Todd Dorman (@tdorman.bsky.social)

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

Columnist and opinion editor at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, IA

976 followers 186 following107 posts

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

Opinion: Big ag puts band back together to rescue Mike Naig www.thegazette.com/opinion/opin...

thegazette.comOpinion: Big ag puts band back together to rescue Mike NaigIowa remains a top contributor of nitrate to Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and on to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico. Iowa and other Midwestern states promised to

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

Iowa agriculture secretary race is a referendum on dirty water www.thegazette.com/opinion/iowa...

thegazette.comIowa agriculture secretary race is a referendum on dirty waterMike Naig, a Republican, is up for reelection this fall. He is being challenged by Democrat Chris Jones, a scientist and evangelist for clean water. But his plan is not

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

20 Sept

Lahn and Sand are steering clear of requiring clean water protections www.thegazette.com/opinion/lahn...

thegazette.comLahn and Sand are steering clear of requiring clean water protectionsThe politics of pollution is inundating Iowa’s fall election campaign. For years, politicians shrugged at environmental destruction but no longer.

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

6 Sept

Rob Sand is winning over Iowans despite Republican advantages www.thegazette.com/opinion/rob-...

thegazette.comthegazette.com

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

2 Sept

Iowa’s AG Brenna Bird goes Hollywood to help Trump www.thegazette.com/opinion/iowa...

thegazette.comDorman: Iowa AG Brenna Bird goes Hollywood to help TrumpBird is going Hollywood because President Donald Trump wants the merger to happen. It would give Trump-backing owners, Larry and David Ellison, control of both CBS and CNN, as well

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

30 Aug

MAGA twins Hinson and Trump have lost their luster www.thegazette.com/opinion/maga...

thegazette.comDorman: MAGA twins Hinson & Trump have lost their lusterMany voters have come to see Trump and Hinson as indistinguishable. And it’s likely too late in the 2026 campaign for Hinson to break free after embracing Trump and his

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

31 May

A moment ripe for political change? Maybe. www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comOpinion: Failure is not an option for Iowa DemocratsFailure with good candidates, a favorable political climate and a candy store filled with tasty issues would relegate Iowa Democrats like a lousy English football club.

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

27 May

Lahn argues farm chemicals, along with nitrate pollution, are key to Iowa’s high cancer rate. www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comOpinion: Lahn has surprising thoughts on water and elephantsIowa Republican candidate for governor Zach Lahn says we must talk about the “elephant” in the room ahead of the 2026 election: Iowa’s agriculture industry. But so far, his plans don’t match the urgen...

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

24 May

Turek’s record draws a flurry of punches from a rival on the ropes www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comTurek’s record draws a flurry of punches from a rival on the ropesTruth is, Wahls and Turek’s positions on most issues are not all that different. But amid those similarities, Wahls is highlighting any contrasts he can find to argue he’s a

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

3 May

Satan, Marxists and a wolf witch walk into Iowa elections www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comOpinion: Satan, Marxists and a wolf witch walk into Iowa electionsAs ashamed as I am to say it about my homeland, White Christian Nationalism is thriving in Iowa. Elections are good vs. evil. Satan is trying to capture the Golden

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

19 Apr

With lawmakers’ heads buried in what’s left of Iowa’s topsoil, Republicans and their ag allies will not stand by and allow nitrates and farm chemicals to be smeared by a bunch of cancer experts. www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comStop asking about agriculture and cancer, and don’t eat your spinachAgriculture is not a cancer culprit, GOP lawmakers insist. Besides, defenders of agricultural pollution, aficionados of hog manure and corporate interests making a bundle selling fertilizer and other ...

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

8 Apr

The effort to convince Iowans this is about intellectual freedom is laughably deceptive www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comStop pretending the Center for Intellectual Freedom is not about politicsThe effort to convince Iowans this is about intellectual freedom is laughably deceptive. It’s a right-wing think tank targeting instructors and others who, according to the thinkers, “hate their count...

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

15 Mar

Politicians dictating history curriculum is a really bad idea.

thegazette.comIowa Republican lawmakers see history education as a political weaponRepublicans should let history live and breathe, instead of teaching it as if it’s all just old patriots and parchment. Making history education the “study of and devotion to the United States’ except...

