Around Des Moines

Sin sold out the Fourth Street Theatre when the Iowa Scriptwriters Alliance presented seven 15-minute plays from April 24-27, 2008. At the April 27th matinee performance about 75 people were in the audience. The room was crowded and talk around the place was that at least the Saturday night show also was well-attended.

The seven plays were selected by competition, as were the directors. Then the directors chose their casts. As with short stories, the best short plays make exquisite use of each word. Not all of the seven sins achieved that level of intensity. In addition, while the performances were to highlight the scriptwriters, some of the plays were memorable primarily due to the acting.

Most of the plays were very traditional in their casting and dialogue but contemporary in their humorous references. That also made most of them very forgettable.

The show started off with the fast-paced Nursemaid by Erich Goldstein. Slim Tim Shafton, the Fitness King, was on a gluttony strike to protest the mayor’s nursemaid-style governance, such as banning trans fats in restaurants. The characters were given multiple dimensions, complex reasons, and life histories merely through the power of dialogue.

Ethelyn Boddy’s The Ugly Identical Twin took on envy with a story that moved through time. It offered Lyra E. Halsten, as the protagonist and the antagonist, opportunities for a variety of emotions. However, the frequent pauses needed to indicate a different time and place disrupted the flow of the play. I’ve seen one-person shows that handle the transitions much better.

The use of sexual attraction in advertising and sexual harassment were common themes in Lust for Men by Lindsay Tornquist. The presence of Warren Westlund, who acted in three of the seven plays, saved this one with his over-the-top performance. There were several good jokes in the play but there was nothing that seemed original.

In Wealthy Mr. Dezille, Sean Gannon’s play on avarice, the power of the soliloquy was demonstrated. The premise of the play was that Mr. Dezille only cared about making money and that cost him his business empire and his sanity. James Meade gave a quality performance as Dezille but there were too many details in the play inconsistent with reality for any actor to save it. I could believe that Dezille was in a mental institution, I just could not accept why he was there or how the nurse behaved.

David D. DeBord’s choice of a local government’s community council to represent sloth in The Municipal Tree was a delight. This is the type of play that doesn’t strike an audience member right away but builds upon a theme to create a memorable impression. I also have to give credit to Patrick Gouran, the director, because this play also demanded good timing to convey the humor properly. While I enjoyed the play because of all the years I’ve spent dealing with non-profit and governmental organizations, the play did not have enough universal themes to make it a mass media hit.

Closing Time, in which the sexiest and most beautiful movie star walks into a bar to escape the media attention while on location, needed to be a longer play. William S.E. Coleman’s story progressed smoothly enough from the first encounter to the futon in the break room. However, this was the type of story that needed pauses to build up the tension and to make the characters more than one-dimensional.

Chuck Hughes’ The Passengers poked fun at wrath and at the scriptwriters’ sinful production. Essentially the playwright was saying anger can be countered with laughter.

M.R. Field reviews local arts for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Court Avenue west of the Des Moines River to Fifth Street was resurfaced on Sunday, April 27, 2008. As the sign states, this is your tax dollars at work. The street should look nice and smooth for the start of the downtown farmers’ market on Saturday, May 10th. A machine laid down asphalt and pressed it to the roadway. Several people monitored this process. Another person followed behind with a broom to smooth out the edge of the new covering. Another crew painted new stop lines and crosswalks on the side streets.

The Court Avenue Bridge over the Des Moines River was constructed in 1917 and reconstructed in 1982, according to a plaque at the site. If you stand on the southern side and look down river, you will see an old railroad bridge converted to a pedestrian and bicycle walkway. This red-painted bridge was finished in 2006 as part of the Principal Riverwalk. Next to it is a still-functioning railroad bridge. Look a bit further on the west side of the river and you might see the lights of Principal Park. This minor league ballpark was called Sec Taylor Stadium until Principal donated several dollars to cover repair costs. The Iowa Cubs, a farm team for the Chicago Cubs, play there.

