Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird spoke to supporters at her annual "Bird Barn Bash" fundraiser at the Dallas County Fairgrounds in Adel Aug. 2, 2025. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird said her office was going to shed “sunlight” on the University of Iowa’s DEI policies through her office’s investigation following a request from Gov. Kim Reynolds earlier this week.
Bird spoke on the issue at the annual “Bird Barn Bash,” a fundraiser for the attorney general as she looks ahead to running for another term in 2026. Bird, who was first elected in 2022, spoke about her time challenging federal policies during former President Joe Biden’s tenure, but also spoke on a more recent issue – investigating UI for potential noncompliance with state and federal policies banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Fox News published an “undercover” video Tuesday of a person identified as Andrea Tinoco, the assistant director of UI Leadership and Student Organization Development, who said her department was still committed to working on DEI despite directives from university leadership.
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After the video was posted, Reynolds issued a statement saying she was “appalled” by the comments made in the video and would be filing a complaint to the Attorney General’s office for further action. On Friday, a second video was posted by Townhall, a conservative outlet, of another UI employee identified as Cory Lockwood, senior associate director of the Iowa Union Memorial, making similar comments about continued work on DEI initiatives.
Both employees featured in the videos have been placed on administrative leave.
At the fundraiser Saturday, Bird said her office has launched an investigation into the situation and “is going to get to the bottom of it” – but asked the crowd for patience.
“Please know – the investigation’s going to take a little bit,” Bird said. “I know all of us want it to be fast — and we will not make it be slow — but I’ll tell you, to do something right, it takes time. And we’re going to do it right, we’re going to do it by the book and by the law.”
She also reiterated her commitment to upholding the ban on DEI at Iowa’s regents universities, saying ”here in Iowa, our taxpayer-funded universities are supposed to be about education, not indoctrination.”
Talk radio host Simon Conway, who spoke in support of Bird at the event, said the UI investigation shows the importance of having Bird in office – and reelecting her for another term. He said former Attorney General Tom Miller, the longtime Democratic incumbent who Bird defeated in 2022, would not have followed up on Reynolds’ request to investigate the university if he was in office.
“If we had Tom Miller, or a Tom Miller, in the attorney general’s chair right now, with what is going on in our state in regards to DEI — I think first of all, there’d be a really good chance that regents universities would be losing federal funding,” Conway said. “They still might, by the way. But I think it’s an absolute given if he was there. And you don’t want to see that, do you?”
Cruz, Schmitt stay in D.C.
U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Eric Schmitt of Missouri were also scheduled to speak at the event, but both were unable to attend. The U.S. Senate was in session Saturday, with Senate Republicans aiming to confirm more than 100 of President Donald Trump’s nominees despite a breakdown in negotiations with Senate Democrats.
Bird said she was disappointed the two Republican senators could not be at the event, but that she told them on behalf of attendees, “we want you to do your job like you’re doing, confirming President Trump’s nominees.”
Schmitt will be back in the state later in the month, Aug. 23, for U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson’s fundraiser in Cedar Rapids.
Bird was considered a top choice to become the next Republican nominee for governor in the 2026 election cycle, following Gov. Kim Reynolds’ announcement that she would not seek reelection after finishing her current term. But in July, Bird announced she would not run for governor, instead running for reelection for her current position.
At the event, Bird said she had spoken with many people in the crowd about her plans in 2026 – and that her decision to run for reelection was because she believed there was still more she had to accomplish in the role.
“We’ve done some good things in the attorney general’s office to help Iowa but we are not done,” Bird said. “The work is not done. And I’m not going to leave that unfinished to run for something else.”
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