Reynolds Discusses $38 Million Dollar Funding For Water Projects
(Le Mars) — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds was in northwest Iowa on Friday to announce a $38 million commitment to helping with three water quality and infrastructure projects. One of those projects is the Lewis and Clark Water project that would transport water from the Missouri River to help communities in northwest Iowa, southeast South Dakota, and southwestern Minnesota. The water project in Iowa would go to help five different communities, including Hull, Sheldon, Sioux Center, Rock Rapids and Sibley. Governor Reynolds made a visit to KLEM offices and commented on the project.
Reynolds says the water project is unique when having three states working together. She says she has visited with her border colleagues about having South Dakota and Minnesota to step up so the project can be completed by 2023.
Reynolds says the completion of the water pipeline project will help with the region’s economic development.
Reynolds says the federal government has been slow to fulfill the end of the commitment. She say the plan is to increase from 45 million gallons of water per day up to at least 60 million gallons of water.
Reynolds says she is hopeful the U-S government will recognize the need to complete the project and will allocate the appropriate funding in a timely manner. The entire interview with Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds with her comments will be featured on the KLEM website.
RAGBRAI Announces Overnight Towns For 49th Annual Ride
(Des Moines) — The 49th annual RAGBRAI bicycle ride overnight stops has been announced. During an announcement celebration, the bicycle ride will start at Sergeant Bluff and then continue east to Ida Grove as the first overnight stop. From Ida Grove the route will head north to Pocahontas, then on to Emmetsburg. Following Emmetsburg, the ride across Iowa will visit Mason City, Charles City, West Union, and finish at Lansing. The bicycle ride will be from July 23rd to the 30th.
Nominations Are Now Being Accepted For “Teacher Of The Year”
(Le Mars) — The LeMars Community School District Foundation and Alumni Association will again jointly sponsor and select a “Teacher of the Year” to represent the many great teachers who exemplify our school district and its educational goals. The award is called the Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell Award. Its purpose is to recognize and honor teachers who demonstrate excellence in education by meeting the needs of the students. Anyone wishing to nominate a teacher for the Decades of Excellence Crystal Bell Award may stop by the Superintendent’s Office or any of the principals’ offices or visit the school district’s website to obtain nomination materials. The application should be completed and submitted by Friday, March 25, 2022. If any questions, please call the Superintendent’s Office at 546-4155.
Senate Leader Whitver on Federal Health Care Worker Vaccine Mandate
(Des Moines, IA) — Senate Republican Leader Jack Whitver says the U-S Supreme Court’s ruling upholding the federal vaccine mandate for health care workers likely closed the door on efforts at the state level to counter that edict. Whitver says it’s an issue that needs to be solved at the federal level rather than the state legislature. He says that means it will take an act of Congress to override the Biden Administration’s requirement that health care workers get fully vaccinated against COVID. A state law passed in October ensures health care workers may file for unemployment benefits if they’ve had a religious or medical exemption request denied by their employer.
Man Found Dead in Cedar Rapids Park
(Cedar Rapids, IA) — A body found this (Friday) morning in Cedar Rapids is the city’s second homicide of the year. Officers located a man in a parking lot at Cedar Valley Park with what appeared to be a gunshot wound. He was dead at the scene. Investigators says this shooting appears to be another targeted incident. Detectives have identified 19-year-old Cordal Lewis as the victim in the first homicide of 2022. Lewis died from a gunshot wound Thursday afternoon. No word on any arrests in either case.
Warmer Weekend Expected in Iowa
(Des Moines, IA) — Forecasters say temperatures are going to warm up for the last weekend in January. National Weather Service meteorologist Ashley Bury says the southerly winds are bring warmer air into Iowa and temperatures could be well above freezing in some parts of the state. She says central and western Iowa could see highs in the 40s Saturday. The warm conditions will continue into the early part of next week. Bury says it looks like we’re still going to be in the 40s for Monday, and then as we get into the beginning of February — looks like it will kind of hold into the 30s for much of the area. Temps are expected to drop down back to the teens by Wednesday.
State Representative Dr. Tom Jeneary Comments On Legislative Session
(Le Mars) — State lawmakers have completed the third week of the General Session. Republican House Representative, Dr. Tom Jeneary of Le Mars offers an update on the action inside the State House Chamber.
Greetings from the Statehouse,
Here in Iowa we believe in the sovereignty of the individual. This session that will not change, in fact, we are going to return freedom back to you. I have heard the concerns of my fellow constituents of a pipeline that is traveling through much of District 5. There are massive corporations attempting to invade one of the most sacred covenants of American citizenship, private property rights.
I am working on a bill with one of my colleagues in the Senate that will not permit massive corporations to condemn agricultural land without the consent of the landowner. Farmers should be able to decide whether to keep their land or sell it. There is no right of a private corporation to come in and take the land that you have earned with your hard-earned money. For farmers, your land is your livelihood, and Iowa farmers feed the world. We will not allow land to be taken without the absolute consent of the farmer. More on this as things develop.
Last week I discussed my involvement on the Human Resources Committee. This week we were busy as we propelled two bills to the full committee for amendment and debate. Both HSB 507 and its companion bill HSB 508 will both help create a robust public assistance system to ensure our most needy Iowans are receiving proper nutrition.
