Iowa’s congressional delegation is split along party lines over a key proposal President Obama highlighted in his “State of the Union” speech. Obama has proposed raising the tax rate to at least 30 percent for Americans who make more than a million dollars, an idea Omaha billionaire Warren Buffett advocates. Obama invited Buffett’s secretary to last night’s speech in D.C., as Buffett often says he pays a much lower tax rate than his secretary does. That does not sway Steve King, a Republican Congressman from western Iowa. “Warren Buffett has shielded a lot of income,” King says. “We can’t look at Warren Buffett’s tax rate and his secretary’s tax rate and draw any calculation…so it looks to me like it’s a political ploy more than anything else.”

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley says “under-taxing” millionaires and billionaires isn’t the problem. “But the most important thing is the intellectual dishonesty of saying that Buffett’s paying 15 percent and that’s less than what his secretary pays. He pays 15 percent on capital gains, but you’ve got to remember that same money was taxed at 35 percent at the corporate level,” Grassley says. “You could figure that dollars taxed at 50 percent, not 15 percent.” Republican Congressman Tom Latham of Clive doesn’t directly accuse President Obama of engaging in “class warfare,” but Latham’s no fan of raising the tax rate on the wealthy. “I think it’s important that we try to unite the country and not divide the citizens economically or wherever,” Latham says, “because we’ve got a lot of problems in this country.” Iowa’s three Democratic Congressmen all support the higher tax rate for people who make more than a million dollars

Congressman Leonard Boswell, a Democrat from Des Moines, says he’s been a “long-time” supporter of raising the tax rate on top wage earners. “Maybe amnesia set in how we got to where we are, but there’s no point in lamenting on it. We’re there,” Boswell says. “How do we get out of it? And if everybody participates and I mean everybody — all — we can do this.” Senator Tom Harkin, a Democrat, says the Republican Party’s “trickle down” economics doesn’t work and Harkin argues Obama’s tax proposals “promote a better, more fair tax structure.”

President Obama is due in Iowa over the noon-hour today (Wednesday). He’ll give a speech at a manufacturing plant in Cedar Rapids, a stop through five “battleground states” in the November election and a backdrop to highlight the president’s proposals to boost the manufacturing industry.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)

Officials say some Pamida stores will close as part of the merger with Shopko, but it’s still unclear how many, if any, will be shuttered in Iowa. Shopko, based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, announced earlier this month it will take over Pamida, headquartered in Omaha. There are six Shopko stores and 30 Pamidas in Iowa. Shopko spokeswoman Tara Powers says the two companies have been linked in the past, but only behind the scenes.  “Shopko and Pamida were one company back in the early 2000s, but at that time, they were really run as two separate organizations and they shared some back office functions but they were largely independent of one another,” Powers says. “The difference today is they are truly merging together under the Shopko banner as one company, one corporate office.” While some company mergers are just done on a balance sheet, she says customers will see big changes at Pamida locations. The Pamida name will be eliminated and most product lines changed.

“Shopko Hometown carries a much larger assortment of certain categories, like apparel and home merchandise and they have a big emphasis on national brands,” Powers says. “The product mix that consumers will see when they come into the store is going to be very, very different from what they’re used to at Pamida.” No changes are planned at any of the Shopko stores, but some 80-million dollars will be invested over the next year to convert most of the 193 Pamida stores into Shopko Hometown stores this year. Combined, the new chain will have almost 350 stores in 22 states. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The merger is expected to close in mid-February.

“The two companies looked at the retail landscape together and see that there is a lot of opportunity to serve smaller communities,” Powers says. “(Customers) currently have to drive anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour to go into a larger town to go to Walmart or Target to get everything they need. The idea with a Shopko Hometown store is they can get everything they need in a smaller footprint store right in their own community.” There are currently Pamida stores in 30 Iowa cities: Albia, Audubon, Bloomfield, Chariton, Clarion, Corydon, Dyersville, Eldora, Estherville, Forest City, Glenwood, Greenfield, Harlan, Humboldt, Hampton, Ida Grove, Jefferson, Missouri Valley, Mount Ayr, New Hampton, Oelwein, Onawa, Osceola, Perry, Red Oak, Sheldon, Sigourney, Toledo, Waukon and Winterset. There are now six Shopko stores in the state: Burlington, Council Bluffs, Dubuque, Fort Madison, Mason City and Sioux City.

(Radio Iowa)

Officials with the Iowa Department of Transportation said Tuesday, that the westbound I-80 rest area, located between Adair and Casey at milepost 80, will be closed beginning at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25th, until approximately 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26th, weather permitting, for installation of a wind turbine blade. The rest area will be closed to allow the wind turbine blade to be installed on the facility’s grounds using two large cranes.

The blade will ultimately serve as a sculptural element on the site and be accompanied by an interpretive plaque. The blade and transportation to the site were donated to the State of Iowa by Siemens Energy of Fort Madison, Iowa.  There will be no public viewing area for the wind blade installation. Parking on interstate highways and freeways is for emergencies only.

The rest area is located at the threshold of an Adair County wind farm. Visitors to the site will discover several design elements incorporated into the building and grounds that speak about energy and alternatives such as wind.

Iowa has become a national leader in the wind energy industry, employing many Iowans in this important energy sector and businesses throughout the state. The industry is a significant contributor to the state’s economy. According to the Iowa Wind Energy Association, the wind energy industry in Iowa currently employs at least 3,000 full-time workers in manufacturing, operation and maintenance of wind turbine components, with an estimated payroll of $70.2 million.

Iowa produces 20 percent of all the electricity generated in the state from wind turbines, ranking it first in the nation and second in the world. Siemens has a 600,000-square-foot wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison, serving as the largest employer in that community and Lee County with nearly 800 employees, contributing to the economic revitalization of the region.