‘Meskwaki Nation Does Not Pay Property Tax, and That Isn’t Fair!’ Does this sound familiar? It may not sound familiar if you don’t live near Indian Country. I live in Tama County, Iowa. Tama County is home to the only federally recognized tribe in Iowa. I have heard this statement or ...
Dear North Tama Community Stakeholders, I am a 1993 North Tama graduate who grew up in Traer. I still have ties in the community, therefore I do my best to stay connected and kept informed of my hometown. In recent years my interests in the Traer community and school district has been ...
March always feels like a turning point. Even if the weather hasn’t quite caught up yet, you can start to sense the shift. The days get a little longer, people begin talking about spring projects, and local organizations start putting plans into motion for the months ahead. What might seem ...
There has been much discussion around the state and around the Capitol regarding water pollution from fertilizers, pesticides, and manure from factory farms. It affects all Iowans every day. We have 12-15 state park beaches closed every weekend of the summer due to pollution from nitrates and ...
Yes, you heard correctly…I am running for reelection as Tama County Supervisor District 3, which includes the cities of Traer and Gladbrook. I am thankful for all of the continued support and am excited to run for a second term. The primary election will be on June 2, 2026. The Board of ...
Driving between Cedar Falls and Des Moines has happened many times in my life. Whether it was visiting my then-girlfriend, now wife, in Des Moines after she graduated early from college or while making random trips back to the Cedar Valley, I know this route like the back of my hand. There are ...
February 20 saw the passage of the first legislative funnel. This is a deadline lawmakers set to winnow down bills eligible for consideration for the remainder of the session. It doesn’t apply to spending bills, but does a good job of narrowing what lawmakers will focus on around the midpoint ...
A week of debate This was the seventh week of the legislative session and it was filled with debate following our first legislative funnel deadline last week. Some of the bills we passed in the Senate this week include: Senate File 2219: This bill requires school districts to grant a ...
The La Porte-Dysart FFA Chapter is inviting the community to help grow the future of agricultural education at Union High School. In 2026, the chapter is launching the Greener Futures Greenhouse Campaign which is a multi-year effort to raise $130,000 to renovate the educational greenhouse at ...
The coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a special and unique place in northernmost Alaska that supports calving caribou, denning polar bears, migratory birds that visit every state in the U.S., and is a sacred place of the Gwich’in people. However, it is also thought to ...