~by Senator Jerry Behn April 5, 2019 This was the 12th week of the 2019 legislative session and budget bills have started moving in both chambers. The first budget bill passed off the floor of the Senate this week. Senate Republicans have proposed a budget for the next fiscal year that is sustainable, responsible, and conservative. It is a budget…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Healthcare for all except in America
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A propeller airplane just flew over my house. What a great memory-jogger. It’s right out of my growing-up-in-Iowa-1950s sound box, and it sets the scene: backyard, 607 South Oak, a mid-morning in June, harvesting strawberries from the backyard patch and wishing it were one o’clock so I could go swimming.
Read MoreCurtailing anger
~a column by Colleen O’Brien In a discussion about anger in children and how to stop them from raging, striking out, hitting back and growing up angry, ticked off, ready to hurt themselves or others, I learned how the Inuit* do it. Over millennia they have taught their toddlers, through playacting, to deal with the inborn frustration of being human.…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Dick Finch
Letter to the editor, Congratulations to the Greene County attorney and sheriff’s offices for a new approach to help low level criminals help themselves back into society to become useful and respected citizens and get their pride back. I believe almost every business and farm operator in Greene County is looking for employees with little or no experience and willing…
Read MoreCandidate John Delaney follows 15-minute stump speech with hour-long conversation
Congressman John Delaney showed himself to be a presidential candidate worth a second or third look when he spent the evening with Greene County Democrats March 15 in Churdan. About 50 persons attended the Irish Soup Supper in the new Churdan Community Room. The St Patrick’s Day-themed event was coordinated with the Delaney campaign as a fundraiser for the local…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
~by Senator Jerry Behn March 21, 2019 This week the Senate passed Senate Resolution 11 recognizing the 100th anniversary of the creation of the American Legion in Iowa. We had several American Legion members on the Senate floor with us as we passed the resolution. It was an honor to be able to meet these incredible individuals and thank them…
Read MoreSpring keeps springing
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Today is the first day of spring. How this happened so early this year is the wonder. But by now the surprise is that I’m surprised by the swiftness of time as it marches on; I am merely old enough that time speeds up as my speed dwindles, and I should be used to it…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
~by Senator Jerry Behn March 14, 2019 Week nine in the Iowa Senate included some of the first major debate of this year. Just this week, we passed over 30 bills out of the Senate chamber. One of the bills the Senate passed this week was Senate File 274, protecting the freedom of speech on college campuses in Iowa. This…
Read MoreCapitol update
Rural Iowa big winner under House GOP budget plan ~by Rep Phil Thompson March 15, 2019 Growing and supporting rural Iowa is a primary focus of the 2019 session. House Republicans have been working on several fronts to give our communities the opportunity to grow and thrive in the 21st century. The FY20 budget reflects that in two key areas…
Read MoreWhat is it with the Irish anyway?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien This coming weekend, on Sunday, March 17, a good portion of the world will celebrate the wearin’ o’ the green. And the drinking of the green beer. And the singing of the lullabies of the green isle.
Read MoreCapitol update
March 11, 2019 FIRST FUNNEL This past week was the first “funnel” of the legislative session. The funnel is an important step in the legislative process because it’s the last opportunity for committees to consider house bills. If a bill didn’t pass through a committee by last Thursday, it can’t be discussed again until next year. More than 200 bills…
Read MoreThe Behn Report
March 8, 2019 Week Eight in the legislature was the first funnel week of the year. This deadline requires policy bills to be out of their originating chamber’s committee in order to be considered for the rest of this year. Imposing this deadline forces legislators to focus on priority bills and bills with enough support to pass the chamber. The…
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