In the heart of Iowa, Tama County is on the brink of a pivotal change. Lucas Dvorak, a name synonymous with dedication, expertise, and community involvement, has announced his candidacy for the position of Tama County Sheriff. With nearly 15 years of commendable service within the Sheriff's ...

We are in week 15 of the session with the intention of finishing up the budget and policy work yet this week, possibly working through till Saturday. As I finish this newsletter at 7:30 Thursday evening, we are preparing to debate five of these budget bills this evening. The first budget we ...

It’s time to be honest with you. You’re the problem. Every year about this time we warn you, the motoring public, that highway work is beginning across the country. State Police, State Departments of Transportation, workers, Unions, OSHA, and more; we produce public service ...

The fourteenth week of the legislative session is nearing the end. We’re working on finishing the 2024 Legislative Session, so we continue to debate many bills that better Iowa. Public Safety Bills Head to the Governor’s Desk As the session moves towards its completion, more policy ...

We have finished week 14 of the session and are quickly approaching our 100 day milestone, which is Tuesday, April 16, when the clerks are excused, and our per diem for travel expenses ends. We don’t anticipate having the budget fully passed by Tuesday, but we should be in the midst of those ...

Is local news readily available in your town? Do reporters still cover your school board and other municipal meetings? The State of Local News Project at Northwestern University documents the changing local news landscape across the country. Our latest report shows that where you live and ...

The thirteenth week of the legislative session is nearing the end. We’re working on finishing the 2024 Legislative Session, so we continue to debate many bills that better Iowa. This newsletter covers a recent bill that the Iowa House passed that received major pushback from our liberal ...

We have finished week 13 of the session, but we are continuing to pass policy bills, including bills that have come back from the Senate with amendments, as work on the budget continues. Senate File 2391, known as the Meat Integrity Act, is a bill to establish fair labeling standards on ...

No problem is so big that we can’t run from it — or at least avoid thinking about it. That’s human nature. There are many concerns that should command our attention but do not. Too often, we hope or assume a serious problem will go away or will spare us. In the aftermath of the Covid ...

We have finished week 12 of the session, and we are rapidly entering the budget portion of the session. The budget picture is bright, I will share more in future newsletters. With the Republican trifecta in the Capitol, we have been focused on lowering the tax burden on Iowans. But we ...