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

15 Mar

Iowa Republican lawmakers see history education as a political weapon www.thegazette.com/opinion/colu...

thegazette.comthegazette.com

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

1 Mar

Kim Reynolds clearly has earned her wings www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Kim Reynolds has earned her wingsGov. Kim Reynolds dances as she walks back to the plane with Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate during a …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

25 Feb

Sharp elbows have been deployed in Iowa Democrats’ Senate race www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion:Sharp elbows have been deployed in Iowa Democrats Senate raceDemocratic Sen. Zach Wahls speaks about social security cuts during a press conference outside of the Coralville Social Security office …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

15 Feb

Steen is the GOP candidate soaring to new heights www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Steen is the GOP candidate soaring to new heightsIowa gubernatorial candidate and former Iowa Department of Administrative Services director Adam Steen holds a press conference in the Iowa …

Todd Dorman reposted

Tony Almquist

@tony-almquist.bsky.social

12 Feb

by @tdorman.bsky.social “here’s an idea, leave trans Iowans alone. "God forbid a community would want to remain welcoming as it tries to attract people to move in or stay put, as well as recruiting companies bearing investments and jobs. Pulling in the welcome mat during a labor shortage is dumb”

open.substack.comReynolds can’t stop kicking trans IowansHer bill would force communities to delete gender identity from local civil rights ordinances

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

11 Feb

Reynolds can’t stop kicking trans Iowans www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Reynolds can't stop kicking trans IowansTransgender Iowans, their allies and supporters protested bills advanced Monday, Feb. 9, 2026, by Republican lawmakers at the Iowa Capitol …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

8 Feb

Statehouse assault on public schools continues in Iowa www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Statehouse assault on public schools continues in IowaIowa Lawmakers applaud during Gov. Kim Reynolds' Condition of the State address on Jan. 13, 2026, at the Iowa State …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

1 Feb

It was published Saturday, INCYM. A constructive agenda for Iowa's public schools www.thegazette.com/guest-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: A constructive agenda is needed for Iowa's public schoolsIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds greets school children before signing a bill that creates education savings accounts, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, …

Nick Covington@covingtonedu.bsky.social

So I sent an op-ed response to @tdorman.bsky.social over at The Gazette. We'll see if it gets published! Almost unbelievable how a paid columnist (not Todd) could use so many words to say nothing at all: "How Iowa Democrats are proposing to take education in the wrong direction" by Althea Cole

share.googleOpinion: How Iowa Democrats are proposing to take education in the wrong directionIowa Democrats' direction for education: backward

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

1 Feb

Minneapolis grieves while Iowa Republicans pretend this is fine www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Minneapolis grieves while Iowa Republicans pretend this is fineEDS NOTE: OBSCENITY – People protest against ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) in downtown Minneapolis, Sunday, Jan. 25, 2026. (AP …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

14 Jan

Minnesota ICE invasion is about fear, power and intimidation www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Minnesota ICE invasion is about fear, power and intimidationA protester is detained by Federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

11 Jan

Iowa public schools in need of addition may get subtraction www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Iowa public schools in need of addition may get subtractionFILE – Snow falls at the Iowa State Capitol Building in Des Moines, Iowa, Jan. 9, 2024, as a winter …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

7 Jan

Will Iowa lawmakers try again to protect Bayer? www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Will Iowa lawmakers try again to protect Bayer?FILE – In this, Feb. 24, 2019, file photo, containers of Roundup are displayed at a store in San Francisco. …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

21 Dec 2025

Fake carols to fit our current not-so-Christmassy timeline www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Fake carols to fit our current not-so-Christmassy timelineBuy Photo Back by no popular demand whatsoever, here are my semiannual fake carols. A family's in danger Awake …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

14 Dec 2025

Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom gets to work on owning the libs www.thegazette.com/article/iowa... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Iowa's Center for Intellectual Freedom gets to work on owning the libsGov. Kim Reynolds spoke Saturday night for the inaugural event of the University of Iowa Center for Intellectual Freedom in …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

7 Dec 2025

Backing Hegseth was Ernst's biggest mistake. www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Backing Hegseth was Ernst's biggest mistakeFILE – Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee to be Defense Secretary, gives a thumbs-up as he walks with his …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

30 Nov 2025

Iowa stood up to discrimination. Now we endorse it www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Iowa stood up to discrimination. Now we endorse itIowa City, city of. Iowa State Constitution. The Iowa Constitution preamble is shown at the University of Iowa (U. of …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

23 Nov 2025

Chris Jones on ethanol: 'I think it's the worst natural resource decision that's ever been made in this country.' www.thegazette.com/article/jone...

thegazette.comOpinion: Jones believes facts can beat 'cropaganda'Bloody Run creek west of Monona, Iowa on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (Nick Rohlman/The Gazette) Buy Photo It is …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

19 Nov 2025

Iowa Climate Statements fall on deaf ears www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Iowa Climate Statements fall on deaf earsIn this Oct. 22, 2019 photo, a home is surrounded by flood waters in Bartlett, Iowa. Iowans have suffered from …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

16 Nov 2025

Government is open, but the hemp industry faces a shutdown www.thegazette.com/staff-column... (Via The Gazette)

thegazette.comOpinion: Government is open, but the hemp industry faces a shutdownClimbing Kites, Iowa's first cannabis-infused sparkling water, features varying doses of THC and CBD. Thanks to a majority share purchase …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

