Iowa gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn eagerly champions the unconventional, hands-on private school he helped launch in Kansas as the best model for reinventing schools.
Zach Lahn, who helped launch a private school in Wichita, Kansas, and is now the Republican nominee for governor in Iowa, speaks in the rain to a crowd on Aug. 14, 2026, at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair.
Iowa gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn speaks frequently during his campaign about attributes of the private school he helped create in Wichita, Kansas. He isn’t eager to discuss Wonder school’s financial challenges or a Wichita Police Department report that says his handgun was stolen from school property. This is an Aug. 21, 2026, image of the school.
This story was originally produced by Kansas Reflector, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes Iowa Capital Dispatch, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
Correction
An earlier version of this report erroneously had a Nonpareil byline that was automatically applied during syndication. The Nonpareil regrets the error.
Zach Lahn, who helped launch a private school in Wichita, Kansas, and is now the Republican nominee for governor in Iowa, speaks in the rain to a crowd on Aug. 14, 2026, at the Des Moines Register Political Soapbox during the Iowa State Fair.
Iowa gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn speaks frequently during his campaign about attributes of the private school he helped create in Wichita, Kansas. He isn’t eager to discuss Wonder school’s financial challenges or a Wichita Police Department report that says his handgun was stolen from school property. This is an Aug. 21, 2026, image of the school.
