Found the answer at the following link
https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/3673376-in-the-iowa-state-tax-returns-line-27-puts-in-2016-federal...
The key was answering "yes" to the question
"Where you required to file an Iowa tax return for 2015?"
I kept answering "no" to this and that bypassed the portion which eventually asks for Federal Refund
