“Rod Stewart Hair”
“I like your hair!” a woman at the party said.
Opinions
This discussion of assimilation is an expansion of a topic I introduced in a recent article about “Diversity, Identity Politics and E Pluribus Unum.” Here are the major points of that article:
• In the recent past, Americans have tried to deemphasize our differences following the principle of E...
Survivors of assault and abuse often live in constant fear. Their days are filled with anxiety, knowing that their abuser or attacker might strike again. The Safe at Home program exists to aid survivors of domestic and sexual violence, stalking, and trafficking by providing them with a legal...
The U.S. continues to develop new clean and renewable energy resources to replace aging, carbon-emitting generating facilities. Lightly populated rural areas provide ample space for this new development, namely wind energy.
Rural communities stand to benefit from new economic activity, tax revenue...
As I write this, we are less than a week from the scheduled end of the 2017 legislative session. The last day we get paid is April 18 and we are working hard to stay close to that for adjournment.
The last week of the legislative session is spent finalizing the budget for the next year. That has...
What a beautiful spring we are having across the state of Iowa! The blooming flowers and green grass makes it hard to stay inside on these warm sunny days.
At the Capitol this week, the Senate debated House File 564. This bill addressed school funding flexibility. This is especially important for...
The legislature had a lot of floor debate during this rainy week, but the sun finally came out on Thursday in Des Moines. Groundskeepers at the Capitol even mowed the lawn for the first time of the mowing season. The green grass marks springtime and songbirds returning to Iowa. It also marks the...
With less than two weeks left in the 2017 legislative session, attention is turning to finalizing the budget. I have heard from many organizations and individuals that are saying, “I know this is a tight year, but please don’t cut my budget. Cut someone else’s.” Of course, that is impossible. Think...
Budgets are a moral document. They are supposed to reflect the state’s priorities. Years ago, we all understood that to develop Iowa’s economy and grow its population, we needed to invest in education to build our skilled workforce.
We prided ourselves upon fairness and looking out for the state’s...
The Bottle Bill
Over the last few weeks the House has been discussing ways to improve the recycling measures in our state. A bill was proposed earlier in session which would have repealed the “bottle bill” in order to replace it with different recycling laws. I have done a fair amount of research...
The Education Appropriations Subcommittee of the Iowa legislature proposed a budget bill this week that would eliminate several programs that support rural Iowans. Programs on the chopping block include the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture and the Iowa Flood Center.
“The Center for Rural...