After much consultation with experts in the Department of Human Services, we have found a need to close loopholes and eliminate fraud in our Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP). There are reports of millionaires being able to access our SNAP benefits due to a lack of an asset test. HSB 508 will provide a return to the federal rule which provides numerous exceptions for working families trying to get back on their feet, including vehicle ownership.
Iowa has had a problem with people who are not eligible for programs still being able to receive benefits. HSB 507 creates a verification system to aid the Department of Human Services in ensuring the proper people are receiving benefits. DHS has reported an error rate of people who would be ineligible receive benefits at nearly 7%. States who have implemented this program have seen that error rate fall to nearly 1%. This is a fiscally responsible program that will ensure all Iowans are able to participate in a robust SNAP program,
I am excited to announce there is some good news coming out of District 5. Our very own Kiley Allan has been selected by the Iowa Pork Producer’s Association as Iowa’s Pork Queen. Congratulations Kiley, we know you will represent Iowa pork well. We are also excited to announce Matt and Angie Schnepf were selected as All American Pork Producers by Iowa Pork Producer’s Association. Congratulations to our District 5 pork all stars. Keep up the good work!
As always please feel free to reach out with any comments and concerns.
Taylor Times
The Taylor Times by Senator Jeff Taylor 1-28-22
Week three of the legislative session was very busy in the Iowa Senate with many subcommittee and committee meetings taking place, as well as the start of our work on the budget for this year. A number of proposals are making their way through the legislative process as we tackle issues from constituents throughout the state.
This week the Republican caucus was fortunate to have meetings with Senator Chuck Grassley and Congresswoman Ashley Hinson. During their visits, they provided updates on their work in Washington DC and their concerns about problematic policies coming from the Biden Administration. It was good to have them back home and we appreciated the opportunity to visit with them.
I was privileged to meet with a group of domestic abuse survivors from District 2 on Monday at the Capitol. Pastor Deb Rensink of the Whispers of Love, Hope, and Joy ministry organized the visit so legislators could listen to these women and so they could advocate on behalf of victims’ rights legislation (e.g., Marsy’s Law).
Protection for Workers and Conscientious General Contractors
Wednesday morning, I managed Senate File 493 in the Labor and Business Relations Committee. It was approved. The bill will provide some accountability and oversight in regard to labor brokers who bring workers to a construction job site in Iowa—many of whom are brought here illegally from out of the country and are then exploited by “coyotes” and unscrupulous general contractors. This will expand the definition of “contractor” under Iowa Code to include a labor broker or recruiter, and will require registration with the Iowa Division of Labor. Labor unions, including the Carpenters Union, spoke in favor. I have been a strong supporter of the bill and its predecessor (SF 69). I also ran bills in the Education Committee and Judiciary Committee.
Protection for Pregnant Women
Like last year, I am also a strong supporter of SF 485, a bill to require reasonable accommodations in the workplace for employees based on medical conditions related to pregnancy or childbirth. Although I want to amend the bill to narrow the scope of the Labor Commissioner’s involvement to specific complaints, this is a pro-pregnancy, pro-life bill that ought to be enacted. Unfortunately, the leading business organization at the Capitol is opposed because they prefer federal regulation over state regulation. If you support the idea of “reasonable accommodations” that explicitly would not “impose an undue hardship on the business of the employer,” I encourage you to contact Republican leaders on behalf of this bill. There is a similar bill in the House, proposed by Rep. Bobby Kaufmann and managed by Rep. Megan Jones (HSB 603).
Tax Cuts for All
One major event this week was the release of the Senate Republican tax relief proposal. During the first week of session, Senate leaders spoke about the priority of tax relief. The Governor released her proposal last week, after dedicating a portion of her Condition of the State speech to the topic, and this week the Senate released its plan to tackle Iowa’s high tax rates and the overpayment of taxes by Iowans.
The tax relief package contains a number of sections, but the highlight of the bill is a major reduction in the income tax Iowans pay. The top income tax bracket in Iowa, with a rate of 8.53%, currently applies to household incomes over $78,000 (approximately). This income level threshold is much lower than other states. Since the top rate starts so low, many middle-income Iowans are paying some of the highest tax rates in the country. If our tax plan is fully implemented, Iowa will have a flat 3.6% tax rate. Our state income tax rate would be the 4th lowest in the country instead of the 8th highest, as it is today.
Iowa also has a corporate tax rate of almost 10%. Again, this is one of the highest in the country. One consequence of a rate this high is the necessity for a series of credits and exemptions to attract investment to our state. Certain companies and industries now pay a lower effective rate, or even nothing at all, but other companies not favored by the tax code have to pay the high rate. This bill starts to solve the problem by reducing these carve-outs in exchange for a lower, fairer rate.
The bill also fully eliminates all taxes on retirement income, expands military pay exemption to full-time National Guard members, and provides farmers a first-time pension exemption by exempting income from either cash rent or farm crop shares. There are many states, including Illinois, that do not tax pension income. These policies will help to keep retired Iowans in our own state.
