(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa legislature has approved the governor’s plan to create a combined system to help Iowans with a mental illness as well as those with addiction issues. Republican Representative Joel Fry of Osceola says it’s the culmination of many years of work to improve services.

“I have worked on a variety of different pieces related to mental health and substance abuse for my last 14 years here,” said Fry, who is not seeking reelection, “and this is a great opportunity for the state of Iowa to be able to see these two worlds merge and to have a system statewide that I believe will benefit Iowans in some pretty dramatic ways.”

There are currently 13 mental health regions and 19 separate substance use treatment regions in Iowa. On July 1st of next year, they’ll be combined into seven behavioral health districts. Advocates say it will be particularly helpful for people who have a mental health diagnosis and also need treatment for substance abuse.

The bill does not provide a new source of funding for the system, but state officials say after the merger, they’ll be able to use 23 MILLION dollars that hasn’t been spent in some of the mental health regions.

(Radio Iowa) – The unemployment numbers for March are out and Iowa Workforce Development executive director Beth Townsend says things are holding steady. “Pretty stable from last month it’s down a little bit from the revised February number of three-point-oh percent down to two-point-nine (2.9) in March, which is a good sign,” Townsend says. The workforce participation rate dropped slightly as well.

“You never want to see a decrease in your labor force participation rate right? We would love for that to get back to where it was pre-pandemic when it was closer to 70 percent,” she says. Townsend says there were four-thousand new jobs in March to go along with the 11-thousand jobs added in February. Townsend says they are starting to see increases in jobs in the typical areas that add employees as we head toward summer.

“You know, ramping up for the summer construction season, which is a good sign so you always want your construction and your manufacturing to be hiring or at least not laying off,” Townsend says. “…As you know, we’ve seen some layoffs, some pretty big layoffs coming in May in June with the Tyson plant closing and John Deere has got some layoffs going on. So it’s a good sign that we added those jobs in February and March.” Townsend says Iowa’s economy continues to be resilient.

“Despite the inflation worries that we’re seeing nationally and the changes in the national unemployment rate — nationally we only have about 62 percent of the labor force participation rate. So, we’re well insulated from what’s going on nationally and that’s a good sign,” Townsend says. The U-S unemployment rate fell in March to three-point-eight percent.

(Guthrie Center, Iowa) – The Adair-Casey and Guthrie Center School Boards held a joint meeting Wednesday evening, in Guthrie Center. District Superintendent Josh Rasmussen said the Boards began their meeting with a Special Presentation from Senior Class students, with regard to the Senior trip to our nation’s Capital.

The Boards also acted on resignations and contract recommendations. In the Guthrie Center District…

With regard to Adair-Casey resignations and contracts, Rasmussen said…

Josh Rasmussen said they are still looking to fill some positions for the coming school year.

He said the Boards talked about School Safety and a School Safety grant they received from the State.

The Boards also approved their respective 2024-25 Certified Budgets.

Rasmussen said the Board also approved setting the dates for public hearings on the 2023-24 Certified Budget Amendment, as May 13^th in Adair-Casey, and May 14^th in Guthrie Center. The adjustments are needed, he said, due to some underestimated expenditures in both Districts.

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man was sentenced last Thursday (April 11, 2024), to 27 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon, following a guilty plea. According to public court documents, 21-year-old Keshawn C. Houtz-Mayfield, was found to be in possession of a firearm during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. Houtz-Mayfield was a convicted felon at the time of the search warrant and knew he could not possess firearms.

After completing his term of imprisonment, Houtz-Mayfield will be required to serve three years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

United States Attorney Richard D. Westphal of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Council Bluffs Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

(Glenwood, Iowa) – Officials with the Glenwood Police Department report one arrest took place Wednesday. 38-year-old Jackie Marler, of Thayer, was arrested for driving while barred. Marler’s cash or surety bond was set at $2,000.

AFTON, Iowa [KCCI] — Another Iowa school district has approved a four-day school week. The Creston News Advertiser reports that the East Union school board approved the change last night (Wednesday night). The district says the goal is to improve teacher recruitment and retention. They say other school districts with four-day weeks have had success filling open positions.

The change goes into effect next school year.

(Radio Iowa/UPDATED) – Republican legislators plan to cut Iowans’ income taxes by a billion dollars next year. Cuts approved two years ago would have implemented a flat rate of just under four percent in 2026. The new G-O-P plan goes lower, to three-point-eight percent and it would take effect a year earlier — in 2025. Senator Dan Dawson, a Republican from Council Bluffs, is chairman of the Senate Ways and Means Committee that develops tax policy. “This is a culmination of discussions we’ve had over the past few months here,” Dawson says. “…We’ve seen a variety of tax proposals in this building, but the biggest question is how do we get some of these monies back to Iowa taxpayers.”

Republican Representative Bobby Kaufmann of Wilton is chairman of the Ways and Means Committee in the Iowa House. “This puts Iowa in the driver’s seat for being one of the most conservative states in the country, yet again, when it comes to taxation,” he says. The plan also tweaks property tax limits the legislature enacted last year, letting some cities and counties a bit more property tax revenue. The bill has already cleared a Senate subcommittee this (Thursday) morning. Lobbyists for developers, banks and business groups are praising the legislation. Brad Hartkopt is with the Iowa Association of Business and Industry. “We appreciate all the progress that has been made over the last several years in making our tax climate more competitive for both individuals and businesses,” Hartkopt said. “We believe this bill takes us in another step going in that direction and we support it.”

Mike Owen of Common Good Iowa says tax cuts should instead be targeted to Iowa’s working poor. “This bill compounds a patently unfair tax system that we have. It takes us away from a tax system based on an ability to pay.” Owen said. “…I would add this is one more case of taxes directing budget choices rather than the other way around, where we could determine our needs, transparently set priorities, find the best way to fund them.”

Republicans say this latest round of tax cuts are possible because their state budget plan for next year doesn’t spend all of the available tax revenue and there will be a withdrawal from the Taxpayer Relief Fund. It’s where unspent taxes from previous years have been deposited. Representative Kaufmann says that Taxpayer Relief Fund will have more than two BILLION dollars left in it after next year’s withdrawal. “We’re showing here in Iowa that we’re fiscally responsible,” Kaufmann says. “We’re understanding concerns of mistakes made in other states. We’re still able to actualize growth, fund our priorities.”

Senator Dawson suggests there may not need to be a withdrawal from the Taxpayer Relief Fund if the economy grows, which will lead to more tax revenue for the state. “I think that this is the best of both worlds that leaves the conversation for long term, further tax cuts,” Dawson says. “as well as strategic opportunities.” Dawson has proposed investing the nearly four BILLION dollars in the Taxpayer Relief Fund and using the profits to ratchet down the income tax rate over time, but that’s not included in this bill making its way through the legislature this week. There are some other policies in the bill. It lets county boards of supervisors decide whether to keep or disband county compensation boards. Kaufmann says the boards have contributed to the explosion in property tax growth.

“You’ve essentially got a group of friends getting together and recommending raises for each other…Counties cannot split the difference, look at things on merit,” Kaufmann said, “and so you’ve got an autopilot ponzi scheme of property tax growth that the local county supervisors…have no control over.”

The bill also repeals an 1848 law that has required Lee County to maintain TWO county courthouses.