The Iowa We Love Will
Not Preserve Itself.
Iowa should be the state where kids grow up and want to stay, because a young couple can buy a home, a young farmer can buy ground, the water is safe to drink, the schools are the best in the country, and family is close by.
Iowa for You.
Every policy decision should start with one question: What will this change do to our community?
That question has been missing from politics for too long, and it’s the foundation of Zach’s Iowa First approach: think long-term, protect what makes Iowa strong, and put our communities first.
Iowa First Values
We need to be able to draw the line.
Protect life. Put Iowa families first. End benefits for illegal immigrants. Keep politics out of our schools and stop letting partisan nonsense redefine the values our communities were built on.
Make Iowa Healthy Again
Too many Iowa families have a cancer story.
Zach’s published plan calls for independent safety testing of agricultural products, more Iowa-focused cancer research, and additional action on improving our water quality.
Keep Iowa Land in Iowa Hands
Who owns Iowa soil twenty years from now matters.
A quarter of our land is owned by people who don’t live in Iowa – investors who treat Iowa like an annuity. Zach will require human-level disclosure of who owns our land, tighten and enforce the laws to stop hedge funds and foreign adversaries from buying up our farms and homes, and give young Iowans a fair shot at owning a home and building a farm.
Make Education #1 Again
Parents should have access to excellent schools.
Zach’s education plans include giving teachers more room to innovate, reducing reliance on standardized testing, strengthening public schools, and directing Iowa universities toward Iowa students and Iowa problems.
Keep Iowa’s Kids in Iowa
Our kids should not feel like they have to leave Iowa to find opportunity.
Like many Iowa kids, Zach left, then came home. His goal is to make sure the next generation never has to leave to find opportunity. That means homes young families can afford, farms young Iowans can start, schools that are number one again, and an Iowa that puts Iowans first.
Count On Clean Water
Clean water should be something every Iowan can count on.
Zach’s plan invests in water monitoring, targeted conservation, and proven solutions like wetlands, saturated buffers, and cover crops—while working with farmers, not against them.
Improve Affordability
A great Iowa life should still be attainable.
Zach’s platform includes lowering the property tax burden on Iowans, expanding paths to homeownership, and banning hedge funds from buying single-family Iowa homes.
Expand Food Freedom
Make Iowa the country’s real food capital.
Zach wants to make it easier for Iowa farmers and producers to sell directly to Iowa families and create innovation incentives for farmers who diversify into food production.
Protect Iowa Culture
Iowa culture should be built upon common sense principles
Zach’s plan focuses on safe communities, parental rights, protecting life, supporting law enforcement, and keeping explicit material out of K–12 classrooms.
Iowa should work for the people who call Iowa home.
Zach Lahn is a husband and father, businessman, farmer, and sixth-generation Iowan.
You Shouldn’t Have to Wonder If Your Family Is Next.
A parent. A spouse. A friend. A neighbor. Cancer has touched too many Iowa families.
Iowa has the fastest-growing rate of new cancers in America. And for too long, special interests have got our leaders to look the other way.
As governor, Zach will launch independent Iowa research into agricultural products and consumer products, with no corporate influence, and publish the results publicly. He’ll work alongside farmers to mitigate run off and clean up our drinking water, and put prevention first. Iowans deserve answers, and Zach is committed to getting them.
Iowa should be looking for answers.
Iowa Values vs. Shifting Sand.
Certain people want you to forget where they stand on the controversial issues of our day. Iowa needs a leader grounded in the values that have shaped this state for generations:
- Faith.
- Family.
- Hard work.
- Strong communities.
- Local ownership.
- Personal responsibility.
- Leaving something better for the next generation.
Iowa did not become Iowa by accident. Generations before us built a culture around Midwest values that they passed down to us. Zach’s message is that our generation has a duty too: know what we inherited, defend our way of life, and hand Iowa to the next generation stronger than we found it.
Build an Iowa Worth Staying For.
Every year, Iowa loses thousands, as kids graduate, pack up, and build their lives somewhere else.
That’s empty seats at Friday night football games, closed shops on Main Street, and farms with no one to take them over.
Zach is running to reverse this trend.
Still Figuring Out What You Think?
Good. You should know more about a candidate than just the letter next to his name.
A Sixth-Generation Iowan
Zach’s family roots in Iowa run deep. In 1862, his great-great-great-grandfather, Hans Schluntz, answered Governor Kirkwood’s call and rode with Iowa’s Second Cavalry in the Civil War.
Father of Seven
Zach and Annie have seven kids. He’s fighting so they, their kids, and every Iowa kid have a reason to build their life right here at home.
Farmer
Zach farms the family homestead today, using regenerative practices to protect soil health and water quality. As governor, he’ll fight to save family farms, get young Iowans back on the land, and keep Iowa land in Iowa hands.
Businessman
Zach is a business owner and believes Iowa should invest in the businesses, workers, and communities that are invested here.
Investing Locally
Zach and his family have worked to restore pieces of Belle Plaine’s history such as the King Theater, pictured above.
