The 2026 Convention will be hosted in Newton Iowa at the Emerson Hough Chapter.

State Board Meeting – Friday April 24th – 10am

State Convention – Saturday April 25th – 9am (Doors Open @ 8)

In-person registration is available.

Registration Details

Registration Fees are split between the host chapter and the Iowa Divison.

• Early Bird Registration (online or mail) – BEFORE 4/1 – $20.00
• Standard Registration (online or mail) – $30.00
• Same Day In-Person Registration – $40.00

About Our Keynote Speaker

Prof. Neil D. Hamilton – Through Nature’s Lens

At the Izaak Walton League, conservation is not just policy — it is a way of life shaped by rivers, fields, and the responsibility we carry for the land we love. Professor Neil D. Hamilton has spent a lifetime listening to those lessons.

For more than three decades, Neil shaped agricultural law in Iowa as a professor at Drake University Law School and as the founder and longtime director of the Agricultural Law Center. His work has always gone beyond legal frameworks, focusing instead on stewardship — how people, soil, water, and food systems fit together in a healthy landscape.

Since retiring in 2019, Neil has turned even more deeply toward observation and storytelling. Through his books The Land Remains, The River Knows, and most recently Through Nature’s Lens, he invites readers to see Iowa not only as a place of production, but as a place of wonder, responsibility, and hope.
A trusted voice on agricultural law, Neil is also a passionate advocate for soil conservation, land stewardship, and better food systems. His writing and lectures have reached and inspired Iowans across the state who care about the future of our land and waters.

Today, he and his wife, Khanh, live and farm at Sunstead, their 12-acre market farm near Waukee, where the daily work of tending the land continues to shape his perspective.

We are honored to welcome Professor Neil D. Hamilton as the Iowa Division Izaak Walton League’s keynote speaker for the April 25 State Convention.

Following his keynote, Professor Hamilton will moderate a 30-minute discussion on outdoor education with Mark Dorhout, Panora Conservation Chapter President and leader of the Panorama Middle School Outdoor School Program, and Jay Gorsh, Director of School of the Wild and board member of the Iowa County Chapter.

• Professor Neil D. Hamilton – Emeritus Professor of Law at Drake University Law School and founder of the Agricultural Law Center. Author of The Land Remains, The River Knows, and Through Nature’s Lens. Neil lives and farms with his wife, Khanh, at Sunstead, their 12-acre market farm near Waukee, and will moderate the discussion.
• Mark Dorhout – President of the Panora Conservation Chapter of the Izaak Walton League and leader of the Panorama Middle School Outdoor School Program, where he helps connect students with hands-on outdoor learning and conservation values.
• Jay Gorsh – Director of School of the Wild and board member of the Iowa County Chapter of the Izaak Walton League. Jay works to engage youth through immersive nature-based education and community stewardship programs.

Super 8 Motel

1635 South 12 th  Ave. W
Newton, Ia 50208
641-812-2087

Booking a room can be made by mentioning the 2026 Iowa Division Convention. Reservations must be made by calling the hotel.
$70.00 plus tax for King room
$75.00  plus tax for 2 queens

• There will be proposed bylaws changes at the convention, please carefully review these changes here.
• Convention Registrations are Non-Refundable.

July 11th 2026, Ankeny Iowa, Dragoon Trail Chapter

In 2026 the Iowa Division State Shoot will be held in Ankeny at the Dragoon Trail Chapter.  Additional details will be announced during the 2026 convention.