June 13, 2014 Dear Editor, The decision has made by the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission by a 3-2 vote on June 12 that a casino/entertainment complex will be built in Greene County. There was a great amount of time, energy and money devoted to the consideration of this issue beginning prior to the referendum vote in August of 2013.…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
House candidate Erickson comments on IRGC decision
The following is provided by Iowa House candidate Hans Erickson: The community voted an unprecedented 75 percent in favor for the referendum of the new $40 million casino and the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission voted 3-2 to grant the license. The casino is projected to hire 275 employees and add $7 million annually to the local economy through payroll…
Read MoreLocal pharmacist calls for bill expanding Medicare beneficiary pharmacy choice
JEFFERSON — Seeking to expand Medicare beneficiaries’ access to pharmacies, local pharmacist Bill Monroe of Medicap Pharmacy is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to pass H.R. 4577, The Ensuring Seniors Access to Local Pharmacies Act, which was introduced by Reps. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). The bill allows “any willing pharmacy” located in a medically underserved area to…
Read MoreKeeping pace with changes in healthcare
~Greene County Medical Center The year 2014 is the 77th year that Greene County Medical Center has provided health care to our community. We are proud of our history but we’re more focused on the future. Our future requires change. In fact, no other industry surpasses healthcare in rapid and consistent changes demanded by the consumer or required by government.…
Read MoreBranstad, Reynolds celebrate success of Skilled Iowa Initiative
Plan to prepare working Iowans for careers in demand has certified 45,000 individuals through National Career Readiness Certificate DES MOINES – Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds on April 9 were joined by Iowa Workforce Development director Teresa Wahlert at the administration’s weekly press conference as they celebrated the successes of the Skilled Iowa Initiative, two years after its launch…
Read MoreIowa State researches find relationship between food insecurity and depression
~by Matthew Leimkuehler A new study by an Iowa State University professor and student links food insecurity and maternal depression in rural America. “We wanted to look at the depressive level that mothers in rural areas were experiencing,” said Kim Greder, an associate professor in human development and family studies and ISU Extension and Outreach family life state specialist. “The…
Read MoreThe world is such a beautiful place and exists without our help
~a column by Colleen O’Brien The world’s storms and winds and sunshine and seasons roll over us and everything else like we’re not here. But it is humankind, not nature, that is the entity at fault for war, genocide, injustice, prejudice, obesity, the concreting of the world. The world itself – nature – is impartial in its daily behaviors, however…
Read More“AlI know is what I have words for.”
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A 19th-century philosopher named Ludwig Wittgenstein said this, and it makes sense. If I don’t have a word for it, especially for an abstract thought or for an object that is not right in front of me, how do I tell someone what it is or what I think about it? Part of the anger…
Read MoreTree Tracings
Greene County Genealogical Society by Valerie Ogren MEETING NOTICE: The next meeting will be Saturday, June 7, at 10 am in the basement of the Jefferson public library. Guest will be Theresa Liewer from Des Moines. Her talk will be “Travel to Ireland.” She has traveled there several times and also helps others find their Irish roots. If you have questions…
Read MoreBranstad signs Home Base Iowa Act into law
Greene County first Home Base Iowa community DES MOINES – Gov. Terry E. Branstad, joined by Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds, on Monday signed the Home Base Iowa Act into law at the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum at Camp Dodge in Johnston. In addition, Branstad signed Senate File 2352 providing an additional homestead credit for disabled veterans. “Our bipartisan Home Base…
Read MoreGovernor signs State Historic Preservation Tax Credit bill
DES MOINES – Governor TerryBranstad on May 27 signed legislation that strengthens and brings more predictability to the State Historic Preservation and Cultural & Entertainment District Tax Credit Program overseen by the Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA).
Read MoreA deuce of grads
~a column by Colleen O’Brien For a week, I have been the Jet-Setting-Grandma-Attending-College-Graduations-Across-the-Country. I am now temporarily at rest, far from home but no longer living out of a suitcase. Whew. The jetting around was worth it. I was privileged to see two of my grandkids graduate from college within a week of one another; one in Ohio, one in…
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