The Dickey Dispatch – April 25th, 2025
by Senator Adrian Dickey
Happy Friday District 44,
I hope you all had a GREAT Easter weekend. It is always great when we can celebrate Jesus’s death and resurrection with our family. To all my Catholic brothers and sisters, I offer my condolences as we all mourn the death of Pope Francis and I pray for all in the Catholic Church.
Tuesday, I had the pleasure of attending The FAMiLY Leader’s annual award ceremony. The FAMiLY Leader is a non-profit organization that promotes Christian values in government. The Iowa Senate Republican caucus was recognized with an award for their work this past year promoting values aligned with The FAMiLY Leader. I took my clerk, Jensen Cooper, who is from Eagle Grove, with me as my guest. Jensen is a recent graduate from Dordt University and will be starting graduate school this fall. He has been EXCELLENT help this year in scheduling my meetings, filing bills, and getting me from one meeting to the next. It has been a blessing to have had him with me this session!
On Wednesday the Senate passed multiple bills that will benefit Iowans from the beginning to the end of one’s education journey. Senate File 445, among other things, sets up the funding structure for preschool funding for community-based providers approved to directly participate in the preschool program. Senate File 440 requires the Board of Regents to make a final decision on tuition increases no later than April 30 of the previous fiscal year. This will make sure that students know the prices they will need to pay to go to college before they are getting ready to move into their dorms.
We also passed HF 248 which deals with adoptive parents. The bill requires an employer to treat an employee who adopts a child up to six years of age in the same manner as an employee who is the biological parent of a newborn child for purposes of employment policies, benefits, and protections for the first year of the adoption.
As we get closer to the end of this legislative session we continue to work hard for Iowans. Finishing Iowa’s budget this year while keeping us the most financially responsible state is one of my top priorities. Even with the tax cuts that Senate Republicans have implemented in the past 7 years, we continue to have the budget to support Iowans and Iowa infrastructure.
