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The Exchange, 11/28/18, Jackie Smith, 2019 Leg Session, Meth Makes A Comeback

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Introduction

Welcome to The Exchange on Siouxland Public Media, I’m Mary Hartnett.  The 2019 legislative session begins on January 14th.  The upshot of the midterm elections is that Republicans still control the state house, the state Senate and the governor’s office.  There are several issues including privatized Medicaid, tax reform and that Republicans and Democrats would like to work on during the session.  One of the new faces on the Democratic side will be Sioux City’s Jackie Smith, who took the District 7 Senate seat from incumbent Rick Bertrand.  Smith says there are several areas she would like to address when the session starts. They range from education to abortion rights, to tax reform.  Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds has said she would like to take a second look at tax credits for businesses, and Smith says that’s an area that has been too long ignored.  

Jackie Smith

That was newly elected Democratic 7thDistrict State Senator Jackie Smith of Sioux City, talking about issues of concern in the upcoming legislative session.  

You’re listening to The Exchange, on Siouxland Public Media, I’m Mary Hartnett.

I also talked with a Republican State Senator about the upcoming session. Jason Schultz of Schleswig represents the 9thdistrict.  Asked about his priorities for the upcoming session, Schultz said two of the most important issues have to do with providing health care services.

Jason Schultz

That was Republican State Senator Jason Schultz of Schleswig, who represents the 9thdistrict.   I talked with Schultze and Sioux City Democratic State Senator Jackie Smith about the upcoming legislative session. It begins on January 14th.

You’re listening to The Exchange, on Siouxland Public Media.  I’m Mary Hartnett.  

Efforts to track and decrease opioid deaths in Iowa have been fairly successful, with the number of deaths down in the state.  However, the methamphetamine use and deaths are on the rise.  Friday is National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.  The interim director at Iowa’s Office of Drug Control Policy wants to people to know how dangerous this drug is. Woolery says meth is now being mostly out of state and shipped in, often from Mexico. He says the number of Iowans going into drug treatment for meth is at or near an  

Woolery, says the use of meth is up despite the fact that the number of meth labs in the state is at a 20-year low.   I asked Woolery to compare the trend of meth use and opioid use in Iowa over the last few years, and why the number of users of both substances has changed. 

Opioids/Meth

That was Dale Woolery, the interim director of the Governor’s Office on Drug Control Policy.  He says meth use is on the rise in Iowa, and he’s trying to raise awareness about its dangers.  Friday is National Methamphetamine Awareness Day.

You’re listening to The Exchange on Siouxland Public Media; I’m Mary Hartnett. Since the 1990s, welfare reform has changed the way benefits are allocated in the United States.  Limitations on benefits and work requirements have been widespread changes, but a new book argues that these requirements tend to affect women and people of color disproportionately.  Felicia Kornbluth and Gwendolyn Pink are the authors of Ensuring Poverty: Welfare Reform in the Feminist Perspective.  The authors 

Discuss arguments advanced by feminists for a welfare policy that would respect single mothers' rights while promoting their opportunities and assuring economic security for their families. Kornbluh says 

Felicia Kornbluth

That was Felicia Kornbluth, one of the authors, along with Gwendolyn Pink of Ensuring Poverty: Welfare Reform in the Feminist Perspective. 

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