Local Columns
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“We’ll always have Paris,” Rick tells Ilsa in the classic film Casablanca in which Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman set for the ages Paris as a backdrop for romance. Some even consider the … more
    Marcie R. Rendon reprises her fascinating character Cash Blackbear in Sinister Graves, third in a trilogy about a young Native woman whose special powers make her an invaluable … more
With baseball season now in full swing, what could be a better read than the biography of a small-town boy who made it big in the major leagues. That’s the theme of Joe Hatten: Bancroft Major … more
The Iowa Senate passed resolution SCR 101 (Sine Die) and recessed at 3:30AM Saturday morning on April 20, 2024. After a full week of debate the Senate concluded the 2024 session of Iowa’s 90th … more
While America was embroiled in the midst of a great civil war, yet another war was taking place in Minnesota. Aberdeen, S.D., native S.K. Sandvig writes of the 1862 US-Dakota War in The Girl in … more
You can save a life in just a few seconds, by being ready to respond if a stroke occurs. Nearly 800,000 Americans experience stroke each year. Strokes cause 140,000 deaths each year, and are a … more
The final days of this year’s session, as well as the 90th General Assembly, are upon us. We are ramping up debate on the budget pieces that signal the end of each session. Many of the budget … more
Technically this was the last full week while next week the 100 days of this 2024 session concludes on Tuesday the 16th. In reality we still have budgets to work on through the Appropriations … more
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On Wednesday, Governor Reynolds signed HF 2612 into law. This bill includes Area Education Agency (AEA) reforms, Supplemental State Aid (SSA), and teacher salary increases. House Republicans … more
This week (Week of March 27) was extremely busy with debate as well as advancing the Governor’s appointees out of standing committees. I am also in the process of reviewing the appropriation budget … more
This week (Week of March 18) in the Senate we’ve been exceptionally busy with debate. Iowa being Iowa we had highs of 70 and lows in the teens but now the spring equinox has officially launched … more
Last week was the end of the second funnel. Any bills that we passed off the House floor and got out of Senate Education committee are still “alive.” Below are some of the bills that survived and … more
Iowa ranks #1 in election integrity. This week, the House of Representatives passed HF 2610, a bill to make several changes to increase security in Iowa’s elections. The bill completes the full … more
The second funnel week’s purpose is basically the same as the first funnel week, but this time around the Senate is working with House bills, as opposed to Senate bills. This week’s schedule was … more
This year, more than 150,000 new colorectal cancers will be diagnosed, and some 52,000 Americans will die of the disease. With the help of your medical local providers, you can help turn the … more
As conversations about budgets and tax cuts are now moving to the forefront of the legislative session, it is once again time to review an important factor in these discussion – the Taxpayer Relief … more
Week seven of the legislative session ushered in a week focused mainly on debate. Every day after gaveling in, both parties retire to caucus and discuss the bills at hand. This gives my colleagues … more
In the Senate during week three the focus was on scheduling subcommittee meetings for discussion and public comment. The scheduling process can be quite a challenge as the other senators are also … more
At the beginning of the New Year, it’s natural to consider health improvements. Nothing puts your well-being in the spotlight better than scheduling essential cancer screenings. Screenings aid … more
HSB 542 has garnered the most attention from the Governor’s Condition of the State address. It is a bill seeking to reform Area Education Agencies. I’ve heard from many constituents with … more
On Monday January 15th (Martin Luther King Day) Iowa held it’s Republican (first in the nation) caucus. The final countdown after months of events, speeches, mailings and texts. It’s a wonderful … more
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