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Local Columns

Iowa House proposes more aid for public schools

We are four weeks from the first legislative funnel. Bills that originated in the House must pass a House full committee for them to be considered on the floor. This excludes appropriation and tax bills. State Supplemental Aid for Schools SSA funding for our public schools is one of the ...

Iowa government reorganization is working

In 2023, the Iowa legislature passed a massive government reorganization bill with the goal of making government more efficient, aligning similar departments and eliminating redundancies. While it was estimated to save a decent amount of money over the next several years, the governor announced ...

Health, human services work begins in state Capitol

This week, we started floor debate. Thursday, three bills were considered; two had unanimous support and one passed with bipartisan support. However, I did not support HF 144, a bill that extends the moratorium on new casinos in Iowa. The proponents of the bill said that Iowa’s gambling ...

Senate Republicans propose new funding for education

Last week, Senate Republicans released a funding proposal for the next school year, proposing a $235 million increase for K-12 students. The increase in state funding is in addition to the budget passed last year, meaning state aid for schools coming from the state budget is $4.2 million. It is ...

Kersten family has contributed to Fort Dodge life since 1916

It has been 35 years since you could say, “There’s a Dr. Kersten in the house.” Back in 1990, Dr. Herb Kersten retired from Fort Dodge’s Kersten Clinic, which was formed by him and his two brothers, Paul and John, and their father, E.M. Kersten. His retirement ended 74 years of ...

Protecting the 2nd Amendment from government overreach

Earlier this month, I joined more than 120 of my colleagues in introducing H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act. In 1791, the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by Congress. One of our great Founding Fathers — James Madison — believed ...