The Court Avenue Bridge is shown in the bottom picture below. The top right picture shows the western bank with steps down to a sidewalk that runs alongside the river. The old public library building, located between Walnut and Locust Streets, is in the picture. The riverside steps help mark the level of the river, which does rise above the top step. Note that there is no sidewalk along the bank to the steps, though. The top middle picture shows the John Pat Dorrian Trail, a bicycle and pedestrian path. According to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, the Dorrian Trail was formerly known as the East River Trail and is 2.2 miles long. It is an asphalt trail that links to the Neal Smith trail, which is 26 miles long and gives access to Saylorville Lake. Dorrian was mayor of Des Moines from 1987 through 1996. A quick search of the Internet did not return any information on the rock beside the Dorrian Trail that mentions a 2001 Sculpture Walk.

On the west side of the river at Court Avenue (below, bottom left) are the offices of Polk County. The old post office, built in 1908, also houses county offices and faces Walnut Street. In 1975 the post office was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The county’s voters approved buying the building for government offices at a cost of $5.8 million. The picture in the top left shows the historic plaque at 4th and Court in honor of Ronald Reagan, who was a radio announcer in Des Moines before moving to California and on to the presidency. The picture to the right looks down Court Avenue from the river to the county courthouse.

M.R. Field writes about local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

As Week 14 of the Iowa State legislature’s 2008 session ended I was gleeful that certain legislation had been called dead. Then some of those bills were passed the next week. Week 15 saw the 100th day of the session on Tuesday, April 22nd, and the end of the session on Friday, April 25th. (The Senate adjourned at 2:32 a.m. and the House at 2:38 a.m.) The 100th day is important because that is the last day when legislators are paid a per diem for travel and other expenses. Now that the legislative session is over, Gov. Chet Culver has 30 days to either sign or to veto bills sent to him. If Culver does not sign or veto a piece of legislation, that bill becomes law without his signature at the end of the 30 days.

Following the legislative session for these AroundDesMoines.com weekly recaps reinforced what I had learned from other projects. Much of what we call news is merely the reporting of news releases or other formal statements (e.g., House Journals and floor debates). Moreover, there are many more actions and events generating news than can possibly be included in any newspaper or in any broadcast times slot or on any broadband page. Much of what I, as a private citizen, needed to know could be learned by looking at the General Assembly’s website three or four times a week. However, ordinary citizens do not have the time to look at all the legislation introduced, assigned to committees, put on floor calendars, and sent to the governor. In addition, the priorities placed on the various bills was something not possible to ascertain just from the official record. This is where reporters on the scene were useful.

In the list of enrolled bills (those that passed both chambers of the legislature) for 2008, there are 82 bills originated in the House and 86 bills originated in the Senate. In addition, there are three joint resolutions that originated in the Senate. Two of the resolutions give permission for wine and/or beer to be served on the Capitol grounds during specific ceremonial events. The third resolution is for a constitutional amendment related to funding for natural resources. Look for the latter resolution to appear again next year when a new General Assembly begins. Iowa’s constitution requires proposed amendments to be passed in two consecutive General Assemblies before going before voters.

Just because the legislators have headed home does not mean their work is done. There are studies the legislature authorized and elections to be held. Stay in the habit of checking the General Assembly’s website while the legislature is not in session. Interesting information can still be posted there.

I know my coverage of the legislative session was not as extensive as I would have liked but I hope that I helped Iowans better understand what happens during the session, when it happens, and why. I’d like to hear what people thought about news coverage of the session in general.

M.R. Field covers local events for AroundDesMoines.com. 

On Tuesday, April 29, 2008, voters in Polk County, Iowa, should head to the polls to cast their ballots on a referendum. This particular referendum is about issuing general obligation bonds up to $132 million to build a new county courthouse and to renovate the historic current courthouse.

Neither proponents nor opponents of the plan have yet convinced me how to vote. They both have good reasons why I should support them but neither side has presented strong reasons. The vocal proponents tend to be elected officials and court officials. The vocal opponents tend to be people favoring strict tax oversight. There is a need to update the courthouse facilities for the dignity of victims, witnesses, and the accused, as proponents argue. The county government should be held responsible for the number and timing of requests it makes to taxpayers for special projects, as opponents argue.

