Sunday, May 19, 2013
Both the U.S. Senate and House are working on immigration reform plans. What do you think should be done about the estimated 11 million people currently living in the country illegally or on expired visas.
A U.S. Senate immigration reform proposal that would allow the estimated 11 million residents living here illegally by the end of 2011 to remain in the country lawfully is expected to come to a final vote by June. The Senate plan would allow these people to earn a temporary status that lets them to work if they meet a number of requirements, including: passing background checks, submitting to fingerprinting and proving they've lived here before Dec. 31, 2011. The documentation process wouldn't begin until a border security system was in place, according to information about the bill posted on Sen. Mark Rubio's Senate website. The border security plan includes a border fence plan, an electronic system that would verify workers' status and …
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Under the Affordable Care Act, Iowa has to expand its health care coverage for the poor. The question is how to do that, and Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are in sharp disagreement.
Under the Affordable Care Act, Iowa has to expand its health care coverage for the poor. The question is how to do that, and Democrats and Republicans in the Iowa Legislature are in sharp disagreement. Iowa Senate Democrats want to expand Medicaid, the federal-state healthcare program. Governor Terry Branstad, however, does not back Medicaid expansion. With the backing of Iowa House Republicans, he's introduced the "Healthy Iowa" plan as an alternative. Under the Democrat's bill, Medicaid expansion would cover up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, adding an estimated 150,000 people in Iowa to coverage. The federal government would pay for the expansion for three years, after which it would pay for 90 percent of the expansion. …
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Investment groups are pitching casino projects all over Iowa. Warren County voters will consider a Norwalk casino on Tuesday. Linn County voters already said "yes" to a casino.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Investment groups are pitching casino projects all over Iowa. Warren County voters will consider a Norwalk casino on Tuesday. Linn County voters already said "yes" to a casino.
Gamblers have 21 casinos to choose from across the state of Iowa, and seemingly every few weeks some investment group is making a play to grow that number. Talk of a new casino in Ankeny and Urbandale came and went. Over in eastern Iowa, Linn County voters approved building a casino in Cedar Rapids. Now a West Des Moines casino group, Wild Rose Entertainment, is putting money towards a campaign for a casino in Norwalk. Warren County residents vote on Tuesday. Even if Warren County voters approve the casino the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission will still have to decide whether to grant a license. It's the same case in Linn County. There's 18 active casino gaming licenses through the Iowa gaming commission, and there's three additional …
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Is it within the purview of a city government to dictate what breeds are dangerous and what breeds are not? Where is the best place to draw the line?
As typically happens when tragedy strikes, Iowans were doing some soul searching this week after a four-year-old Prairie City girl was bitten to death by a Staffordshire Terrier (KCCI) A babysitter, nearby at the time of the incident, was charged with child endangerment resulting in death, a serious felony. The horrific nature of this incident incited some to debate whether certain dogs with reputations for viciousness should be more regulated. Many cities tighten vicious-animal laws but forgo dog breed bans (Des Moines Register) Altoona, Des Moines, Clive, Norwalk, Pleasant Hill and Windsor Heights all singled out certain dog breeds, generally pit bulls and related breeds such as the American Staffordshire terrier, as automatically …
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
As weird as ever, Iowa never disappoints.
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The ACLU of Iowa is siding with Fred Phelps' controversial church and its members, who have disrupted military funerals because they believe soldiers die in wars as a sign that God punishes the U.S. for the acceptance of homosexuality in the military.
Seemingly unlikely allies, the Topeka, KS-based Westboro Baptist Church and the American Civil Liberties Union, have teamed in a lawsuit suing two Iowa police agencies for the right to drag or desecrate the U.S. flag in protest at U.S. military funerals. Pastor Fred Phelps and his church members are not strangers to controversy in Iowa. From July 2010 to December 2012, they staged demonstrations at five military funerals in the state, including two in which they were told by authorities their activities violate a state law prohibiting flag desecration that remains on the books, but was struck down as unconstitutional in 2007 by a federal judge, the Des Moines Register reported. The church members say that’s a violation of their civil …
Saturday, April 20, 2013
An Iowa City Patch read submits an imaginative way to block development in Iowa City, inspired by the location of the Newport Road swine lot controversy.
Reader Jim Calkins explains his photo further: So here is "Cliffs Swine Confinement Lot" in from of the Cliffs Apartments. Now, Jim Glasgow was involved in city controversy 30 years ago about his Cliffs Apartment, the Cliffs are back in the news about mud slides, and now Glasgow is point man on the Newport Road Swine Confinement Lot as a tactic to block development, so I liked my cartoon a lot... a swine lot. Editor's Note. The above is a letter submitted to the editor. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor, e-mail it to me at stephen.schmidt@patch.com, or post it directly to the site by clicking this link.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Break out the rakes, fuel the lawn mower and start rattling those tomato cages -- it's spring.
For some of you, you've waited all winter for this. For others, it's the beginning of a long, grueling battle with the yard that doesn't end until it snows. Yes, spring is here and it means time to take care of your lawn and garden. But, so many questions. What should you do to get your lawn ready for the season? Do you need to aerate? When do you plant tomatoes? What type of grass seed is best to use? Thankfully, we have some helpful professionals lined up to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. Just pose your questions in the comment section below and the professionals will respond beginning on Wednesday morning. Check back frequently. Here's our panel of pros who've graciously agreed to answer questions: Mark Coleman, Geoff …
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Judge blocks release of food safety data for lean finely textured beef, which gained the better known nickname of "pink slime."
That incendiary term "pink slime" is back in the news again. A judge ruled recently that Iowa State University should not release food safety research conducted for Beef Products Inc.'s lean finely textured beef, which earned the infamous nickname. Judge Dale Ruigh said releasing the information would cause “irreparable harm” to Beef Products because the information is proprietary. Allowing the information to be made public might also harm Iowa State laboratories because companies would go elsewhere for testing to avoid records becoming public, according to a an Associated Press report in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Should "Pink Slime" Safety Data be Public? Vote in the poll and tell us in the comments.
Julie Kirby
3:16 pm on Tuesday, May 21, 2013
No quarter, Jeff! more ›