Republicans in the House and Senate have yet to agree on a property tax reduction plan as the 2023 Iowa legislature enters its 13th week.
GOP leaders say they believe something will get done this session.
Assessments are naturally going up because the sale prices of homes and farmland have gone up over the past few years, but lawmakers are discussing ways to limit how much city and county property tax collections may grow annually.
The top Democrat on the senate’s tax policy committee says she’s optimistic Republicans and Democrats can find common ground on a property tax reduction plan.
Radio Iowa reports House Republicans have introduced a bill that would lower the property tax levy for state school funding and have the state cover a larger share of local public school budgets. It also would require schools to use cash reserves or other sources to come up with 10% of a construction project’s cost before asking voters to approve borrowing money for a project.
Iowa 4th District Representative Randy Feenstra visited Siouxland on Monday. He toured apartment complexes in Sioux City to discuss the housing shortage and “Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act” before hosting a Farm Bill town hall meeting in Ida Grove.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is renewing his call for the Biden administration to disclose all it knows about the high-altitude Chinese balloon that flew across the U.S. in February.
NBC is reporting today that the spy balloon — which China claimed was a weather balloon blown off course — was able to gather intelligence from several U.S. military sites and transmit it back to Beijing in real-time. For more on the story from Radio Iowa click here.
A northwest Iowa hog confinement owner who has violated state regulations more than two dozen times was recently fined $10,000 for spills from one of his facilities, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Check out the Iowa Capital Dispatch for more.
Iowa’s Sioux County is the healthiest county in the state, according to a new report that also puts Montgomery County at the bottom.
The County Health Rankings and Roadmaps report ranks counties’ health outcomes nationwide based on a range of factors.
This year’s report focuses on civic health, looking at things like civic infrastructure and voter turnout.
Iowa’s overall voter turnout is higher than the national average, but there’s a lot of variation in these rates at the county level.
A new report ranks Sioux County as the healthiest in Iowa while Montgomery County came in
The National Weather Service in Des Moines has confirmed 10 tornadoes touched down in Iowa last Friday.
Update from Radio Iowa: Preliminary reports from the National Weather Service office in the Quad Cities shows at least 16 tornadoes touched down in eastern Iowa Friday
Those tornadoes touched down in six eastern Iowa counties.
So far, the NWS says 11 people were injured. Fortunately, there were no deaths.
Gov. Kim Reynolds has issued a disaster declaration for 12 counties that sustained heavy damage from last Friday's storm.
The southeastern half of Iowa will once again be under a significant risk for severe weather and tornadoes later in the day tomorrow according to WHO-Television in Des Moines.
Submitted news releases:
Governor Pillen Announces New Corrections Director
LINCOLN, NE – Today, Governor Pillen announced Rob Jeffreys as the next director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS). Jeffreys will start April 17, 2023.
"Rob is a visionary and nationally recognized leader in corrections with a long track record of success," said Governor Pillen. “I respect his many years in public service and his expertise in this field. Director Jeffreys will be a great asset to the department and the state as we look toward replacing the aging Nebraska State Penitentiary and creating pathways back to the community for our inmate population.”
"Director Jeffreys shares our team's vision for law and order and wants to improve safety for all Nebraskans," said Lieutenant Governor Joe Kelly. "Over the last three years, the state has continued to decrease its rate of recidivism. That is something we want to continue to work on. For those who are committed to rebuilding their lives after serving their sentence, we want to ensure our reentry efforts support that goal.”
"It is an honor to serve as the next director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services," said Rob Jeffreys. "I have dedicated my life to the field of corrections. This role is a perfect fit and I am eager to get started, touring the facilities and meeting the staff at NDCS.”
Governor Pillen also took time to recognize the leadership of Diane Sabatka-Rine, who has been the interim director for NDCS since the retirement of former Director Scott R. Frakes in October 2022. “Diane has significant institutional knowledge about the department and its operations. She will be a great partner to Director Jeffreys as they work together to move the agency forward.”
Jeffreys previously served as the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections and spent 24 years with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, with most of those years spent in correctional management. From 2011-2019, he worked at the National Institute of Corrections as a National Criminal Justice Consultant. Jeffreys has over 25 years of experience in criminal justice and corrections serving in a variety of roles, including: corrections chief of staff, director, warden, deputy warden, and program coordinator. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Marshall University.
Director Jeffreys salary is $210,000 a year.
Woodbury Democrats Elect Officers
On Wednesday March 29, Woodbury County Democrats held their bi-annual caucus and biennial organizational meeting in the Gleeson Room at the Sioux City Public Library. In addition to other organizational activities, Woodbury County Central Committee members elected officers to serve a two-year term.
Amanda Gibson of Sioux City was elected to serve as Chair; Dave Dawson of Lawton and Linda Santi of Sioux City were elected to serve as Co-Vice Chairs; Leti O’Kane of Sioux City was elected to serve as Treasurer; and Karen Havlicek of Moville was reelected to serve as Secretary.
Outgoing Chair Jeremy Dumkrieger honored outgoing officers Co-Vice-Chairs Sandi Bass and Greg Guelcher; Treasurer Jeremy Saint; and Secretary Karen Havlicek. In turn, incoming Officers recognized Dumkrieger for his years of service.
New Central Committee members were voted upon and joined other Central Committee members to increase Central Committee membership.
“We’re excited to move forward with this blend of fresh, new members to join experienced members with important historical perspective,” expressed incoming Chair Gibson. “Central Committee meetings will happen on the last Wednesday of each month at the Sioux City Public Library. We welcome Democrats interested in protecting individual rights, investing wisely in public safety and human services delivery, safeguarding our environment, and making Woodbury County, making Iowa, and making the United States as great as can be, to join us. Democrats will continue to work to make government at all levels as fair and as just as possible. We invite folk to become involved in our important party-building efforts.”
Attorney General Bird Joins 21 States in Letter Opposing the Department of Energy’s New Gas Stove Regulations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, April 3, 2023 Contact: Alyssa Brouillet | Press Secretary | 515-823-9112 | alyssa.brouillet@ag.iowa.gov
DES MOINES – Attorney General Brenna Bird joined 21 other states in a letter opposing the Biden Administration’s Department of Energy’s new regulations, which would prohibit gas stoves that do not meet the new environmental standards. This would ban the sales of over half of all currently available gas stoves.
In the Biden Administration’s own study, they found that 20 out of 21 gas stoves failed to meet the requirements of their new rule. Not only would the new rule significantly limit options for Iowans looking to purchase a stove, but it would raise costs for consumers and harm businesses that would no longer be able to sell over half of these appliances.
“This is yet another power grab from the Biden Administration to advance their radical climate change agenda,” said Attorney General Bird. “And this time, it’s hitting us at home. While Americans struggle to make ends meet, Biden wants to ban the sale of most gas stoves and burden Americans with higher costs. We must hold the federal government accountable.”
The Biden Administration uses faulty estimates to balance the costs and benefits of the new rule. This leads to a skewed analysis that downplays its substantial costs to both states and consumers. The analysis also fails to consider federalism and its impact on states' rights. Moreover, the new rule is another example of federal overreach, exceeding the Department of Energy’s authority.
Iowa joined 21 other states in the Louisiana and Tennessee-led letter. The states include Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and Virginia.
