Our four hopes for the New Year

Editor's note: Today, our editorial board offers, in no specific order, four hopes we have for 2026.

More profitable ag economy

Tri-state farmers head into the New Year facing bleak conditions as trade wars, low commodity prices and rising input costs threaten not only their livelihoods, but also the financial health of our ag-based economy.

Despite record crops in many regions, including parts of Siouxland, farmers lost a combined $34.6 billion this year, before accounting for crop insurance and other support, according to a report from the American Farm Bureau.

Mounting losses are leaving more producers underwater on their balance sheets. In Iowa, farmers filed the second-highest number of farm bankruptcies in the nation in 2025, reaching the highest level since 2021.

President Trump, whose trade policies have significantly contributed to the pressures facing rural America, has announced a $12 billion bailout for the agricultural sector. While welcoming the needed assistance, producers say it's not a sustainable fix.

Our hope for the New Year is that Trump will retreat from his trade policies that are hurting hard-working farmers. We hope the administration ends a longstanding trade war with China, the largest importer of U.S. soybeans, and eliminates tariffs that are artificially restricting the export of our ag products.

Resolution to the superintendent case

As we wrote in this space last week, we remain frustrated that the Sioux City school board has still not decided on the future status of Superintendent Juan Córdova with the district. Córdova has been on paid administrative leave since Nov. 6. Unfortunately, district leaders have not offered the public an explanation for the move, or an indication of how much longer the district will continue paying Córdova to stay home.

We hope that the school board will finally resolve the situation soon after the holidays. The district's teachers, staff, students, parents and taxpayers deserve to know who will be the superintendent of Iowa's third-largest district in the future.

So too does Associate Superintendent Angela Bemus, who seamlessly stepped into the interim superintendent position and has done an admirable job leading the district ever since.

Lower health insurance costs

Health insurance costs are expected to jump significantly in 2026, driven by higher prescription drug prices, increased use of medical services, and the expiration of enhanced federal tax credits for marketplace plans.

For the over 20 million Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans, average premium payments are estimated to more than double this year. That's primarily due to the sunsetting of the enhanced premium tax credits on Dec. 31. Temporarily established as part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act under President Biden's administration, the credits help cover the cost of a plan on the marketplace for those who qualify.

Many employers facing rising health insurance costs plan to pass some of the increases to workers. The average cost of employer-based health insurance plans is projected to increase by nine percent in 2026, according to a survey from the benefits consulting firm Mercer. About half of the large employers Mercer surveyed said they are likely or very likely to shift more costs to their employees by raising deductibles and out-of-pocket maximum costs or eliminating some benefits.

Our hope for the New Year is for relief for Americans facing these higher costs, which create an unsustainable burden for all but the most affluent. Our eternal hope is that federal lawmakers, insurance companies and health care administrators can reach compromises that can lead to sustainable changes.

Greater civility in America

Larger majorities of Americans than in the past believe that both political parties and their supporters have gone too far in using inflammatory language to criticize their opponents, according to a recent Gallup poll.

The survey found that Republicans and Democrats are now nearly unanimous in believing the other party has gone too far with its rhetoric and are much more likely to think this than when the same questions were asked in 2011.

Independents were significantly more likely than in 2011 to view both sides as having gone too far.

We agree wholeheartedly with the independents' assessment.

Our hope for the New Year is that people of all stripes tone down the bickering and vitriol.

Supreme Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg popularized the admonition to "disagree without being disagreeable," and we concur. It seems that people are eager to toss out all manner of nasty language to those with whom they disagree – especially on social media forums, where there are no personal connections between keyboard combatants. It's healthy to have disagreements, but name-calling does nothing to advance your argument. It just advances the downward spiral.

The holiday season is a perfect time to show more respect and kindness to our fellow citizens with whom we have differences of opinion.