This summer, we held district meetings across Iowa and Nebraska in the month of July. Typically, they have been held around the month of April, but we felt that July would be a better month for our members, being April is so close to planting season, or there are customers that are out in the field planting some years in early April.

Iowa

In Iowa, the meetings were held during the week of July 14-17. The first meeting was at District 36 Wine & Bar in Ankeny, the second night was at Blackstone in Iowa City, the third night was held at Mario’s Italian Restaurant & Lounge in Dubuque, and the last night was at Emerald’s in Algona. There were a total of 48 members and sponsors that attended the meetings, with two out of the four nights showing strong attendance. We had some good conversations with our members that attended with three main topics discussed this year.

The topics of conversation were warranty reimbursement, data privacy/protection, and transfer of ownership. We also discussed the legislative landscape in Iowa moving forward for 2026 with Governor Reynolds announcing that she would not be running again in 2026 for governor, it has opened a lot of competition for that role and other leadership roles throughout Iowa Senate and House and the federal House with Randy Feenstra throwing his hat in the ring for IA Governor.

The Carbon Capture Pipeline Eminent Domain Bill that was passed in the House and the Senate and then vetoed by the governor has caused much turmoil in the Republican party here in Iowa, making 2026 a difficult year to get much, if any, legislation passed.

For 2026, the Iowa district meetings will be held mid-August due to scheduling conflicts the same week as this year.

Nebraska
In Nebraska, the meetings were held during the week of July 21-24. All meetings in Nebraska were well attended with 77 people attending one of the four locations across the state – Alliance, North Platte, Grand Island and Fremont. In addition to the 55 dealers’ staff representing 20 dealer members, we also heard from State Senator Paul Strommen in Alliance and Sherry Vinton, Nebraska Director of Agriculture in North Platte.

Staff provided an update on legislation and issues that affect members that originated from the Legislature or by the Initiative process and what INEDA members have done to impact and improve or
stop legislation that was harmful to dealers. There are 24 State Senators and the Governor and all Constitutional Officers up for election next year.

Staff and partners from Forvis Mazars provided an update on the One, Big, Beautiful, Bill and the impact it will have on the economy and ways that dealers should be prepared to adjust to new tax law passed by Congress. Congressman Bacon has announced he is not seeking election in Congressional District 2. Congressman Flood and Smith will be seeking reelection as will Senator Ricketts.

Members continued the conversation on various issues that are occurring within the business of running a dealership and any ideas or legislation that may impact or even improve their business. Specifically, members discussed warranty reimbursement, data privacy/protection, and transfer of ownership.

For 2026, the Nebraska District Meetings will be held in July next year.

All meetings were free to members to attend thanks to the sponsorship of AgDirect, Federated Insurance, Forvis Mazars, and Tax Favored Benefits.