EDUCATION AT THE CENTER OF BOUZA CAMPAIGN
Education is at the center of the campaign of legislative candidate Emma Bouza. Bouza, a Democrat, seeks election in the third legislative district in the Iowa House. She is a longtime resident of Hawarden.
She’s involved in a variety of organizations. She describes just some of her involvement.
Last year’s action to change area education agencies, particularly where it affects the developmentally disabled, that prompted her to run for the state legislature.
She also wants the legislature to take a stronger stand for public education and collective bargaining for teachers.
She says the Education Savings Account program and changes to Area Education Agencies must stop.
Bouza, who is a special ed teacher and has a special needs child, says the changes in the Area Education Agencies have made it more difficult to serve students.
She says changes in the Area Education Agencies are already affecting agency staff, and that may have an indirect affect on students in the future.
Bouza also wants lawmakers to address the needs of the developmentally disabled to bring more independence to their life and work
Bouza, who is a special ed teacher and has a special needs child, says the changes in the Area Education Agencies have made it more difficult to serve students.
Bouza says voters need to become knowledgable about the candidates and their experience and qualifications, and not just vote for a person with an R or D behind their name on the ballot,
House District 3 includes the northern half of Plymouth County and the southern half of Sioux County. The district is currently represented by Republican Tom Jeneary of Le Mars, who is seeking re-election to a fourth term.
IOWA COURT OFFICIALS COMMENT ON MISDIRECTED COURT FINES AND FEES
Officials in the state courts say they’re working to fix computer programming mistakes that led to incorrect distribution of 26-and-a-half MILLION in court debts over the past five years. A computer program distributes court fees and fines to cities, counties and more than a dozen different state and local funds. Court officials say the legislature made changes in 2020 and 2021 that complicated an already elaborate distribution system. A report from the National Center for State Courts says the system is not unique to Iowa, but retroactive, and sometimes conflicting legislation caused confusion and ultimately the errors in computer coding. The statement from the Judicial Branch confirms court officials are still in the process of correcting the errors.
UI LOGISTICS STUDY ON PACKAGE DELIVERY DRIVERS
A University of Iowa study finds package delivery companies would save bundles of time and money if their delivery truck drivers spent more time on foot and less time looking for parking spots. Ann Campbell, a U-I professor of business analytics, says she and her team have been researching ways delivery routes could be optimized for walking, especially in urban settings. In many smaller Iowa towns, parking isn’t a big deal for delivery vehicles, but Campbell says parking is a premium even in Iowa City. The study found delivery times could be cut by about 50-percent if companies designed routes built around walking, allowing drivers to make twice as many deliveries each day.
STREET WORK
The Le Mars Street Supervisor Scott Kneip says starting this morning, part of 21st St. S.W. will be shut down for repair of some wastewater manholes, and some street patching. It should take less than 14 work days to complete project should be 14 days or less, weather permitting.
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE UNCHANGED IN SEPTEMBER
The state unemployment rate remained at 2.9 percent in September as Iowa Workforce Development says the labor force remained largely static despite job reductions. The state’s labor force participation rate held steady at 66-point-three percent. The U-S unemployment rate decreased to 4.1 percent in September.
IOWA TOURISM SETS NEW RECORD
A report from the Iowa Tourism Office finds visitors spent seven-point-three BILLION dollars in Iowa during 2023, a new all-time record. The report says tourists shelled out an average of 20-million dollars — per day — experiencing all that Iowa has to offer. Chelsea Lerud (la-RUDE), executive director of Iowa Travel Industry Partners, says the figures represent an increase from the year before of better than five-percent.
She says tourism is all about importing dollars from outside the state so local residents don’t have to pay for all of the services we enjoy and need.
The study found travel-generated state and local tax receipts exceeded one-billion dollars last year, enough to pay the salaries of more than 19-thousand public school teachers. Iowa has many hidden gems for tourists, in addition to a host of attractions that are well advertised.
Tourism isn’t just a weekend draw, either. Larud says Iowa’s visitor economy is taking place seven days a week.
The report says tourism plays a crucial role in Iowa’s job market, supporting nearly 71-thousand jobs, which accounts for more than five-percent of all employment in the state.
STATE TAX REVENUE EXPECTED TO DROP 11.6% OVER TWO-YEAR PERIOD
State tax revenue is projected to drop by more than 11-and-a-half percent over a 24-month period — a decline the governor’s budget chief says was expected due to recently-approved tax cuts. Kraig Paulsen, director of the Iowa Department of Management, says there is enough available revenue to fulfill the spending promises outlined in the current fiscal year’s budget. Governor Reynolds says she and her fellow Republicans in the legislature believe the government has been taking in too much taxpayer money and they’ve fixed that by cutting taxes. Democrats in the legislature say these new estimates show the state will be taking in a billion dollars less in taxes. Democrats say that means more tax cuts for corporations and wealthy Iowans, while more money will be siphoned away from public schools to support the state program for private schools.
