The Iowa House unanimously passed House File 2581, a bill to make changes to the Iowa One Call system. Iowa One Call is the 8-1-1 phone number that Iowans call before they dig to ensure that underground utilities are not harmed. The Iowa One Call system currently processes over 540,000 tickets and coordinates more than 2.7 million locate requests per year throughout Iowa. more

Last week, the House of Representatives had a busy week of debate. more

March 13, 1974: A group of Eldridge residents said they planned to fight the U.S. Department of Transportation’s plan to abandon the Milwaukee Railroad spur from Bettendorf to Mount Joy and Eldridge. “The economic impact of its loss could be very serious,” wrote the North Scott Industrial Development Board. The Milwaukee Railroad said it also planned to fight the DOT on the matter. more

I’m working on a story for next month. And it’s kind of an unbelievable story, although what I’m about to tell you might seem unremarkable. So you’ll just have to trust me for now. But I did want you to meet two characters. more

In 1975, Eldridge City Council members, recognizing that their meetings which sometimes lasted until 11:30 at night were way too long, made a decision to offload discussion of utility details by creating a separate utility board. The town was a third of its current population then, but growing rapidly. more

"Your continued thoughts and prayers are greatly appreciated ..." more

Our second legislative deadline has passed, which means we had another busy week working on moving House bills through the Iowa Senate. Policy bills are required at this time to be through a committee in the opposite chamber to be considered for the rest of the legislative session. more

Iowans found their way back to the state’s 19 casinos in February, as gaming tax payments rebounded from January’s dip. more

I wanted to begin the column by thanking all of the citizens who attended my Listening Posts and forums this year. We held over 12 events in three different counties. Of course, you always have the occasional person there who wants to score political points through disruption or a litany of loaded questions but the overwhelming majority of people were thoughtful concerned citizens with great ideas! Thank you. I learn from these experiences. more

March 21, 1984: The arrest count rose to 12, as Eldridge police continued to work through a drug investigation at North Scott High School. One adult and three students were charged with selling drugs, and eight students were charged with possession of a controlled substance. Police chief Gil Hansen said more arrests were likely after students returned from spring break. He added more than $500 worth of marijuana and amphetamines had also been confiscated. more

As you can see by the rundown of bills still alive in the Legislature in this week's NSP, there is no shortage of issues to engage. You might not like what I have to say about several of those anyway.  more

"Has Iowa’s Republican party fallen so low they need accommodations for criminal candidates ..." more

"The southern border controversies highlight the hypocrisy of our Congress representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks ..." more

Changes to Iowa’s Area Education Agencies (AEAs) have been a central focus of many Iowans this year. The reality is this - the status quo of Iowa’s special education system is not good enough, and something has to change. It is not just the legislature that thinks so. The federal government has designated our state as “needs improvement” and is starting in-state monitoring this fall. more

Last week we took action on two major pieces of legislation – combating illegal immigration and fighting against eminent domain abuse. more

March 27, 1974: The North Scott School Board reviewed bids for the construction of a new junior high building. The low bids totaled $1.9 million for the 88,000 square foot building. Superintendent Melvin Heiler said the bids were higher than he would have liked, but there had been price fluctuations and concern over materials shortages in the months leading up to the bidding process. more

The Eldridge-North Scott Chamber of Commerce is what it is – a force for bringing people together and creating community – largely because of the efforts of Carolyn Scheibe who served as executive director for 15 years, retiring in 2016. Sadly, Carolyn died March 22 at age 70 after an extended illness. more

Rules are racing. more

"Is it asking too much for athletes from other countries who are highly paid professional athletes in America to show more respect for our country by learning to speak English ..." more

"On behalf of Cindi’s family, friends, and the Scott County Library System, we would like to say thank you to everyone who donated to her memorial ..." more