Republicans in the Iowa Legislature like to proclaim they are pro-life and pro-family. Most of the time, they act that way, pushing bills that they believe support parents and families. more

One of Will Rogers’ (1879-1935; social commentator) most widely quoted aphorisms was, “I’m not a member of any organized party.  I am a Democrat.” He also quipped. “If you ever injected truth into politics you have no politics.” more

This was the sixth week of the 2021 legislative session. The Senate passed several bills during the week, discussing a number of topics such as education funding, increasing flexibility of continuing education requirements, and the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). more

The Iowa House of Representatives debated numerous bills on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Amongst these bills were the following: more

This week we passed over 50 bills out of the Iowa House. Oftentimes when the legislature makes the news it is over issues that are partisan in nature. In reality, a majority of the bills that pass through our state government are common sense and often times make me wonder how they did not already exist. These bills are just good policy and usually pass unanimously through the House. more

As Republicans in the Iowa Statehouse prepare to once again make major changes in state election laws, the prevailing question Iowans have been asking is why. more

The North Scott School District is running a special election on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. The voters of the district will be asked to approve our State Secure an Advanced Vision for Education Fund (SAVE) revenue purpose statement. SAVE is the statewide 1-cent sales tax that all school districts receive for new construction, building renovations, security upgrades, and technology. more

In the fifth week of the legislative session, a new Republican senator was sworn in after a special election was held to fill the vacancy left by U. S. Rep. Marianette Miller-Meeks. Senator Adrian Dickey is from Packwood and will represent Senate District 41, which includes parts of Jefferson and Wapello counties and all of Davis and Van Buren counties. He is a volunteer firefighter and businessman that runs Dickey Transport, a family business that his grandfather started in 1959. more

This week in the Iowa House we voted to advance multiple pieces of legislation that aim to address Iowa’s current child care crisis. The recent pandemic has exposed the importance of accessible affordable quality child care here in Iowa. Access to affordable child care is an issue many of us heard about repeatedly on the campaign trail. and now we are taking action. more

Gov. Kim Reynolds said last week that Iowa was 47th in the nation on supplies of COVID-19 vaccine received from the federal government and 46th on distribution of the drug. more

Editor's note: This commentary by Kerry Beyer Lust of Ankeny brings a personal dimension to the matter of public funding for private schools – a subject which affects all Iowans, which is currently under debate in the Iowa Legislature and the subject of an editorial in last week's NSP. The NSP agrees with the position of the IASB, of which North Scott is a member, against the bill favoring charter schools. more

We have experienced three great attacks in the past two centuries: the first was the Great Depression, which began in 1929 and only began to diminish in 1935. But American democracy was able to recover, thanks to the leadership of President Franklin Roosevelt (Democrat) and the courage, patience, judgment and loyalty of our citizens. more