If you’ve ever driven by an old, interesting house in Atlantic, and wondered who lived there, you may be able to learn the history of the home during a special event this Thursday, at American Legion Building (Old Armory), in Atlantic. Cass County Genealogical Society members, Carolyn Key and Mary Hoegh, have been investigating the history of several homes. They will share that information on Thursday, April 26, 1 pm at the American Legion Memorial Building (201 Poplar Street).

The houses they will describe are at 607 Maple Street, 702 Locust, 811 Poplar and 1314 Chestnut. Find out when they were built, the style, and family histories of people who called them home. The program is part of the April theme for Atlantic’s Sesquicentennial, entitled “Who’s Who in Atlantic.” Cass County Information will also be given about sources and methods available to trace housing history. Iowa is one of the few states requiring property abstracts. There are offices and records available to the public.

The monthly meeting of the Cass County Genealogical Society is usually held on the fourth Thursday at the Atlantic Public Library. This Who’s Who program is open to everyone at the American Legion Memorial Building.

Republican lawmakers say they are “close” to a deal to cut Iowans’ income taxes, but it’s taken a while to find the method and the depth of cuts that all feel “comfortable with” according to House Speaker Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake. “I think the thing we have to remember here is that Republicans have waited a lot time to do some tax reform and some tax cuts and there are 88 Republicans here and so it’s not surprising, perhaps, that there are many ideas on how you might approach this,” she says. Senate President Charles Schneider, a Republican from West Des Moines, says it’s been two decades since Republicans controlled both the legislative and executive branches of state government and had a “serious discussion” about tax policy. “So these conversations don’t happen very often and we want to make sure we get the policy right,” Schneider says. “There are a couple of things we agree on even though we don’t have a final plan in place.”

There is universal agreement among Republicans that the state shouldn’t get a windfall after federal tax cuts were enacted in December. Without any changes that would happen, because Iowans get a deduction on their state income taxes for their federal tax bill. Republican Governor Kim Reynolds says she does not have a “timeline” for having a final deal emerge from these private talks — and she’s been reluctant to make public pronouncements about what should be in the tax plan. “When you start drawing lines in the sand, that makes it hard to have those conversations,” Reynolds says.

House Republicans have voted for a five-year plan that would cut taxes by one-point-three BILLION dollars. Republicans in the SENATE have proposed two-billion dollars in cuts over the next five years. Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen of Des Moines says “there is room” for a tax cut this year, but the size of the deal that may emerge from the G-O-P’s closed-door negotiations is worrisome. “The tax plan is still kind of a mystery to us, as to Iowans, and what we’re actually going to see,” Petersen says. “…Democrats have said all along we’d be willing to work on a tax plan as long as it’s fair and takes into account our current budget situation.”

Petersen and Schneider made their comments during an appearance this past weekend on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press” program.

(Radio Iowa)