Us State Legislation

2010 census: Step up and be counted, officials urge (03/11/10)
Participating in the 2010 U.S. Census could save thousands of dollars, services and programs -- when numbers of people matter. Local and state officials are asking residents to be diligent in filling out census forms and mailing them back by the April 1 deadline so an accurate population count can be obtained...

Drug court could fall victim to budget cuts (03/10/10)
A program that has changed lives in Plymouth County may be threatened. Adult drug court, in which adults facing drug-related charges meet with a panel of their peers and follow its recommendations, could be cut in Plymouth County if a lack of money is available, according to Mary Buhman, drug court coordinator...

LCS board will budget on anticipated allowable growth money (03/09/10)
Le Mars Community School Board of Education members gave their approval to a budget timeline that will culminate in a certified 2010-11 budget to be filed with the state by April 15, 2010. The board directed Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt to develop the 2010-11 budget working under the assumption of a 2 percent allowable growth in state funding and a Cash Reserve Levy of $750,000...

Plymouth County's lean school budgets may receive another chop (03/08/10)
Editor's note: This is the first of two stories looking at budget cuts for area schools. Lean school budgets throughout Plymouth County may receive yet another cut from the State of Iowa. And the possible cut -- taking away the 2 percent allowable growth -- would be deep...

Cyclists hope bike safety bill pedals through Legislature (03/04/10)
Last year a Plymouth County woman was hurt after being struck by a beer can while riding her bicycle along a country road. Erin Schroeder still gets butterflies in her stomach when she climbs on her bike. She hopes a proposed bicycle safety bill in the Iowa House of Representatives moves forward to help protect cyclists on the roadways...

Proposed texting and driving ban receives local support, criticism (02/26/10)
As soon as this summer, Iowa drivers who text and drive might see flashing blue and red lights in their rear view mirror. The Iowa House and Senate have both passed their own versions of a bill that would ban texting and driving. However, they have to come to an agreement before the law can move forward...

Branstad says it's time to clean house, Iowa (02/19/10)
Former Gov. Terry Branstad is OK with ice cream for breakfast, but he's not OK with Iowa's government the way it is now. That's what he told the crowd at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars Thursday morning on a campaign stop for the 2010 governor's race...

Branstad plans Thursday Le Mars stop (02/16/10)
Iowa gubernatorial candidate former Gov. Terry Branstad will be in Le Mars Thursday. Branstad is hosting a 9 a.m. Plymouth County "Iowa Comeback Tour" stop at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor. Branstad, who served as Iowa's governor from 1983 to 1999, is making five town hall stops as part of his campaign Wednesday and Thursday...

Legislators and taxpayers talk budget, unions (02/15/10)
Iowa Legislators Rep. Chuck Soderberg and Sen. Randy Feenstra discussed the gaping hole in the state budget, union bills, ethanol requirements and state tax returns Saturday with about a dozen people at the Le Mars Public Library. Soderberg and Feenstra were in Le Mars for a legislative forum where they invite the public to come and ask questions and find out how the legislators feel about the current legislative session...

Huseman seeks re-election (02/15/10)
Rep. Dan Huseman (R-Aurelia) announced Friday he will be running for re-election to the Iowa House. Huseman represents Cherokee County, 10 townships in eastern and southern Plymouth County and nine townships in northern Woodbury County. "State government must manage Iowans' tax dollars wisely. ...

Public employee bargaining: Designed to protect citizens (02/11/10)
(Editor's note: This story is the first of two stories taking a closer look at public employees' bargaining.) In the business world, salaries and benefits of a business' employees are somewhat dependent on how well the business is doing. However, in the public sector, employees like teachers and city workers are given the chance to organize and bargain collectively based on Iowa Code Chapter 20...

Vander Plaats ready to put government on chopping block (02/09/10)
Gubernatorial hopeful Vander Plaats thinks he has some answers for Iowa's troubled economy -- and the top one is shrinking the government. Vander Plaats spoke Monday to about a dozen people at the Le Mars Pizza Ranch during a tour hitting all 99 of Iowa's counties...

