Breaking News

Columnists

Atlantic school board teaches a lesson in accountability

It’s funny how a government body can learn and teach an important civics lesson in the time it takes a student to go from kindergarten through 12th grade. In 2012, the Atlantic Community School District won a lawsuit to keep information secret about disciplinary measures taken against two employees who conducted a strip-search of five girls to try to find $100 another student reported missing. Iowa Supreme Court Chief Justice Mark Cady wrote a dissent in the case, noting that “transparency in government surely will be thwarted” by those who can “quell public discourse and end ...

Financial Aid Awareness Month: Why our community must rethink access to college

Every February, we celebrate Financial Aid Awareness Month with tips on the types of financial aid students can use to pay for school and the tools needed to navigate financial aid. Those lessons matter. But if we stop there, we miss a more complicated truth: many students are not struggling because they lack discipline—they lack the time and resources needed to thrive in education. For parents and community members in Marshalltown, the question is not whether our young people can succeed in college. The question is whether they have access to the knowledge, resources, and pathways ...

District 53 Newsletter from Rep. Dean Fisher

This week the House introduced House Study Bill 696 dealing with welfare reform. This bill aims to protect the integrity and sustainability of Iowa’s public assistance programs so it can provide proper care for the Iowans who really need it. It does this by empowering disabled Iowans. It expands eligibility for the Medicaid for Employed Persons with Disabilities program from 250% of the Federal Poverty Limit to 300% FPL, allowing more disabled Iowans to qualify and to accept raises and promotions without fear of losing Medicaid coverage. It also excludes pension accounts from income ...

Iowans must stand up to chronic underfunding of public schools

I started my career in rural Iowa in 1974 as an English, speech and reading teacher. Our students were top performers and the state’s education system was the gold standard. Educators and public schools in general were revered and respected by their communities. We didn’t have a lot of money — but we were still able to adequately fund our classrooms and provide our students with an enriched education that prepared them for success after graduation. But, unfortunately, times change. Iowa has stripped its public schools of funding for decades, while demanding they do more. ...

Winning the war on waste at the Pentagon

Our armed forces are the most powerful, advanced, courageous, and capable team made up of the finest men and women ever assembled. President Trump’s call for a $1.5 trillion defense budget demonstrates an unwavering commitment to maintaining this might. If we are going to spend nearly as much on defense as the rest of the world combined, however, we must be able to defend to taxpayers how every dollar is spent. As a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, I know firsthand that billions of dollars meant for the military are missing the target. That’s ...

The Warme Wire: Week 5

On Tuesday, the Senate held its first floor debate of the year, which is always an important milestone as we move from discussion to decision making. I was thrilled that the first bill debated and passed was my first bill as HHS committee chair, Senate File (SF) 2096. This legislation updates foster parent training requirements by allowing more flexibility while reinforcing competency-based training. It reduces unnecessary duplication in the application process while maintaining strong screening and background checks to protect children. This bill represents one step toward modernizing ...