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Examining the claim that Tim Walz ‘let Minnesota burn’ in 2020
GOP critics have attacked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over his handling of the protests after George Floyd’s death. Here’s what happened.
Democrats have been in charge during economic failuresIf Joni Ernst is against name-calling, I know someone she should tellDes Moines isn’t hitting its housing goalsJudicial independence is far more important than any one decisionState doesn’t know better than teachersSteaks aren’t as good as they used to beA tale of two governors: Tim Walz and Kim ReynoldsTo Kim Reynolds: Please deliver food for Iowa’s kids next summer
Michelle Book, president of the Food Bank of Iowa, wrote an excellent guest column in the Register, urging Gov. Kim Reynolds to accept Summer EBT funding for 2025. The Summer EBT program provides funds for food for school children from low-income households during the summer when they do not have access to school breakfasts and lunches. The program provides $40 per month per child. Last fall the governor turned down funding for this summer. The deadline to accept the funding for Summer 2025 is Aug. 15. I join Book in urging the governor to accept the funds. The EBT program is a win-win-win.
Kids win. No child in Iowa should live with food insecurity. Our children deserve good nutrition. Period.
Communities win. This summer, if Reynolds had accepted the EBT funding, Iowa would have received $29 million. That $29 million would have been spent in every county and community across the state. Many communities struggle to maintain their local grocery stores. This funding would make a huge difference. Money spent on Main Street converts to jobs and an overall boosted local economy.
Taxpayers win. These funds are awarded through the USDA. They are actually OUR federal tax dollars returning to the state.
I can’t think of a single reason to turn down these funds. Can you? Urge Gov. Reynolds to accept these funds to allow kids, communities and taxpayers to win, win, win.
Cindy Hickman, Johnston
Democrats have been in charge during economic failures
It’s funny and sad at the same time that Kamala Harris says she is going to “fix” the economy, that her own party destroyed! Like the saying goes, “Democrats never let a crisis go to waste.” Yet, they created the crisis!
Jim Henscheid, West Des Moines
If Joni Ernst is against name-calling, I know someone she should tell
I watched Sen. Joni Ernst on “Firing Line,” and much to my surprise she sounded very moderate in the stances she expressed. She stated that she strongly supports sending arms to Ukraine. She ended that show with the following statement: “We shouldn’t be name calling and, you know, downplaying other people’s successes. I think it’s incredibly important that we maintain a civil society by treating others the way I want to be treated as well.”
While I strongly agree with her statements, I find myself wondering how she can make those statements and at the same time actively support Donald Trump. After all, he is almost the exact opposite of a one who strives to maintain a civil society without name calling.
I guess it makes me wonder if maintaining the party line is more important than maintaining one’s integrity?
Bob Brown, Ankeny
Des Moines isn’t hitting its housing goals
The call to action in the Aug. 11 editorial “Des Moines needs to tell us how it’s going to meet demand for affordable housing” has been echoed by the NAACP, Polk County Democrats, and clergy alike. Not to mention the increasing turnout of residents and community leaders making similar comments at public meetings. It’s clear the Des Moines City Council should abandon its draconian proposal to demand money from residents who have nowhere to sleep and stop voting down requests to provide additional housing.
City leaders have discussed a laundry list of money spent, programs started, and projects funded at recent council meetings. But as the Register’s editorial board concludes, this list is inadequate. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development requires Des Moines to report and publish annual goals as a condition of receiving federal funds. The Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report demonstrates that, while an action plan exists, the city is routinely failing to meet goals around affordable housing and homelessness. For the past three years (2021-2023), the city has reported 0 out of 5 new rental units constructed and 0 households assisted with rapid rehousing.
We should be cautious to take Mayor Connie Boesen, City Manager Scott Sanders, and council member Chris Coleman at their word when they say they want to move forward “the right way.” These leaders should take the groundswell of backlash against these plans seriously and focus on providing access to safe and affordable housing options.
