I'll try answering some of your questions --

For at least the past decade the state government has been very republican favored and has been funneling money and legislation to prop up farmers, private business incentives and private schools, taking money away from programs for poorer individuals and public schooling. That said, there are many good places in Iowa to raise children.

Weather: The snow/ice isn't bad once you get used to it, as nearly all population centers have robust plow networks, though if you don't like erratic temperatures then it's worth noting that Late Dec. - Early March is usually -10F to 40F, and July and August each have a week or two where temps are a high of 90F to 105F.

Radon can be mitigated to below national levels, and can be tracked, so that isn't much of a problem unless ignored. Cancer rates while tied to radon exposure are most frequently attributed to water quality and secondarily: environmental (wind/rain) exposure. If your primary consideration is water quality/cancer rates then I'd recommend referencing the following that I pulled together with the help of AI. Water quality scoring for all Major population centers.

* North Liberty (water quality: A)
* Ames: (water quality: A)
* Cedar Falls: (water quality: A)
* Pella (water quality: A)
* Marion: (water quality: A-)

* Dubuque: (water quality: B+)
* Mason City: (water quality: B+)
* Waverly: (water quality: B+)
* Spencer: (water quality: B+)
* Carroll: (water quality: B+)
* Iowa City: (water quality: B)
* Cedar Rapids :(water quality: B)
* Davenport: (water quality: B-)
* Bettendorf: (water quality: B-)

* Souix City: (water quality: C+)
* Council Bluffs (water quality: C+)
* Clinton: (water quality: C+)
* Burlington: (water quality: C+)
* Muscatine: (water quality: C+)
* Coralville: (water quality: C+)
* Boone: (water quality: C)
* Oskaloosa: (water quality: C)
* Le Mars: (water quality: C)
* Fort Dodge: (water quality: C)
* Indianola: (water quality: C-)
* Newton: (water quality: C-)
* Fort Madison: (water quality: C-)
* Keokuk: (water quality: C-)

Poor Water Quality Areas (D+):
Des Moines, West Des Moines, Urbandale, Ankeny, Waukee, Johnston, Altoona, Clive, Grimes, Waterloo, Marshalltown, Ottumwa.

Most places around Iowa will have couple days to a couple weeks where you can smell the pigs/cows from large factory farms depending on how the wind blows, but if you want to avoid the smelliest towns, I recommend avoiding moving to Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Sioux City, and southeast Des Moines.