~by State Senator Jesse Green March 12, 2021 This week was the ninth week of the legislative session, and much of our time was focused on floor debate in the Senate chamber. Some exciting news was released this week. Iowa ranked number one in the country for opportunity according to US News & World Report. This rating specifically measures affordability,…
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Iowa has more at stake than new road signs
~by Randy Evans, Iowa Capital DispatchMarch 11, 2021 – Reposted with permission Tucked away among hundreds of bills being considered this year by the Iowa Legislature is one people might have quickly embraced in a different era. But times have changed. It has been 38 years since Robert Ray left the governor’s office. State government today is far messier than…
Read MoreTalking to strangers
~a column by Colleen O’Brien As told to me – a story of a traveler’s encounter: “After waiting for three hours on the tarmac, we are told that all planes are grounded, no flights leaving till the next morning. It’s late at night, thousands of travelers armed with airline company vouchers for transportation, room and food are grabbing cabs and…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
March 5, 2021 ~by State Senator Jesse Green The eighth week of this year’s session is known as “funnel week” in the legislature. This week is the first legislative deadline of the year. All Senate policy bills must have passed through committee in order to be considered for the rest of the year. This week was somewhat slow for me, but…
Read MoreNever too old to learn
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I was sailing along into old age with nary a complaint. I did not brag about it around my contemporaries, several of them aging with serious health problems. I did not brag to my friends, but I admit I was full of relief…and hubris: great pride; as if I had something to do with it.…
Read MoreBanister re face masks, Covid, and the flu
Mitze T., Kosfeld R., Rode J., Wälde K. Face Masks Considerably Reduce COVID-19 Cases in Germany: A Synthetic Control Method Approach. IZA – Institute of Labor Economics (Germany);2020.ISSN: 2365-9793, DP No. 13319. From DANMASK19; Reduction in release of virus from infected persons into the environment may be the mechanism for mitigation of transmission in communities where mask use is common or…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Clay Ross on Covid-19
Prove Covid-19 is worse than seasonal flu and that wearing masks affects transmission To whom it may concern, For the last several months the propaganda-tabloid news outlets (aka the mainstream media) have been declaring that this CV-19 is the worst thing that humanity has faced since the Black Death a thousand years ago. This has caused some people to hide…
Read MoreThe uber greedy
~a column by Colleen O’Brien This country enjoyed a brief respite for sensible people when Joe R. Biden was elected honorably – without ANY cheating or lying – President of the U.S. by a majority of the people of the U. S. But the nightmare soon returned, in the form of mayhem and murder, televised across the world under the…
Read MoreCapitol Roundup
~by State Senator Jesse Green February 19, 2021 It is week six already! We have been getting quite a bit done lately so time seems to go by more quickly. We passed several bills this week, and I’ll highlight a couple of the big ones. Education was the highlight of the week once again. The Senate and the House came…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
~by State Sen Jesse Green February 13, 2021 The fifth week of the legislative session included more debate on important education issues, as well as continuing our work in subcommittees and committees. One of the bills the State Government Committee discussed this week is Senate File 163, which provides an extension for professional and occupational licenses for those working on…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
~by State Sen Jesse Green February 4, 2021 This was the fourth week of the legislative session. We continued our work on many important issues in subcommittee and committees, and also had some more floor debate. One of the bills we discussed was Senate File 231, allowing a person holding a special minor’s driver’s license who resides on a farm…
Read MoreNostalgia, redux
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Looking into old boxes as I putter around my house in reclusive pandemic mode, I find two years’ worth of columns dated 1984 and ’85. “That’s 37 years ago!” I exclaim aloud, unbelieving that that much time has elapsed. I do not feel nearly 40 years older, I think, not looking in a mirror. The…
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