The Iowa Legislature opened on Monday, Jan. 13 and we’re starting a 110-day journey to make Iowa a little better for the people we serve. Every person at the State Capitol loves and cares about our state. We all have that in common, so I’m hopeful that will be the uniting force this ...

At the end of this year, significant portions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which was signed into law in December of 2017, officially expires. That means that – absent congressional action – taxes for Iowa families, farmers, and businesses will increase. As a member of the House Ways ...

While many individuals are working on their new year’s resolutions, the Marshalltown YMCA-YWCA as an organization is also setting its goals for this year. The Y’s long-range strategic plan, created by our board of directors and led by our staff, provides a guide for how we will continue to ...

On Monday at 10 a.m., David Blom, Brett Barker, and I will be sworn in to the 91st General Assembly. The ceremony is open to the public, and also will be live streamed at https://www.legis.iowa.gov. I’ve been reflecting on my journey to this moment. In January of 2020, I visited the Iowa ...

Reading about the recent round of layoffs at John Deere’s Ottumwa plant got me thinking about the future of farming and the critical role of farm policy. Nearly 2,000 Iowa workers laid off in the past year is a lot of job loss, but sadly not terribly surprising. Last year was difficult for ...

Ilike to eat pork and cabbage on New Year’s Day for good luck in the coming year. Some people eat corned beef and cabbage, sometimes throwing in black eyed peas. But for me, it’s pork and cabbage. I learned it from Harold Sammons, who used to run a salvage yard out on the Henry-Jefferson ...