Guest Columns
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Last week was also National School Choice Week, providing an opportunity to recognize Iowa’s progress in expanding educational options for families. Since the passage of the Students First Act in 2022, there has been large interest in school choice initiatives. These efforts aim to enhance academic outcomes across all educational settings—public, private, and charter schools—ensuring families have access to the best learning environment for their children. more
Session is in full gear and many of the major pieces of legislation you may be hearing about are in their formulation and public input stage.  As bills begin to have clarity, I will write about those topics in future columns.  For this week, I will give you some highlights of bills that have passed a subcommittee and are up for consideration.  more
Stubbornly high prices for heavy equipment, supplies, and technology continue to impact the budget of the Department of Transportation.  This was the Department’s message as it presented its Fiscal Year 2026 spending proposal to the House Transportation, Infrastructure, and Capitals budget subcommittee Jan. 27. more
Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, the state’s largest grassroots farm organization, will address key priorities including the modernization of the state’s Grain Indemnity Fund, protecting property taxpayers and other important policies impacting Iowa’s farmers and rural communities during the 2025 legislative session. more
Iowa Capital Dispatch this month marked the fifth anniversary of its launch on Jan. 7, 2020. more
In this year’s tax bill I do intend to pursue the option for counties (including Scott County) that have already declared Emergency Medical Service as an essential service, as well as any new counties who have not yet done so, to have access to a higher levy rate and new money.  I want to be clear: Cedar County voters would still have to vote and adopt this option.  The difference is that counties who already have voted and are adopting the EMS infrastructure would not have to start that process from scratch. more
Last week, I chaired the subcommittee on Senate File 49, which relates to bots and the purchase of event tickets on the internet. These bots ruin the chances of people obtaining tickets by flooding websites selling tickets, clogging up the servers, and taking all of the tickets. These tickets are then usually re-sold with a huge price markup. Senate File 49 works to prohibit the use and creation of bots to purchase more than the posted limit for any ticket sale, or circumvent any queue or waiting period to purchase tickets. The bill will be discussed in the Technology Committee, and if approved will be sent to the floor for debate. more
The House Public Safety Committee has started the year fast with multiple subcommittees on various issues. Below are a few of the bills discussed. more
We have been hard at work in each of our committees. In our Natural Resources Committee, five bills were assigned to various Representatives this week. House File 65, a bill relating to deer depredation, was assigned to Reps. Collins, Sexton, and Kurth. more
Several years ago, I started taking more of an interest in my local community and how we could make it better. My husband, Frank, and I are the proud parents of four incredible children, and we wanted to make sure they had the best education, the resources they needed to succeed, and a community where they could grow and thrive. Wanting the best for my kids, and for families across Iowa, is why I decided to run for Iowa Senate. more
Sometimes in life an event occurs that causes someone to say, “enough is enough.”  In my case, there have been legislative attacks on the people I’ve served in public education for the past 40 years as a teacher, coach, bus driver, maintenance worker, administrator and board member. more
January 2025 marks Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a crucial time to shine a light on the ongoing issues of exploitation and trafficking, particularly in Iowa. Disturbingly, the average age of individuals affected by sex trafficking is just 15 years old, with a staggering 89% of victims being female. This reality calls for urgent action and support for survivors. more
Q: What are you doing to stop human trafficking? more
Q: What’s on Congress’ to-do list? more
Donald Trump filed a lawsuit this week against J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register, claiming their final pre-election poll that said Kamala Harris led by 3 points in Iowa amounted to election interference. Dubbing it the “Harris poll,” the president-elect makes this claim: more
The North Scott Community School District is excited to announce the launch of a comprehensive strategic planning process. This process aims to create a clear and focused road map for the district over the next 3-5 years. This initiative will guide our efforts to ensure student success, enhance community engagement, and foster continuous improvement in our schools.  more
American voters were under a lot of stress leading up to the Nov. 5 presidential election. That stress has continued since Donald Trump received less than 50 percent voter support. Hence, the majority of citizens are not wed to his unending plethora of promises. more
I was asked to speak last month at the annual conference of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. My remarks boiled down to a simple message: The public needs more information about their governments, not more secrecy from their governments. more
Editor’s note: Scott County supervisors on Nov. 7 approved these priorities of the Iowa Urban County Coalition for taxpayer-funded lobbying of state legislators during the 2025 session. The coalition is comprised of supervisors from Linn, Black Hawk, Dubuque, Johnson, and Scott counties. more
Tubbs family honored for initial pledge for bandshell fund drive more
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