The size of the courtrooms limits public observation of trials, other than what are in official records. This concerns me as I generally believe that a public presence is the best way to assure fairness under the law. I also support a new facility to make working conditions better for staff. They are performing a public service and the public should respect them enough to provide reasonable accommodations. I appreciate that the Board of Supervisors, eventually, included retaining the current courthouse as a courthouse. These are all reasons why I would vote yes.

The Polk County Comprehensive Plan that the Board of Supervisors passed a few years ago comes to mind as I ponder the courthouse referendum. I thought the supervisors ignored strong public concerns about retaining agricultural land and controlling sprawl. Similarly, I cannot ignore that the current courthouse plan, known as 5A, was created because the supervisors feared what voters would say about a more expensive proposal after they crushed Project Destiny at the ballot box. In addition, public bodies across the United States have a poor record on historic preservation when it comes to renovation of historic buildings. While I know of no specific examples relative to the Polk County Board of Supervisors, I am uncomfortable with the lack of details I’ve seen about the renovation plans for the courthouse. In addition, I am hesitant about new construction that is projected to be too small just when the bonds for the building’s construction are paid off. These are some of the reasons why I would vote no.

The Board of Supervisors holds meetings several times a month. Those meetings are not televised on local public access television and rarely receive any news coverage. In November’s election, District 1 Supervisor Robert Brownell (R-Clive) and District 2 Supervisor E.J. Giovannetti (R-Urbandale) will be up for re-election. At this time only Giovannetti has an opponent, John L. Scarpino (D-Ankeny).

For the April 29th vote, some voting places have been changed. This is also the first election where you can register and vote on the same day. See the County Auditor’s website for more information.

M.R. Field covers local news for AroundDesMoines.com. 

In the past week enough flowers have been in bloom and enough leaves have unfurled to make it seem like Spring is finally here to stay. Alas, spiders and other crawling things also have been spotted with increasing frequency. It won’t be long before the summer events season begins. Indeed, the list of activities for next weekend, the first in May, is growing long. This weekend, though, is relatively quiet.

If you find yourself in downtown Des Moines, take a walk around the historic Polk County Courthouse. It is located between Cherry and Mulberry with the original entrance facing Fifth Street at Court. The special election to decide a referendum on building a new court building and renovating the current structure will be held on Tuesday, April 29, 2008.

Java Joe’s, at 214 Fourth Street, offers several incentives to go downtown this weekend. On Thursday, April 24th, from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. there will be a family game night and an ice cream social. The ice cream comes from KaleidoScoops in Ankeney and costs $2.50 per scoop. (If politics is your game, Drinking Liberally meets a few doors up Fourth Street at the Lift every Thursday at 8:00 p.m.) Ankeny Free Church Pastor John Colyer will lead an open forum on “The Bible” from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, April 27th. Musicians appearing this weekend include Leslie Wells, Nick LaPointe, and Sound Rabbit. In addition, the Iowa Scriptwriters Alliance presents Seven Deadly Sins as seven short plays. Performances are on Thursday at 7:00 p.m., Friday at 6:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Cost is $10, or, as the ISA website notes, only $1.43 per sin.

If you’re looking for a musical, The Pajama Game is playing at the Des Moines Playhouse (831 42nd Street) through May 4th. Show times are Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m., and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. Adult tickets are $34.

Starting on Monday, April 28th, and running through Saturday, May 3rd, a block party will be held by Ingersoll merchants and businesses between 35th and 42nd Streets. Specials can be found on food and merchandise. Personally, I’m going to try Bauder’s $0.99 root beer float. The pharmacy/soda fountain’s ice cream is quite good and the staff provides a friendly service that is only found in small, local establishments.

Wednesday, April 30th, is the last day to purchase discounted pool passes from Des Moines Parks & Recreation. The mayor’s ride to the trails was last week and this would be a good weekend to do your own bike riding. Take the 4-mile Creek trail up to Sargent’s Park on the city’s northeast side and check out the prairie flowers. There is not yet a trail to Ewing Park down by Easter Lake on the southeast side of Des Moines but the lilac arboretum in the park should be relatively accessible by bicycle. (It’s a pain to be reached by foot, but it is possible.)

