State Rep. Joshua Meggers (R-Grundy Center).

Rep. Joshua Meggers, Republican candidate for House District 54

Joshua Meggers, 46, was raised in Buckingham and is a resident of Grundy Center. His family includes his wife Danielle and daughter Zooey. Meggers graduated from Hudson High School, later earning a bachelor’s degree from Upper Iowa University. He is a state trooper for the Iowa Department of Public Safety/Iowa State Patrol.

1. What would be your top three legislative priorities if elected?

-Delivering Permanent Property Tax Relief & Local Government Fiscal Accountability: Building on our landmark property tax reform (SF 2472), my priority is enforcing hard revenue caps on local taxing entities, protecting the $25,000 homestead exemption, and ensuring local government spending growth does not outpace family household income.

-Protecting Private Property Rights & Stopping Corporate Eminent Domain: I will continue leading the fight to ensure that eminent domain is never used for private, hazardous liquid carbon pipelines, requiring a minimum of 90% voluntary easements before any project can even be considered.

-Strengthening Rural Healthcare, EMS, and Schools: We must preserve access to rural healthcare, support volunteer EMS personnel, keep starting teacher salaries competitive ($50,000 minimum), and ensure our rural schools have the resources needed to deliver top-tier academic instruction.

2. What issues are you hearing most from voters currently?

The single biggest concern I hear from voters across House District 54 is the rising cost of living caused by national inflation. Everyday expenses – from groceries and home energy to property tax assessments – are putting a heavy strain on family budgets. Voters are also deeply concerned about protecting their private property rights against corporate pipeline projects, maintaining access to local doctors and emergency medical care in rural communities, ensuring local schools focus on core academics, and keeping our communities safe.

3. How will you address property taxes if elected?

In the House, we passed Senate File 2472, which provides over $4 billion in relief over six years – the largest single property tax reduction package in state history. It established a 2% hard revenue growth cap on city and county general levies to stop local government windfalls from rising home assessments, created a $25,000 homestead exemption on taxable value for residential homeowners, and froze property taxes for low-income seniors aged 70 and older.

If re-elected, I will work to expand property tax exemptions for primary homeowners, close loopholes that allow local entities to circumvent levy caps through special debt service levies, and ensure that local government spending growth is strictly aligned with taxpayer income growth.

4. What do you propose should be done to improve water quality in the state? Do you support raising the state’s sales tax to fund Iowa’s Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund? Please explain.

To improve water quality, we must continue funding practice-based, voluntary conservation through the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy. Since 2013, House Republicans have directed over $1 billion into state water quality initiatives, bringing total annual public and private conservation funding in Iowa over $500 million. We expanded the Cattle and Conservation Working Lands Program into 22 additional counties to protect key river basins, allocated targeted funding to treat agricultural nitrates, and passed HF 2771 to fund dedicated real-time water quality monitoring across state waterways.

I do NOT support raising the state sales tax to fund the Trust Fund (I-WILL). At a time when Iowa families are struggling with high inflation and elevated consumer prices, raising the sales tax on everyday purchases like clothing, household goods, and prepared foods is the wrong approach. We should continue funding water quality and conservation through existing state revenues, smart budget prioritization, and targeted agricultural cost-share partnerships – not by raising taxes on working families.

5. Rising cancer rates are a concern for many Iowans. What action should the legislature take to lower the rate?

Iowa’s ranking as 2nd in the nation for new cancer cases demands targeted, aggressive state action. We have addressed this through a four-part strategy:

-Radon Mitigation: Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in non-smokers, and Iowa has the highest average radon levels in the country. We passed HF 2297 requiring passive radon mitigation in all new residential construction and provided state funding for rural radon test kits and home mitigation grants.

-Pediatric Research: We established a permanent, dedicated $3 million annual funding stream (SF 2480) for pediatric cancer research at the University of Iowa.

-Rural Screening Access: Through our $183 million Rural Health Transformation Plan, we expanded local access to mammograms, diagnostic breast MRIs, colonoscopies, and local chemo hubs so rural Iowans don’t have to travel hours for life-saving screenings.

