U.S. Senator Joni Ernst’s (R-IA) regional directors will hold traveling office hours throughout the month of March in all 99 counties in Iowa. Representatives from Senator Ernst’s office will be available in counties throughout the state to assist Iowans with problems or questions about eligibility involving issues like Social Security, veterans’ benefits, military affairs, passports, immigration issues, and other federal programs. Senator Ernst will not be at the traveling office hours.

If you are unable to attend the traveling office hours and are seeking assistance with federal agencies,  visit Ernst.Senate.Gov to contact one of her offices or submit a casework request.

Locally, Ernst’s traveling office hours include:

• Adair County: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM, Adair County Courthouse Jury Room 400 Public Square, Greenfield.
• Adams County: Thursday March 9, 2017 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Corning Public Library 603 9th Street, Corning.
• Audubon County: Tuesday March 21, 2017 10:00 AM -11:00 AM Audubon Public Library 401 North Park Place, Audubon.
• Cass County: Thursday, March 9, 2017 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM Atlantic Public Library Meeting Room A 507 Poplar Street, Atlantic.
• Guthrie County: Wednesday, March 8, 2017 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Guthrie County Courthouse Public Meeting Room 200 N 5th Street, Guthrie Center.
• Montgomery County: Wednesday, March 15, 2017 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Montgomery County Extension Office Suite 2 400 Bridge Street, Red Oak.
• Pottawattamie County: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Avoca Public Library 213 North Elm Street, Avoca.

A complete list of all upcoming dates can be found at http://www.ernst.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/traveling-office-hours

The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday, set March 1st at 5:30-p.m., as the date and time for Public Hearings on two matters. The first is with regard to a General Obligation Equipment Acquisition Loan Agreement and to borrow not more than $360,000 for the purchase of equipment for the Street Department. The second hearing pertains to the proposed Fiscal Year 2018 City of Atlantic Budget.

The final budget must be submitted to the State of Iowa by March 15th. The proposed budget amounts to just under $12.5-million, which is a decrease over the FY 2017 budget of 14.78%, or more than $1.847-million.  It calls for a property tax increase of 1.48-percent.

In other business, the Council heard from Library Director Natalie Struecker, who mentioned a “Shred Day” will be held April 15th from 1-until 3-p.m., at the Library, where citizens may bring their documents and have them securely disposed of through the use of a mobile shredder that will be available in the parking lot. You can drive up and drop-off up to three containers of paper or documents to be shredded.

Two recent, separate traffic stops in Montgomery County resulted in arrests. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office reports at around 1:10-a.m. today (Thursday), 24-year old Michael Christopher Jensen, of Schaumberg, IL., was arrested north of Villisca at Highways 71 and 34, for Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. Jensen was cited for the offense and then released at the scene.

And, just before 10-p.m. Wednesday, Montgomery County Deputies conducted a traffic stop just west of Elliott, that resulted in 27-year old Eduardo Monrreal-Robles, of Elliott, being taken into custody for Driving with a Suspended License with 13 withdrawals in effect. Monrreal-Robles  was brought to the Montgomery County Jail and held on $435 bond.

Red Police early this (Thursday) morning, arrested a Pottawattamie County man on a Pott. County warrant for Failure to Appear in court on an original OWI/2nd offense, charge. 25-year old Devon Keith Hale, of Council Bluffs, was arrested at around 1-a.m. in the 2400 block of N. Broadway Street, in Red Oak. Hale was being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $10,000 cash bond.

The governor and Republicans in the state legislature want to end automatic payroll deductions for the DUES paid to public sector unions. The collective bargaining bill being debated in the Iowa House and Senate this week would make THAT change AND require government workers to vote regularly on whether they want to have a union in their workplace. Republican Governor Terry Branstad says the vote to establish the Iowa State Education Association as the union for Iowa teachers happened in the 1970s.

“Is it really fair that the teachers of today are stuck with a bargaining unit that was agreed upon in the ’70s, before they were even born?” Branstad says. “It seems to me this is an antiquated law that needs to be updated and the people that are actually employed today ought to have some voice in it.” Critics say these two moves could be the “death knell” for unions that represent government workers in Iowa. Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo who was a union worker at John Deere, says Republicans are trying to “stack the deck.”

“You want to get rid of the labor unions because you know how difficult it would be to collect those dues individually, but I’ve got news for you,” Dotzler said. “I’ve got a feeling that this is going to really incite members of the labor union and they’re going to sign up through the union and have that sent automatic.” Republicans say tax dollars shouldn’t be used through the payroll process to funnel dues to unions.

Florida legislators had a similar debate in 2011 about union dues. According to Politifact, analysts in THAT state concluded there were “positive, but insignificant” savings by ending the state payroll deduction for union dues. According to the Iowa Legislative Services Agency, requiring regular VOTES about whether a union should represent government workers would have “an unknown fiscal impact.”

(Radio Iowa)

For the past two days, Democrats have been staging a sort of filibuster on the bill Republicans in the state legislature have crafted that would scale back union bargaining rights for teachers and government workers in Iowa. Republicans began offering some rebuttals late Wednesday afternoon. Representative Dawn Pettingill, a Republican from Mount Auburn, says there’s nothing “nefarious” in the bill and she read email from supporters of the bill.

“It’s time to revert the progressive agenda in our state. I pray for you, your families and your colleagues in this difficult time. Stand your ground and keep the faith and persevere,” Pettingill said. Representative Rick Olson, a Democrat from Des Moines, says the bill will kill the bargaining rights of teachers and government workers in Iowa.

“If it was necessary to reform Chapter 20, it could have been tweaked, not twisted. It could have been modified, not mutilated,” Olson said. “House File 291 burns hard working public employees to the ground.” Olson compared the bill to “Sherman’s March to the Sea,” a reference to a Union general’s pivotal and destructive march through Georgia during the Civil War.

Tempers began to fray as the debate wore on into nighttime hours for the second straight day. Democratic Representative Mary Mascher of Iowa City and Representative Steven Holt, the Republican from Denison who is the bill’s floor manager, had this testy exchange: “It’s really unfortunate that you aren’t being clear and honest,” Mascher said and, as Mascher continued to speak, Holt talked over her: “I’m being quite clear, I’m just not willing to play gotcha questions.” The House suspended debate on the bill shortly after 10 p.m.

The SENATE debated into the early morning hours and Senate Minority Leader Rob Hogg of Cedar Rapids hinted he and his fellow Democrats are ready to debate for days. “I’m prepared,” Hogg says. “We can spend the next 240 hours here at the senate, doing this.” Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, accused Republicans of “railroading” the bill through the legislature.

“Can you hear the train?…It’s on the track. It’s coming. This is a very complicated piece of legislation. It appears you’ve made up your minds. We’re going to get run over by the train. This commotion that you’re going to create with this is not going to go away by Saturday or Sunday or the next week,” Bolkcom said. “…It’s going to be around for quite a while.” Senator Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, predicted that the G-O-P’s plan will “backfire.”

“Sleep drunk. Don’t know what you’re doing,” Dotzler says. “You can make that excuse down the road when your constituents turn on you. ‘Well, I was there at three o’clock in the morning and if I’d had some sleep, maybe I’d have thought through that.'”

(Radio Iowa)