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

There were several points of interest at the April 22nd meeting of the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART) Commission. First, the date of the meeting as listed on DART’s website is April 29th, not the 22nd. In addition, in keeping with tradition, the agenda of the meeting was not posted to the organization’s website prior to the meeting. Also as usual, of all the media, commissioners, staff, and members of the public in attendance, I was the only person riding the bus from the meeting. The number of media in attendance was much higher than I have seen in the past, though.

Some very important topics that included decisions with financial consequences were discussed. Recent accidents led to a discussion of an updated safety action plan. The approval at last month’s meeting of fare increases led to a discussion on the OTT monthly pass for low-income riders. Waukee’s city council’s action to reverse its decision to join DART led to a discussion on revising the authority’s funding formula. There was also an update on the downtown shuttle and regular departmental reports.

The high visibility accidents of recent months that injured pedestrians and damaged cars attracted the attention of much local media. Far more telling, in my opinion, was the discussion on OTT passes. As discussed in the report of the March 25th DART Commission meeting, OTT stands for Opportunities Through Transit and the program subsidizes monthly passes for ultra low-income riders. Applications are available at community centers in Des Moines and the passes are available to qualifying Polk County residents. Funding for OTT comes from the City of Des Moines, Polk County, and DART. In the March 25th report, I reported incorrectly the source of Polk County funds for OTT. In the county budget there is a line item for paratransit. However, the county recently used about $7,000 of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money to help pay for DART drivers. Under current terms, the Polk County funds contribute $2.50 per OTT pass. The county’s contribution to the program has not increased for several years.

DART handles administration of the OTT program and covers the approximately $33,000 annual administrative cost. In addition, DART contributes over $90,000 to the program by direct subsidy of the monthly pass. The issue before the commission in April was to decide if the pass should rise to $21, as initially approved at the March 25th meeting, or if it should keep the charge at $17. Currently approximately 433 people use OTT passes and 25 people are on a waiting list. The commission was presented the options of raising the subsidized fare to $21 and not dropping any current pass holders or of retaining the $17 rate and reducing pass availability by over 100. Ultimately the Commission chose to keep the rate at $17, not to drop anybody, and somehow to find the extra $3,000 per month that will be required in subsidies when new DART fares take effect on June 1, 2008.

After the meeting I asked DART General Manager Brad Miller how he would have decided which 127 OTT pass holders would be dropped had that been the Commission’s choice. He did not have an answer. Although, during the meeting Miller said, “people come and go regularly on this.” That turnover occurs because an OTT pass recipient is dropped if he or she fails to buy a pass in three consecutive months. Des Moines City Manager Rick Clark, participating as an alternate for Des Moines City Councilor and DART Commissioner Christine Hensley, expressed concern about a long waiting list if such a list was not ranked by need.

Miller said that the City of West Des Moines uses $35,000 from its CDBG to buy annual passes for low-income residents. Thus, residents of that city who qualify and apply can ride DART for free. Applications are processed on a first come-first served basis.

DART Development Officer Brian Litchfield said that for every $1 increase in the OTT monthly pass, 30 people could be removed from the waiting list. However, given the low incomes of OTT recipients, commissioners and staff were extremely concerned about requiring recipients to pay any additional money.

Litchfield reported to the commission that the Davis Brown Law Firm and Mercy Medical Center have joined the Unlimited Access program. In addition, DART and the City of Des Moines are in talks to include the city in this program that allows free rides for people associated with participating companies or institutions. Commission Chairman Skip Conkling said that Mercy had been a proponent of Sunday service because many of its employees ride the bus to work.

Information on other components of the April 22nd DART Commission meeting will be reported on in Part 2.