TIF: a powerful tool being overused? (02/05/10)
Out of all 99 Iowa counties, Plymouth County is ranked second for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). About 15.2 percent of the county's taxable valuation is in TIF, according to the Iowa State Association of Counties. TIF is a taxing tool different than regular taxes, according to Plymouth County Auditor Stacey Feldman...

Vander Plaats in Le Mars Monday (02/05/10)
Monday as part of his campaign trip, making appearances in every region of the state in the next week. Vander Plaats will be at the Le Mars Pizza Ranch at 6 p.m., Monday to talk about his bid to unseat Gov. Chet Culver and outline his priorities for the state...

Job training program revision, could limit local businesses (01/28/10)
One-half million dollars for Plymouth County business could be at stake as the State of Iowa discusses adjustments in funding to the Iowa Industrial New Jobs Training Program. Plymouth County businesses that received job training funding in 2009 were Plymouth Energy - $250,612, Plymouth Oil - $153,000, Wells Dairy - $25,000 and Bodeans Baking Company - $63,403...

City calls on state to retain road use tax funding (01/22/10)
The City of Le Mars has voiced its opposition to Iowa Governor Chet Culver and area legislators on the proposed use of state road use taxes to "bail out" other state programs. City Administrator Scott Langel asked that the road use tax system "be kept intact and available for its historical and intended purposes" and that the city's share of the tax monies be maintained...

State to scrutinize question of court reporters (01/21/10)
The decision between court reporters and digital recording devices in Iowa's courtroom isn't black and white -- and it won't be made for some time. That's according to John Goerdt, assistant state court administrator. Earlier this month, Iowa's Judicial Council reviewed a research committee's report about the accuracy and expense of putting digital recording systems in Iowa's 316 courtrooms...

Iowa students must give CPR to graduate (01/15/10)
Freshmen at Le Mars Community High School are learning how to save lives -- skills students across the state are now required to master to graduate. That mandate was handed down last year by the Iowa Legislature as part of the Healthy Kids Act. The requirement is effective for the graduating class of 2012...

Legislators to host Le Mars forum Saturday (01/14/10)
Saturday, Iowa Rep. Chuck Soderberg and Iowa Sen. Randy Feenstra will be hosting legislative forums 9 a.m. at the Le Mars Public Library to discuss various issues concerning the Iowa Legislature. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the meetings and address any issues that are of concern...

Court system to look at bottom line of going digital (01/05/10)
Iowa's Judicial System is counting the cost of a transition that could eliminate court reporters in favor of digital recording in courtrooms. In May, Iowa's Chief Justice Marsha Ternus ordered a committee to investigate digital courtroom recording technology...

Senator fears program, tax credit cuts loom to balance budget (12/29/09)
Iowa Sen. Randy Feenstra predicts the $1.1 billion budget deficit is the most important issue legislators will face come January. "There's going to have to be a lot of decisions made on how to either cut programs or cut tax credits to make a balanced budget," Feenstra said...

The Christmas Story (12/26/09)
St. Luke 2: 1-20 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city...

Demand increases, dollars shrink for preschool scholarships (12/26/09)
A group that helps Plymouth County residents at or below 200 percent of the poverty level send their children to preschool is feeling the pinch. Last year Northwest Iowa Community Empowerment offered 114 preschool scholarships -- 74 full-tuition and 40 half-tuition -- for eligible low-income families in Plymouth County...

Soderberg says cuts could be significant and tough (12/18/09)
"The hole is pretty deep," Rep. Chuck Soderberg told the crowd of 70 people gathered at the Legislative Luncheon Thursday. "Now the challenge is to get out of that hole," the Republican said. "I believe if you don't involve everybody, it's going to be tough to get out of that hole."...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute escapes DHS chopping block (12/15/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute -- not Cherokee's -- in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature asked the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

Community Foundation award $142,169 in grants (12/14/09)
Twenty-seven organizations and groups in Plymouth County are recipients of grant money totaling $142,169 from the Community Foundation of Greater Plymouth County. The $142,169 represents the largest amount the foundation has been able to award in grants in the four years it has existed...

