by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch February 13, 2024 Lawmakers passed dozens of bills through committee Tuesday to keep them available for discussion as they near the first deadline of the 2024 legislative session. It’s “funnel week” at the Iowa State Capitol. That means most bills must be approved by a committee by the end […]
I voted for the H.R. 7024, the “Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act.” This consequential legislation supports families and communities, invests in small businesses, and builds on the successes of the 2017 GOP Tax Reform. The bipartisan legislation came about after negotiations between the Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-8) and […]
WASHINGTON, February 9, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) today announced it has a cooperative agreement with Iowa under the Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI). Through this agreement, USDA and Iowa are working together to offer over $3 million in competitive grant funding for projects designed to build […]
by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch February 5, 2024 Bill Northey, who was Iowa’s top agriculture official for more than a decade and a leader at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, died recently at the age of 64. His death was publicly announced Monday by the Agribusiness Association of Iowa, of which he was chief […]
by Kathie Obradovich, Iowa Capital Dispatch February 1, 2024 Democrats in the Iowa House unveiled several bills Thursday that they said were aimed at improving the economic well-being of Iowans, including proposals to increase the minimum wage and expand the state’s sales tax holiday. The bills also included proposals to eliminate a waitlist for disabled […]
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch February 1, 2024 The chairs of the Legislature’s tax-writing committees introduced a bill Thursday to gradually eliminate Iowa’s individual income tax. The proposal goes further than the tax cut plan Gov. Kim Reynolds introduced earlier in the session. Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, introduced […]
by Jared Strong, Iowa Capital Dispatch January 31, 2024 Newly proposed legislation would prevent the Iowa Department of Natural Resources from bidding on private land at auction and from acquiring the land from conservation organizations that obtained it in a “competitive manner.” It is the latest attempt by Republican lawmakers to restrict the state’s acquisitions […]
AMES, Iowa – Although they wear many hats, perform many jobs and are referred to using many terms, it turns out the people who grow Iowa’s crops and livestock prefer to be called “farmers.” The 2023 Iowa Farm and Rural Life Poll was released this winter and asked those surveyed what they preferred to be […]
January 27, 2024 LISBON, Iowa – On November 10, 1996, the Cedar County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a deceased newborn at a rural farmstead at 14 Highway 30 near Lisbon, IA. The caller reported the body of a newborn female had been found in a garbage bag in the barn. Law enforcement […]
by Robin Opsahl, Iowa Capital Dispatch January 25, 2024 The Iowa Secretary of State’s office has filed legislation that would limit what objections Iowans can raise through the state elections office in an effort to prevent candidates from appearing on the state ballot. The proposal comes in the wake of lawsuits challenging former President Donald […]