M.R. Field writes about local issues for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Today, April 22, 2008, is Equal Pay Day. This date symbolizes how far into 2008 women must work, on average, to earn as much pay as men earned in 2007. Started by the National Committee on Pay Equity in 1996, Equal Pay Day is held each year on a Tuesday to symbolize how far into each week women must work to earn as much as men were paid the previous week. Equal Pay Day is an echo of Tax Freedom Day, which is a registered trademark of the Tax Foundation.

Tax Freedom Day represents the day, on average, when Americans have worked long enough to pay their taxes for the year. The Tax Foundation also includes information on how many days Americans work to earn money to spend money on clothing, recreation, food, and other items. In 2008, Tax Freedom Day falls on April 23rd. According to the Tax Foundation 2008’s day arrives three days earlier than in 2007 due to economic stimulus checks and a slowing economy.

The 2007 Supreme Court decision against Lilly Ledbetter offers a stark reminder of the long-term damage lower wages earned by women have over the course of their lifetimes. Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for pay discrimination but the Court ruled that the discrimination occurred too many years ago for the suit to be valid. Yet, many women do not discover pay discrepancies until years after the first act. After a decade of raises, bonuses, and cost of living adjustments based on a percentage of pay, that first pay check gap will grow dramatically. Add in calculations for lost contributions to retirement funds and spare cash to invest and the wealth gap also grows.

Imagine a man makes $25 per calendar quarter but a woman makes only $20 and both started their jobs in January 1995. By December 1995, the man would have $100 but the woman would not have $100 until March 1996. By December 1996, the man would have another $100 but the woman would have to wait until June 1997 for hers. By the end of 2005, the man would have $1,100. The woman will still be working for that amount until December 2008. In real world terms, a man making $40,000 a year, which is close to the median Iowa income, would have $112,000 more than a woman making $32,000 a year over the course of the 14 years from January 1995 to December 2008. That difference creates a significant impact on the type of house that could be bought, the type of business that could be started, and the type of recreation that could be enjoyed.

Instead of recognizing Equal Pay Day in April, I favor a September date. I find it much more powerful to tell men around the autumnal equinox that they can have the rest of the year off with pay but the women must keep working through December. We also need to discuss the greater gender gap in part-time pay.

M.R. Field has written on women’s economic issues for several years. 

The main agenda item for the April 15, 2008, meeting of the Des Moines Public Schools School Board was student achievement data. Superintendent Dr. Nancy Sebring stressed that the April report was a breakdown of data from the February 19, 2008, monitoring report related to graduation ends. Several public speakers and board members asked what was meant by being proficient and what caused persistent discrepancies of achievement between subcategories.

Ultimately, the questions left unanswered were what could the school board do to affect change and what result should that change have. This was the theme when Board Member Jonathan Narcisse talked about the recently adopted 2009 budget and the lack of attention given to librarians in it. Board Member Jeanette Woods immediately challenged Narcisse by asking him what proposals he made during the budget discussions to shift funding to allow for more librarians.

Even when there are decades worth of data on particular items, such as reading and math scores as rated by the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS), there were questions raised about the value of that data. During public comments, Alan Young, president of the Des Moines Education Association, said that the ITBS measurements from 50 years ago do not necessarily have value as guides for what will help students in the 21st century.

Sebring said that some wild fluctuations in the data for specific subcategories are due to the small number of individuals included in that subcategory. For example, there was a one-year dramatic increase in reading and math scores for the Native American population. Several board members also questioned the worth of standard tests versus teacher assessments of students’ skills when English language learners (ELL students) might have the knowledge but not the English language capacity to do well on the tests. Board President Dick Murphy offered the example of an English word that might have six meanings but an ELL student might only have learned three of them. (Note: I would be more likely to question the ELL challenge as being one of thinking in English versus another native language. This is the same challenge students with dyslexia face. The students must read the test question, interpret it, answer it, and interpret their answer back to English.)

Subcategories include gifted students as well as those coming from low-income households and different racial/ethnic groups. (Note: At a December 10, 2007, Human Rights Day event, Cyndi Chen, director of the Iowa Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders noted that the Asian community is represented by people from many different countries with many different cultures. This includeds Japan with its emphasis on education but it also includes countries in which education for girls is considered unnecessary. In the DMPS data, students from both of those cultures are lumped together) Board President Murphy wondered how well racial/ethnic minority students not included in the free or reduced price lunch program were doing compared to similarly wealthy Caucasians.

