JENEARY PROPERTY TAX
House and Senate Republicans are still negotiating over a bill to ease spikes in property taxes.
State Senator Tom Jeneary of Le Mars says the issue is a complicated one, and lawmakers should take time to find a good solution to the issue.
So far, elements of property tax reform include controls on spikes in property values, which in turn lead to tax increases.
Supervisors don’t like the idea of a 2% cap,and homeowners don’t want to see the rollback removed.
There’s also a time element. Inflation has caused a rise in property assessments, and there’s the drive to do something about them NOW.
Rep. Jeneary takes a deliberative approach to property tax retorm. He says a bill does not have to emerge in this session.
HOUSE DEMOCRAT CRITICIZES GOP’S SALES TAX BREAKS
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst says the state sales tax exemptions House Republicans proposed this week on laundry detergent, toilet paper and vitamins fall far short of addressing the needs of working Iowans.
House Speaker Pat Grassley says Republicans in the legislature don’t control monetary policy at the federal level and their proposals to reduce the cost of everyday items with sales tax exemptions are a way to help Iowans dealing with inflation.
House Democrats have proposed bills to provide state grants to raise the wages of child care workers and tax credits for small businesses that provide child care as a benefit for employees. House Democrats have also called for a state law that would force landlords to refund half of a deposit fee if they do not let the applicant become a renter as well as a cap on rent increases for current tenants, so rent could not go up more than the inflation rate. None of those bills have been advanced by Republicans who control the debate agenda in the Iowa House.
U OF IOWA STUDY FINDS SLANG BACKFIRES MISERABLY IN MARKETING
Imagine a grandfather in his 80s using words like bae, bougie or rizz with a teenage grandchild. The kid likely won’t be receptive and will instead give grandpa the side-eye. The same’s true in business. A University of Iowa study finds when companies try to market themselves as cool using slang, it can be disastrous. Bryce Pyrah (PY-rah), a U-I doctoral student in marketing, says they gauged consumer responses to real and fictional corporate social media posts, some that used slang, some that didn’t. Pyrah says they found brands using contemporary slang — words like slap, ghost and lit — to reach a young audience usually just embarrassed themselves. In almost every case, they responded more negatively to those with slang than those without. The only exception was with brands that already have an “edgy personality,” like Monster Energy or Red Bull.
DRIVER FATALLY INJURED IN SEMI CRASH
The driver of a grain truck in Plymouth County suffered fatal injuries after his truck overturned. The Plymouth County Sheriffs Office says the accident occurred around 8:45 a.m. on County Road C38, near Fawn Ave, about nine miles east of Westfield. It was reported as a semi rollover with the driver trapped inside. The semi, pulling a grain trailer, was travelling east on C38, when it left the road and entered the south ditch, rolling into the passenger side. The driver was trapped inside, and was removed by Akron Fire Department. He was transported by Akron Ambulance to Mercy One Hospital in Sioux City with serious injuries. He later succumbed to his injuries, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. The victim’s name is not being released at this time.
TWO VEHICLE ACCIDENT INJURES ONE DRIVER
Thursday morning, the Sioux County Sheriffs Office investigated a two vehicle accident on U.S. Highway 75 2.5 miles south of Sioux Center. The accident occurred around 7:45 a.m. A vehicle driven by 18 year old Stetson Fedders of Sioux Center crossed the center line of the highway and struck an oncoming SUV driven by 36 year old Emily Kellen of Le Mars. Fedders received minor injury and was transported by Sioux Center Ambulance to Sioux Center Health for treatment. Fedders was cited for driving on the wrong side of the highway.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Sioux Center Police Department, Sioux Center Fire Department and Sioux Center Ambulance.
GEHLEN CATHOLIC PRESIDENT NAMED
Gehlen Catholic School has a new president. In a Facebook post, the school announced that Dr. Amanda Anderson, a Le Mars native, has been named president of the school. The post says her experience at Iowa State University and the University of South Dakota, and her love for her community and Catholic education equip her for the post.
SIOUX CITY LEADERS TO VOTE ON RESTORING FUNDING TO HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Sioux City leaders may reconsider a plan which drastically reduced the budget for the local human rights commission. The city council slashed the panel’s budget in February by 140-thousand dollars, more than a third. During this week’s meeting, supporters of the Sioux City Human Rights Commission packed the council chambers. Dan Moore is the mayor pro tem and one of two council members who support fully funding the commission, which he calls “an essential service.” Many residents spoke out at the hearing in favor of restoring funding to the commission, which helps to enforce anti-discrimination laws. The council voted to decide next Monday on whether to reinstate the budget for next fiscal year. The panel’s chair says if the money isn’t reinstated, staff hours will be cut, and some of the most vulnerable in the community will suffer.
IOWA HOUSE DELEGATION APPROVES SENATE BUDGET PLAN
Congresswoman Ashley Hinson of Marion says she advised her fellow Republicans to support the Senate-passed budget and tax plan — and resolve spending differences later. Some House Republicans had said they wouldn’t vote for it because it didn’t do enough to reduce the deficit — but it narrowly cleared the House late Thursday morning. U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra also voted yes. Feenstra says Republicans have an obligation to advance Trump’s agenda and ensure the tax cuts didn’t expire. Hinson says the plan ensures there will be investments in Trump’s priorities like border enforcement and military spending. And it also ensures the 2017 tax cuts Trump signed into law do not expire on December 31st. Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Congressmen Zach Nunn also voted for the plan.
PROPERTY TAX OVERHAUL UNDER REVIEW IN IOWA LEGISLATURE
The Republicans who lead the tax-writing committees in the Iowa House and Senate have released a revised version of their proposed overhaul of Iowa’s property tax system. It still says property tax rates on existing homes may grow no more than two percent a year — but it would give city and county governments limited leeway to raise property taxes if inflation rates soar. And rather than a five-year phase out of a mechanism called “the rollback” that has limited residential property tax growth in Iowa since the late 1970s, this new plan would eliminate the roll back mechanism next year.
House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst of Windsor Heights says the bill proposes significant changes to a complicated property tax system. Senate Democratic Leader Janice Weiner of Iowa says it’s important to give Iowans time to review the changes made to the original plan.
Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, released a written statement about the updated proposal. Kaufmann says he and Dawson are working on a property tax overhaul focused on property taxpayers who’ve been louder than ever with concerns about the latest round assessment letters.
BOOK HONORS IOWA CENTRAL STUDENTS WHO DIED IN VIETNAM WAR
A book that will be formally launched later this month is a collection of biographies and a tribute to more than four dozen young men who attended Iowa Central Community College before their lives were taken in the Vietnam War. T-J Martin, Dean of Iowa Central’s Distance Learning Department, coordinated the book project that chronicles the lives of the former students from the 1960s and ’70s. The book is called “Before They Were Soldiers” and it aims to preserve the narratives of the 55 young men who once lived as brothers, students, farmhands, baseball players, grocery clerks, and more — before answering the call of duty. The college’s Fort Dodge campus will host a reception on April 22nd to which the families of the 55 have been invited.