Cherokee Mental Health Institute not on chopping block (12/14/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services is recommending closing the Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institute, not Cherokee's institue, in a proposal today (Tuesday) to the Iowa Legislature. Last spring, the Legislature commanded the DHS to recommend closing one of Iowa's four mental health institutes without cutting services...

The stimulus dollars and you: Have you been touched by recovery money? (12/10/09)
More than $8 million worth of federal stimulus dollars has been quietly sliding through the IV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and into Plymouth County's veins. That injection meant some schools could keep a teacher one more year. It meant replacing a worn bridge and repaving some roads. It meant some families will have money to weatherize their homes...

Clerk of courts closed Friday (12/03/09)
The Plymouth County Clerk of Courts office, along with all of the Iowa courts system, will be closed Friday. This is one of the 10 days the courts will be closed between December and the end of the fiscal year in June 2010, a move ordered by the state's chief justice to help meet budget cuts...

Deadline looming for first look at closure of Mental Health Institutes (12/01/09)
The Iowa Department of Human Services will make its recommendation in two weeks as to which of the Cherokee, Independence, Clarinda or Mount Pleasant Mental Health Institutes should close. On Dec. 15, the Department of Human Services (DHS) will present its decision to Iowa Gov. Chet Culver and the Legislature...

Courts cut out 10 more days (11/11/09)
All of Iowa's judges, magistrates and court staff are ordered to take 10 already scheduled days of unpaid leave by July 1, 2010, including those in Plymouth County, in a cut announced Tuesday by the Iowa Supreme Court. The statewide unpaid leave, which will reduce the judicial branch's operating expenses by $4.1 million this fiscal year, were made in response to Iowa's "serious revenue shortfall," a press release from the Iowa Supreme Court stated...

LCS board begins process to cut $1 million from FY11 budget (11/11/09)
With a goal of cutting $1 million from the 2010-11 school year budget, Le Mars Community Schools Board of Education members approved timelines and processes for expense and elementary section cuts. "Administratively, we have been working on potential expenditure reductions already," Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt told the board at their Monday meeting...

Applications available for CVB Hotel/Motel Sales Tax grants (11/02/09)
Applications for approximately $40,000 in Le Mars Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Hotel/Motel Sales Tax funding will be available beginning Monday, Nov 16. Applications will be available online at lemarsiowa.com or at the Le Mars City Hall during regular business hours...

Local electric providers: We're for cap, but not trade (10/23/09)
Under proposed energy legislation often called "cap and trade," the Midwest would get burned, according to representatives from local electricity providers. MidAmerican Energy representative Mark Reinders explained his company's take on the American Clean Energy and Security Act, a comprehensive energy bill proposed by U.S. Representatives...

Senator says cuts deliver hard blow to schools (10/13/09)
Last week Iowa Gov. Chet Culver imposed 10 percent cuts on all state departments to shore up the state's 2009-10 budget. "Everybody's going to feel the pain here," said Rep. Chuck Soderberg. "Some are going to feel it worse than others." For example, he noted, the 10 percent cuts will affect K-12 schools and human services departments, but until officials determine how the budgets will be trimmed the full impact won't be known...

LCS enrollment drop exceeds 50 (10/06/09)
Officially, Le Mars Community Schools' enrollment is down by 53 students. Superintendent Dr. Todd Wendt reported the resident student count according to the final certified enrollment numbers Monday. "There was no concentration in any one grade," Wendt said. "It was throughout the K-12."...

LCS enrollment, state aid numbers point to cuts (09/30/09)
Le Mars Community Schools budgets for both the current school year and the 2010-11 year will take a hit in state funding. A preliminary report on LCS enrollment for the 2009-10 school year and information received at an Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) Employee Relations Conference indicate more cuts will be coming...

Locals would pay price if Cherokee MHI closes (09/15/09)
Closing the Cherokee Mental Health Institute (MHI) would be damaging for Plymouth County, according to area mental health professionals. Transportation costs for both the county and patients having to travel greater distances to other facilities to receive treatment and related agencies that rent space on the institution's campus could face hardships...

