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 ...
A recent Iowa Starting Line article noted University of Northern Iowa students do not plan to stick around after graduation. For a state with a workforce problem, this is not good. Whether it is on the microlevel, people leaving rural Iowa for a larger Iowa city or on the macrolevel, people ...
Dear Editor, This is in regards to the February 16 article in the Sun-Courier about the public library legislation. By the way people talk, you would think the proposed library bill seeks to ban libraries, when it only gives city councils the *option* of exercising oversight. Why is there so ...
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 ...
This past weekend my wife and I went to the grand reopening of the Val Air Ballroom in West Des Moines. Only a few years ago, we went to a concert at this venue, and I was thankful they kept the lights dimmed as much as possible. Soon after this concert, the venue was closed for remodel. ...
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 ...
Right is wrong, wrong is right, males are females, females are males, the world is flat, the world is round, who can make sense of all this nonsense. Those of us who live by the Bible understand and know first-hand that Satan is the author of confusion. The play book has always been the same, ...
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 ...
In a world where everything goes as fast as possible, time should be taken to appreciate parts of life which are not meant to be commodified. This means art, specifically, is done as a passion whether it is painting, drawings, writing, or performing. Some are lucky enough to create art which ...
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 ...