Government : Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

Canadian Consul General Beth Richardson (center, directly in front of podium) meets with Iowa legislators on Jan. 10th.

Members of the IA National Guard recognized in the Condition of the State address who helped with Operation Lone Star last August & September.

Greetings and Happy New Year from the frigid Iowa tundra! I certainly hope you all are safe and keeping warm! We just completed the first week of session at the Iowa State Capitol including the Condition of the State address by Governor Kim Reynolds on Tuesday evening, the Condition of the Judiciary by Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Susan Christensen on Wednesday morning, and the Condition of the National Guard by Adjutant General Major General Stephen Osborn on Thursday morning.

Governor Reynolds announced several bold initiatives in her speech about the changes she would like to see in teacher's salaries, income tax reduction, and agricultural tax credits. The governor also made proposals to improve the efficiencies of the Area Education Agencies (AEAs).

A few of the main reasons for these proposals were that Iowa is spending over $5,300 more per student on special education funding than the national average, and our pupils have ranked 30th or worse in 9 of the 12 national assessments on special education performance. The legislators have also been told that AEAs basically provide their own oversight.

There have been claims that funding for special education in the bill will cut funding. My understanding is that this is false. There are many details in the bill that have not been covered. The bill has not even had a subcommittee yet, let alone been debated on the House or Senate floors. The Education Committee will cautiously go over this bill with great deliberation beforehand to determine if it makes it to the floor for a vote. The Iowa House and Senate will discuss these proposals along with many others to do what's best for Iowans.

A very proud moment during Governor Reynolds' speech was when she introduced about 50 Iowa National Guard soldiers who voluntarily went to patrol the wide-open southern border in Texas, which is the unconstitutional and illegal disaster that Joe Biden has solely created. This last August and September, 109 Iowa National Guard soldiers and 31 Iowa State Troopers and Special Agents helped protect the border in Operation Lone Star and apprehended almost 3,000 illegal migrants! Every state is a border state now, including Iowa, and everyone should be very grateful that these brave people worked two months in hot weather and dangerous conditions protecting the United States!

On Wednesday, I had the honor of meeting with Beth Richardson, the Consul General of Canada and based in Minneapolis. She represents one of 12 regions of the U.S., since Canada is a huge trading partner. The states Richardson represents are Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. She said there are three things that Canadians love that come from Iowa: 1. Bacon(pork), 2. Ethanol - for cars and their whiskey, and 3. Cheerios. Canada ships oats to Iowa to have them processed into Cheerios, which are then shipped back to Canada. Three great products that Iowa exports!

Have a safe week with the snow and much below-normal temps! Take care and as always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. A great way to contact me is via my legislative email at thomas.gerhold@legis.iowa.gov