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Editorials

A little bit about me

As a candidate for Sheriff in beautiful Tama County, I know how important it is to be connected with the ones you serve. Although I did not grow up in Tama County, I have strong connections here. My great-grandmother Blanche (Sevcik) Rebik was born in Carroll Township, near Vining, with her ...

Q&A: Sunshine Week

Sunshine Week is March 10-16, 2024. Q: What is the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)? A: Under this nearly six decades-old federal law, the public has the right to request access to records from any federal agency. The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) helps keep check on government ...

District 53 Newsletter: March 7, 2024 Edition

Week 9 of the session was again filled with debate as we continue to send bills over to the Senate. This newsletter is also continuing discussion about bills passed in week 8 as well. After the initial discussion about Special Education and the Area Education Agencies spurred by the ...

Sweeney from the Iowa Senate

Our second legislative deadline for this year’s legislative session is getting closer. The eighth week of the session focused on debate, as well as starting our work on the bills we’ve received from the House of Representatives. Enforcing our founding principle A founding ...

District 53 Newsletter: Feb. 22, 2024 Edition

This week was the beginning of debate in the House. We are prioritizing House bills that need to be sent over to the Senate before the next funnel date in March. On Tuesday the House passed a bill that I filed and floor managed on behalf of a constituent, House File 2328, by a party line vote ...

Duquesne, Arizona, and the Hunt for the Juniper Titmouse

A juniper titmouse was reported on the Tucson Audubon Rare Bird Alert in early January this year. It had never before been reported in the Patagonia Mountains of southern Arizona or anywhere in Santa Cruz County even though the area is arguably the best birding in the USA. On February 11, Matt ...

Sweeney from the Iowa Senate: Week 5

The first deadline of the year was this week called "funnel" week. We worked to get important legislation through the first hurdle. This also meant we covered a wide range of issues while we worked towards our deadline. I have had several conversations in person and on the phone about the ...

District 53 Newsletter: Feb. 15, 2024 Edition

Last week was “Funnel Week”, wherein we must have all our individually filed bills through committee. Fortunately, I have been able to move the bills I need to through the process already, so my work this week was focused on the many other bills moving through the committees I sit on, which ...

District 53 Newsletter: Feb. 8, 2024 Edition

The legislature is quickly approaching the “funnel” date of February 16 where individually filed bills need to be through the committee process in order to be eligible for floor debate. This week I floor managed through a subcommittee meeting and the full committee meeting HSB 636, that ...

Iowa Outdoors

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is hosting a series of town hall-style meetings where local staff provide updates on recently completed hunting seasons, discuss possible changes to hunting rules and regulations, and address other topics as requested. Locally, the Iowa DNR will ...