Page Eight N/Warren Town and County News Thursday, February 21, 2019
Cub Scouts Pack 103 Holds Pinewood Derby
Submitted by Angela Cooper
Ready, Set, Race! Norwalk Cub Scout Pack 103 held their annual pine wood derby race recently. Much
fun was had by all, and many boys learned lessons on how to improve the speed of the cars for next year.
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South Suburban YMCA
Tae Kwon Do Classes
The South Suburban YMCA offers Tae Kwon Do, a
self-defense-oriented martial art which stresses
building self-confidence and coordination, for
beginners and advanced. Year-round instruction is
led by Kirk Green, a Certified Instructor of the State
of Iowa Black Belt Association. The next session runs
March 5th - April 25th.
For additional information,visit www.south
suburbanymca.org, or call the YMCA at 285-0444.
Za-Ga-Zig Provost Guard
Will Be Selling Nuts This Winter
Mammoth Pecan Halves $12
English Walnuts $10
Jumbo Cashews $12
Pistachios in Shell $10
Mixed Nuts (with no peanuts) $11
Honey Roasted Peanuts $7
Chocolate Covered Peanuts $8
All Nuts Are Packaged
in 16 oz Bags
Get Yours Before They're Gone!
Available at N/Warren Town &
County News office
Tuesday-Friday 9a.m. to 1p.m.
Legislative Newsletter
Stan Gustafson
Iowa House Representative District 25
stan.gustafson@legis.iowa.gov
February 14, 2019
2nd Amendment: Iowa is one of only six states
that do not include Second Amendment protections
in its state constitution. The Public Safety Committee
has begun working on an amendment to the Iowa
Constitution which recognizes that Iowans have a
fundamental, individual right to protect themselves,
their families, and their liberty. It requires that the
highest level of judicial review be applied to any
government restriction on that right, just like other
fundamental rights. The current plans are to get this
issue to the voters in 2022.
Education: The House passed two bills this week
that provide $90 million new dollars to schools for
the upcoming school year. HF 306 set Supplemental
State Aid (SSA) at 2.06%. This is the percentage by
which the per-pupil amount increases and is the basis
for school funding in Iowa. It increased from $6,736
to $6,880 per student, a $144 per student increase.
This means for the average class of around 25
students, each class will see an additional $3,600 next
year. HF 307 provided a $19 million appropriation
into a permanent fund to help districts with their
transportation costs. Currently school districts pay
for the cost of transporting students to school out of
their general fund, meaning higher transportation
costs leaves less money for the classroom. This
funding goes to districts with the highest costs, with
the goal to eventually bring those districts down to
the statewide average of $328 per student. The $19
million for next year is a $7.8 million increase over
this current year's $11.2 million appropriation for
these costs. The law determines how much each
district is allowed to spend per student. Due to a
decades old decision by the legislature, some districts
have a higher authority for spending. About half the
districts in the state are up to $170 per student behind
those with the highest authority. The legislature
closed this gap with a $5 bump per student which
narrows the gap to $165 per student from highest to
lowest. This increase will cost the state about $2.9
million. If you have questions about the numbers used
in my last newsletter, here is the website for the Iowa
Department of Education 2018 report, https://
educateiowa.gov/documents/condition-education-
report-pk- 12/2019/01/annual-condition-education-
report-2018
Veterans: HSB 121 was passed by the Veteran's
Committee this week. It alters the changes made in
2016 which allowed for Veterans to present their DD
Form 214 to the Department of Transportation in
order to receive the "veteran" designation on their
license. Veterans will be required to complete this
paperwork at their county VSO before going to the
Department of Transportation to receive this
designation. By meeting with their VSO, veterans
will also be able to learn about other services they
may be eligible to receive.
Judicial: HSB 110 will be changing the ways that
members are selected to be on the Judicial
Nominating Committee, which is composed of both
lawyers and lay persons and which provides the
Governor with the names of three candidates when
there is an opening in the Supreme Court, plus other
changes. The changes will ensure that the selection
of the Commission members give every day Iowans
a larger voice in the process and do nothing to weaken
or undermine Iowa's merit-based judicial selection
system.
Agriculture: Century and Heritage Farms: The
Department of Agriculture is accepting applications
for the Century and Heritage Farm Recognition.
Applications for these programs can be found on the
Department's Program link: https://
iowaagriculture.gov/administrative/department-
programs?utm medium=email&utm source=govdelivery
Specialty Crops: The Department of Agriculture is
now accepting applications for grant funding through
the Specialty Crop Grant program. Proposals must
be received on or before 4:00 p.m on Friday, March
1. For more information, go to the Block Grant
program: https://www.iowaagriculture.gov/
Horticulture and FarmersMarkets/
specialtyCropGrant, asp?utm medium=email
&utm source=govdelivery&utm medium
=email&utm source=govdelivery
Forum: I usually attend the Norwalk Town Hall
Meeting the second Saturday of the month 9:00 am
to 10:30 am at City Hall. The next one is Saturday,
March 9th.