Michaelyn Mankel, Des Moines
Judicial independence is far more important than any one decision
Rekha Basu’s call for the removal of Justice David May from the Iowa Supreme Court is wrong for all the same reasons that Bob Vander Plaats’ reasons for removing three justices in 2010 were wrong. Judges and the courts must not become political footballs, with decisions that blow in the political winds. Judges should be evaluated on many factors, but the result of a particular case is not one of those factors. A short review of the world today shows multiple dictator wannabes who, when given the opportunity, seek to bend the courts to their will and weaken or eliminate a check on their power. Think Hungary, Poland, or Venezuela. Do you think that Russia’s courts provide a check on Vladimir Putin?
The United States and Iowa have long prided themselves on the political independence of their courts and judges. That independence provides a necessary check and balance on the political branches of the government, and that is true even if we disagree with a particular decision. That check and balance will continue to weaken and in fact disappear if we continue to elect politicians of either party who openly brag about the kind of judges they have appointed or will appoint. Removal of Justice May, only to have his successor appointed by the same process that produced his appointment in the first place, will be futile if your intent is to change the legal result and could result in the appointment of a justice who is far less competent than Justice May, who is an excellent justice.
As a semi-retired senior judge, I must point out that the opinions expressed herein are mine and not those of the Judicial Branch of the State of Iowa.
John D. Lloyd, Clive
State doesn’t know better than teachers
Bottom line: The state has already set the standards for what an Iowa kid should know and be able to do. Public schools hire licensed teachers to craft curriculum and instruction to teach the knowledge, skills, and understandings so youngsters can be contributing adults with a sense of purpose and who value a pluralistic democracy.
A teacher’s curriculum is subject to peer review and accountable to the local school board and principals and superintendents. The state lawmakers became interested in local curricular choices only when the religious right gained an upper hand and pressured lawmakers to usurp the duties of school boards and licensed teachers.
Gov. Kim Reynolds got her way by allowing parents to use public funds to put their kids in a private school. Assumedly, the parent wants her youngster to avoid being instructed by Shannon Dykstra and his lessons on “The Color Purple” by Alice Walker, considered by many to be one of America’s greatest living authors.
So, instead of “sanitizing” Mr. Dykstra’s curriculum to meet the narrow, anti-intellectual standards of the religious right, the state should bar their contorted interference in public schools. Parents who disagree should enroll their children in a private school that matches their desires.
I’ll be voting for legislators who will remove all these new red-state laws and constrictions placed on public schools since 2017. Let’s return Iowa to first among states in students’ knowledge and performance. Won’t happen with Reynolds ensconced in Terrace Hill.
Gerald Ott, Ankeny
Steaks aren’t as good as they used to be
One of the great pleasures in my life has been a tender, juicy, medium-rare New York strip steak. Or at least it used to be. And I’m not talking price, which averages in the $15 per pound range; I’m talking about the quality.
I have purchased a number of steaks from three major local supermarket chains and one big-box club. The result has been the same for at least a year. It seems like less than a 50-50 chance you will get something edible, much less delicious. So tough that you chew and chew and then have to swallow partially whole. I have several that will be ground into burger to recoup some of the value.
I don’t know if it’s the producers, the processors, or the USDA failing to maintain the quality we used to enjoy, but I certainly hope they figure it out before consumers give up on them, and all steaks are Salisbury.
Frank McCammond, Redfield
A tale of two governors: Tim Walz and Kim Reynolds
The United States is in the throes of incongruent belief systems and governance. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the disparity between Iowa and Minnesota. It would take a book, which might be banned in Iowa, to list all the issues, but here are a few comparisons.
It has been the best of times for Minnesotans under Gov. Tim Walz’s leadership, and for the environment, children’s hungry bellies, anyone with a uterus wanting bodily autonomy, students wanting to expand self-awareness through books offering realistic guidance and a joyful future.
It is the worst of times for Iowans under Gov. Kim Reynolds, for clean water and air, for students exploring their identities in more cruel surroundings, for children facing food insecurity, and for persons hosting a uterus they no longer have control over, facing a dystopian future.
If only we could guarantee a happier ending!
Shari Hawk, Ankeny
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Publish date : 2024-08-15 04:01:00
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