Iowa legislators pay visit to Franklin County to discuss political issues

     Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives Linda Upmeyer (R- District 54) and State Senator Amanda Ragan (D-District 27) held a legislative forum at Center One, Hampton, last Friday, as part of a combined district tour to discuss the status of legislation in Iowa.
     A standing room only crowd turned up at the event, bearing a critical sentiment about recent laws passed in Iowa, most notably amending the Collective Bargaining powers of state employees.
     Last month, the legislature passed major reforms to limit the negotiable portions of contracts between state employers and employees, highlighted by the fact that unions cannot bargain for their insurance. Such reforms also happened in Wisconsin in 2011, and have yielded mixed results, most notably 3,000 teachers retiring from the profession, since, according to the Des Moines Register.
     Many in attendance were curious as to the rationale regarding the reason for the bill, and its quick passage. The sentiment of patrons was that the bills that have been passed (the CBA, voter ID laws and gun legislation) were never campaigned on, and were unexpected and under-publicized cornerstones of campaigns.
    Read the full article in the March 29 edition of the Hampton Chronicle.