2 Nov 2025

Republicans keep winning. Sand hopes to change the game www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Republicans keep winning. Sand hopes to change the gameDemocratic candidate for Iowa Governor and Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand speaks during his Johnson County Town Hall appearance at …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

28 Sept 2025

Trump is determined to keep us in the dark www.thegazette.com/article/trum...

thegazette.comOpinion: Trump is determined to keep us in the darkPresident Donald Trump acknowledges his supporters as he exits the stage after speaking during the AMERICA250 Celebration Kick-Off in Des …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

21 Sept 2025

Her claim is easily refutable, but accuracy isn’t rhe point. www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Violence isn't just a left-wing problem, as Hinson claimsAshley Hinson discusses illegal immigration and LGBTQ policies during her official Senate Campaign kick-off at the Radisson Hotel in northeast …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

7 Sept 2025

Turek is inspiring and knows how to win in red Iowa www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Turek is inspiring and knows how to win in red IowaDemocratic State Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Josh Turek speaks to supporters and guests at the Hoff Family Arts & …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

31 Aug 2025

U.S. House bill weakens the Clean Water Act www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: U.S. House bill weakens the Clean Water ActThe Cedar River flows under the Chain Lakes Bridge at Chain Lakes Natural Area in Palo on Tuesday, May 16, …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

29 Aug 2025

Big, if true. So who runs for the GOP nomination? Hinson? Reynolds? A player to be named later?

CBS News@cbsnews.com

BREAKING: Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa won't seek reelection to Senate in 2026, sources say.

cbsn.wsJoni Ernst won't seek reelection to Senate in 2026, sources sayGOP Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa is expected to announce next week she's not running for reelection in 2026.

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

24 Aug 2025

Quacks may be forming in Kim Reynolds’ clout www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Quacks may be forming in Kim Reynolds' cloutThere are signs Reynolds' iron grip on Iowa isn't as grippy

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

17 Aug 2025

Cedar Rapids’ Citizen Review Board is gone. But what comes next? www.thegazette.com/article/ceda...

thegazette.comOpinion: Cedar Rapids' Citizen Review Board is gone. But what comes next?Cedar Rapids City Hall is shown in October 2017. The city is seeking applicatons from community members interested in serving …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

10 Aug 2025

Stauch is running uphill in Iowa, but she has a plan www.thegazette.com/article/stau...

thegazette.comOpinion: Stauch is running uphill in Iowa, but she has a planJulie Stauch, of West Des Moines, a Democratic candidate for Iowa governor Buy Photo You may have read Julie …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

6 Aug 2025

Iowa AG cares about woke but not water www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Iowa AG cares about woke but not waterIowa Attorney General Brenna Bird speaks at her campaign fundraiser at the Dallas County Fairgrounds in Adel, Iowa, on Saturday, …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

3 Aug 2025

DEI disobedience triggers Iowa Republicans www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: DEI disobedience triggers Iowa RepublicansScreen shot from undercover video broadcast on Fox News, which was reportedly recorded at the University of Iowa. Buy …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

30 July 2025

Making America dumber and meaner is the goal www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Public broadcasting can't escape the 'bias' policeFILE – The headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) is seen in Washington, April 15, 2013. AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File) …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

27 July 2025

Trump picks on corn syrup, but Iowa GOP turns a deaf ear www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Trump picks on corn syrup, but Iowa GOP turns a deaf earJim Slosiarek/The Gazette Cargill operates a corn syrup plant along Otis Road SE near downtown Cedar Rapids. Buy Photo …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

20 July 2025

Solving fake problems leaves no time to clean up Iowa’s water www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Solving fake problems leaves no time to clean up Iowa's waterIowa Gov. Kim Reynolds reacts after signing a bill that creates education savings accounts, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023, at the …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

16 July 2025

Sand tries shedding labels to win in red Iowa www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: Sand tries shedding labels to win in red IowaIowa Auditor Rob Sand, who recently announced he will run for Iowa governor, speaks to reporters at Lafayette Park in …

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

29 June 2025

She’s riding on the Trump train, no matter what happens, come hell or dirty water. www.thegazette.com/article/bren...

thegazette.comOpinion: Brenna Bird may fly all the way to Terrace HillWhen Bird gets in, she will be the Republican front-runner

Todd Dorman

@tdorman.bsky.social

22 June 2025

All political careers are going to die. For heaven’s sake, does that include Joni Ernst? www.thegazette.com/staff-column...

thegazette.comOpinion: All political careers are going to die. For heaven's sake, does that include Joni Ernst?Ernst is hitting a rough patch as she prepares to run for re-election

Todd Dorman reposted

Chris Jones

@theswinerepublic.bsky.social

21 June 2025

1.1 million pounds of nitrate-nitrogen will pass through the city of Cedar Rapids today in the Cedar River. That's equivalent to the contents of 322 of these. One day, one river, in Iowa. waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?cb_0...