-Insurance Mandates: We passed legislation requiring insurance coverage for biomarker testing (HF 2668) and diagnostic breast imaging (HF 2489) so out-of-pocket costs never stand between a patient and early detection.

6. With physicians leaving the state, medical facilities either closing or reducing services and rural EMS often struggling to recruit/retain volunteers, what will you do to repair the health care system in Iowa?

To strengthen rural healthcare and emergency services, I support three key initiatives:

-Sustaining Rural Hospitals: Through our Rural Health Transformation Plan, we invested $183 million directly into rural hospital infrastructure, maternal health access, and regional service lines to keep rural clinics and operating rooms open.

-Strengthening Volunteer EMS: We empowered counties to declare EMS an essential public service, opened up local funding streams, and expanded state income tax credits for volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel to boost recruitment and retention in small towns.

-Workforce Recruitment: We must expand state medical student loan forgiveness programs for doctors, nurses, and physician assistants who commit to practicing in underserved rural areas for at least five years, while maintaining tort reforms that protect rural providers from frivolous malpractice lawsuits.

7. Public school districts have said the amount of money received from the state each year needs to be increased. Do you agree with that stance? Please explain. How much money do you think districts should receive each year?

K-12 public education is the single largest investment in the state budget, consuming right about 50% of Iowa’s General Fund. Every single year, even during economic downturns, the Legislature has increased state supplemental aid to public schools.

Rather than focusing solely on top-line dollar amounts, we have prioritized getting funding directly to where it matters most: classroom instruction and teachers. We passed legislation raising starting teacher pay to $50,000 (ranking Iowa 5th highest in the nation when adjusted for cost of living), established a $62,000 minimum for teachers with 12 years of experience, and provided $14 million in dedicated pay raises for education paraprofessionals. State funding increases must remain responsible, predictable, and paired with local flexibility so school boards can direct resources into classrooms rather than administrative overhead.

8. As agriculture becomes increasingly concentrated and consolidated, what should Iowa be doing to prioritize opportunities for independent and small family farms, as well as beginning farmers who don’t have inherited land or other significant assets? Are the current policies sufficient, and if not, what specific changes would you support?

Independent family farms are the backbone of Iowa’s rural economy, and we must ensure the next generation can enter the industry without inheriting vast wealth:

-Protecting Farmland from Foreign Adversaries: We enacted strict legislation banning foreign adversary nations and foreign corporations from purchasing Iowa agricultural land, preserving farmland for Iowa families.

-Expanding Beginning Farmer Tax Credits: We should expand the state Beginning Farmer Tax Credit Program and Custom Farming Tax Credit, which incentivize retiring farmers to lease land, equipment, and facilities to non-family beginning farmers at affordable rates.

-Right-to-Repair Protection: We passed right-to-repair legislation (HF 2763) so independent farmers can repair their own technologically advanced equipment without being forced into expensive, dealer-exclusive service monopolies.

-Value-Added Agriculture & Local Processing: I support expanding state grants for independent livestock processors and local value-added agriculture ventures, giving small producers alternative market access outside of consolidated corporate integrators.

9. In 2025, Iowa removed gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act (state code). Do you support that change? Please explain.

Yes, I support this change. Updating state code restored clear, biological legal definitions for sex in Iowa law, protecting fundamental privacy, safety, and religious liberty rights. This policy change ensures that single-sex spaces – such as women’s sports, locker rooms, domestic violence shelters, and female correctional facilities – remain protected for biological women. Iowa code continues to maintain robust civil rights protections against discrimination based on race, sex, age, religion, national origin, and disability, while providing clear legal clarity grounded in biological reality.

10. Why should voters choose you in the race for Iowa House District 54?

Voters in District 54 deserve a proven conservative leader who listens, works hard, and delivers real results for our rural communities. Over my time in the Iowa House, we have delivered on our promises: cutting state income taxes to a flat 3.8%, making retirement income tax-free, enacting over $4 billion in property tax relief, raising teacher pay, and standing rock-solid in defense of private property rights against corporate eminent domain.

I bring a practical, commonsense approach to state government – focusing on protecting family budgets, supporting local agriculture, backing our law enforcement, and keeping Iowa the best state in the nation to raise a family. I would be honored to earn your vote and continue representing House District 54.