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

Rep. Gerhold meets with Pastor Nick Palmer of Newhall for the annual Iowa LCMS Pastors Day on the Hill on Jan. 27.

President Trump's visit to Horizon Events Center on January 27th.

Week three in the capitol was very special, as President Donald Trump visited Des Moines on Tuesday, January 27th and treated us to over an hour at the Horizon Events Center in Clive. One of Trump’s main highlights in his speech is Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Trump are close to an agreement for having E15 gasoline being sold year around! Little did I know from my article last week that Trump would be talking about E15! Let’s hope that this comes to fruition.

Iowa House Republicans have had a tougher stance on crime, and this last week, a bill is being worked on to stiffen penalties for felonious repeat offenders, where if they are convicted three times for felonies and specific aggravated misdemeanors, they will serve a mandatory minimum 20-year sentence without parole. This bill doesn’t have a bill number, but, I’ll share it with you when it makes the house floor for debate.

House Study Bill 631 intends to make it easier to provide data on how judges depart from the standard bail schedules and statutory sentencing recommendations. It also provides the frequency when a judge’s decisions are overturned by higher courts for legal errors. In my opinion, most people have no idea whether or not to vote for retention of judges on election day, and this bill should help.

Iowa Ag Secretary Mike Naig visited the Agriculture Committee meeting to discuss the status of Iowa’s water quality. He stated that Iowa farmers are leaders in conservation. Iowa ranks first in buffer and filter strips, grassed waterways, water quality wetlands, conservation tillage, pollinator habitat, terraces, and saturated buffers. You can read more here https://www.sdstandardnow.com/home/buffer-strips-are-working-in-iowa-and-minnesota-and-could-have-a-positive-impact-on-big-sioux-watershed or here: https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Conservation-counts-in-every-corner-of-Iowa#:~:text=Iowa%20is%20number%20one%20in,tillage%2C%20bioreactors%20and%20pollinator%20habitat. Iowa farmers continue to make more improvements every year!

Last Thursday, I attended a school forum in Brooklyn that involved about a dozen public schools, mostly smaller districts in southeast Iowa. A variety of subjects were brought up, such as potential effects on Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL) with property tax reform, Independent Private Instruction (IPI) students falling behind, bond issues, and would like more local control. All are concerns that I will relay to members of the Education Committee.

State Treasurer Roby Smith and Great Iowa Treasure Hunt celebrated National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1st. Currently, 1 in 7 Iowans have cash or unclaimed assets waiting to be claimed. I encourage all Iowans to take 30 seconds and search your name, the names of your favorite businesses and more at GreatIowaTreasureHunt.gov (https://www.greatiowatreasurehunt.gov/).

Have a great week, and the temperatures above 30 are very welcome!