targeting Iowa’s U.S. senators with TV and digital ads urging the Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst to protect clean energy investments in the state as the Senate considers overhauling tax-credit programs as part of President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill.

Protect Our Jobs announced a new six-figure Iowa ad buy on Tuesday — part of a larger multi-million-dollar advocacy campaign to protect clean energy sector workers across the country.

The ad, titled “Shut Down,” begins running this week on television in the Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Omaha media markets and on digital platforms statewide.

Watch on YouTube

Grassley sits on the Senate Finance Committee, which recently released legislative text to repeal clean energy tax credits in the Senate’s version of the reconciliation bill.

Clean energy advocates warn Iowa stands to lose jobs and renewable energy project expansions, and raise utility bills at a time when many Iowans are already struggling with high costs.

The reconciliation bill proposes significant changes to clean energy tax credits established under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The bill accelerates the phaseout and imposes what clean energy advocates argue are unworkable sourcing requirements that would make it virtually impossible for companies to continue investing in Iowa’s energy production, putting thousands of jobs at risk.

Supporters argue the bill restores American energy production by increasing oil and gas leasing and drilling on federal lands and expediting the approval process for oil and gas exploration and extraction.

New clean energy and manufacturing projects have seen substantial growth in Iowa and across the country since new federal tax incentives were put in place in 2022, according to Climate Power, a strategic communications firm highlighting how clean energy investments benefit local communities.

Five new clean energy projects have been announced and private companies have announced plans to create 1,102 new clean energy jobs in the state since the passage of the IRA.

About three-fifths of the state’s total electricity net generation came from renewable resources in 2023, with wind power generation accounting for 59 percent, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Grassley has long praised clean energy development in the state. A 2016 Chuck Grassley campaign ad showed him wearing a hard hat on top of an Iowa wind turbine. The ad called Grassley “the father of the modern wind industry” and emphasized Iowa’s growth as a major energy producer, attracting high-tech jobs.

He told Radio Iowa earlier this month he hopes to find a compromise on wind energy tax credits as part of the reconciliation bill being considered in the Senate. Grassley pointed to his work in 2015 to secure a five-year phaseout for wind energy tax credits, suggesting a similar approach might be pursued in the current negotiations.

While recognizing the importance of clean energy, he also emphasizes that wind energy incentives can’t “stand in the way” of the broader reconciliation bill which includes other important issues like tax cuts.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin will speak at the Republican Party of Iowa’s annual summer fundraiser next month.

Youngkin will join RPI Chairman Jeff Kaufmann in addressing the annual Lincoln Dinner on Thursday, July 17, at the Iowa Events Center in downtown Des Moines. Doors are scheduled to open at 5:30 p.m.

Youngkin was elected in 2021 and is completing his four-year term in office. Virginia governors are limited to serving only one term. In that 2021 election, the Republican won Virginia after Democrat Joe Biden had carried the state by 10 points in the 2020 presidential election.

Tickets can be purchased online at tinyurl.com/9rsfaekc.

Iowa State Auditor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand will launch a 100-stop town hall tour across the state this summer and fall.

The tour, which kicks off June 25 in Waukee and Ankeny, includes stops in all of Iowa’s 99 counties, including Lee County, home to two county seats. Sand says it is an opportunity to hear Iowans’ top concerns.

“As elected officials, it’s our job to show up and listen everywhere and to every Iowan. That’s what I’ve done every year since taking office as State Auditor, and it’s exactly what I plan on doing throughout this tour,” Sand said in a statement. “Too many of our elected officials have left Iowa families behind to instead serve powerful insiders or their donors. I will go anywhere and talk to anyone because I believe we have to bring all Iowans together to solve some of our toughest challenges. I look forward to sharing my vision with Iowans and hearing from them directly throughout this tour. See you on the road!”

Sand launched his campaign in May, over a month after Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she will not seek re-election in 2026. Other candidates running for the seat include Republican pastor Brad Sherman of Williamsburg, Republican state Rep. Eddie Andrews of Johnston and Democrat Julie Stauch of West Des Moines.

The full list of tour stops can be found at mobilize.us/robsandia/.