Public invited to speak on Cherokee Mental Health possible closure (09/14/09)
Cherokee Mental Health Institute is one of four Mental Health Institutes in Iowa facing the possibility of closure. People are invited to attend a public comment session from 4-5 p.m. Tuesday in the Cherokee facility's auditorium to meet with a task force...

Westergard and Schilmoeller reign as fair queen and king (07/30/09)
It may have been raining outside, but the smiles were shining bright in Century Hall as the 2009 Plymouth County Fair royalty court was announced Wednesday. Ben Schilmoeller was crowned king and Caine Westergard was crowned queen of the 2009 fair. Their royalty court includes Princes Ryan Schroeder and Brian Kehm; Mr. Personality Chris Erickson; Miss Congeniality and Princess Stephany TenNapel and Princess Angie Breuer...

Bird elected senator at Girls State (07/27/09)
Being asked to attend Girls State is an honor. It is a chance for young women who have completed their junior year of high school to learn about their city, county and state government by taking on roles of government officials. Danica Bird, an upcoming senior at Le Mars Community Schools, received the honor of going to Girls State this past June to represent Le Mars...

Rants says his background fits the bill for Governor (07/16/09)
Iowa Rep. Christopher Rants has been in business and in government. And that, he says, is one thing that sets him apart among those vying for the Iowa governor's seat in 2010. The Sioux City Republican spent more than an hour Tuesday pitching his ideas to people at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor in Le Mars...

Lt. governor gets taste of what Iowa has to offer (07/08/09)
Tourism traffic is up this year, according to Ice Cream Capital of the World Visitor Center tour group coordinator Colleen Nelson. Tuesday, the center hosted a special tourist -- Iowa Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge. She took a tour of the ice cream museum and made the difficult choice between banana split and chocolate soda -- she chose the soda -- at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor next door...

New library law reads: Sex offenders stay out (07/07/09)
People convicted of a sex offense against a minor will need permission to check out materials at Le Mars Public Library and libraries across the state. A new law, which became effective July 1, states sex offenders convicted of a sex offense against a minor cannot be on public library property without permission of a library administrator...

Lt. Governor to visit ice cream parlor Tuesday (07/06/09)
Iowa's Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge will be stopping by Le Mars for a scoop of ice cream Tuesday. The 1:30 p.m. stop at the Blue Bunny Ice Cream Parlor is Judge's fourth destination on the 2009 Travel Iowa tour, which started July 1. "Over the next two months I will be traveling the state, visiting some of Iowa's favorite attractions -- and some that are yet to be discovered," Judge wrote in an online blog she started to highlight the trip...

New law pushes for gender balance on boards (06/10/09)
Gender will matter when it comes to appointing board members in the future. A law signed by Gov. Chet Culver last month says that all boards, commissions, committees and councils with appointed members across Iowa will need to have a gender balance among members on and after January 2012...

Republicans redrawn: New Iowa chairman rallies for a sharper, hipper party (06/04/09)
When Matt Strawn spoke about going on the offensive Wednesday in Le Mars, the 35-year-old wasn't talking about the arena league football team he co-owns. He was talking about the Republican party. Strawn, elected chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa in January, sat around a Le Mars Truck Stop table with half a dozen local supporters and discussed how the GOP should emerge from the rubble of its 2008 campaign efforts...

It's official: You must mow your lawn (05/15/09)
New city code updates, which range from ruling how big a political sign on your yard can be to how high you can let your lawn grow, will be open to public comment next Tuesday. The Le Mars city code, according to Code Enforcement Officer Jason Vacura, is updated every several years. The updates include changes made at the city level in the past few years, plus changes from Iowa Legislature that affect city rules...

City gets the slip on stimulus dollars (05/13/09)
A rail extension in Le Mars' industrial park won't be paid for with federal stimulus dollars. Tuesday, an announcement from Governor Chet Culver's office listed the recipients of a total of $5 million in rail transportation projects in Iowa. Le Mars' rail spur project didn't make the list...

Court costs will increase if Culver signs bill (05/12/09)
Whether facing a traffic violation or filing for divorce, the costs you pay for the court may increase this month. A bill passed by Iowa legislators is only awaiting Governor Chet Culver's signature -- he has until May 26 to sign -- before the increases take effect...

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