The Iowa Tests of Educational Development (ITED) for 11th grade reading and math show a decrease for both males and females from the 2001-2002 school year to the 2006-2007 year. There was an increase for participation in the ACT tests used in college admission decisions, though. A significant part of this increase came from the decision to make the test available to students who could not afford the test-taking fee and to hold the tests at the schools. Board Member Woods voiced concern that students who did not go to college could still earn a respectable and profitable leaving in the trades.

Several reasons for the discrepancies in achievement were stated by board members, district staff, and public speakers. These included the mobility of students between specific schools and school districts, family history that may or may not emphasize the importance of a scholastic education, parents who need to work long hours, and even students whose work interferes with their ability to get to school on time. District staff reported on programs that have been implemented to help counter some of these problems. These include a grant that follows last year’s 7th grade classes in certain schools through the next few years to help introduce them to opportunities, such as college, that they might not otherwise experience. There is also the 9th grade academy that works with students to keep them attending school and improving their studies.

(Note: I was disturbed by a comment Sebring made that some of the achievement data was collected and summarized for the Des Moines Register. It seems to me as though the Register should be doing its own data analysis if it is to be an independent monitor of the school district. In contrast, district staff ignores me when I make basic inquiries for clarifications for readers of AroundDesMoines.com.)

M.R. Field covers school board meetings for AroundDesMoines.com. 

Tuesday, April 22nd is Earth Day but area business districts are hoping to celebrate this weekend. Earth Day in the Junction will be held on Sunday, April 20, 2008, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be opportunities to run a race, to walk through Brown Woods, and to drive a hybrid car. Historic Valley Junction in West Des Moines has additional information on a special website and in the organization’s April newsletter. I could not find a similar listing of events for the Saturday, April 19th, Spring in the Village. Individual stores are arranging their own events in the East Village, centered around Locust Street between East 3rd and East 7th Streets.

An earthquake in Illinois at about 4:37 a.m. on April 18th, registering 5.4 on the Richter scale, started the celebrations. Iowans living along streams and rivers, particularly in the southeast quarter of the state, are hoping that recent rains don’t flood out the earth around their homes and farms. With sunshine and 70 degree temperatures forecast for Sunday, hopefully everyone will have an opportunity just to enjoy the pleasure of spring flowers and fresh air.

The Botanical Center (909 Robert D. Ray Drive) will offer free admission all day on Tuesday, April 22nd. On Sunday, the 20th, Director of Orangutan Research Dr. Rob Shumaker at the Great Ape Trust will talk about apes in the wild at 1:30 p.m. Cost is $4 for adults. On Saturday, the 19th, the Iowa Bonsai Association will hold its annual show at the Botanical Center from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. At 1:00 p.m. the owners of Butterfliz of Iowa will give a presentation on building a backyard butterfly habitat.

Reduce-Reuse-Recycle is the motto for limiting landfills. Reduce your packaging (e.g., buy loose fruits and vegetables instead of prepackaged ones at the grocery store. Reuse products you buy or find (e.g., a non-Iowa friend has an old lobster-shipping crate serving as a coffee table). Recycle what you can’t reduce or reuse. Recycling comes last in this trio because it requires energy and water to sort, to clean, and to reshape recycled products. If you have an old item that you think could be recycled into money from an antique dealer, the Terrace Hill Society is holding its annual Treasures in the Attic event on Sunday, the 20th. For $5 per item, you can have an appraisal made on your antiques. The time is from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at West End Architectural Salvage, located in a renovated 1913 grocers warehouse at 9th and Cherry Streets.

If you prefer to look at the sky rather than the Earth, this Friday’s topic at the spring astronomical series at the Drake Municipal Observatory is “Gravity is the Key.”

The Drake Relays start off with street painting on the 19th and a parade on the 20th. This is the 99th year of the Relays.

DART buses can get you to and from most of these events.

M.R. Field encourages organizations and performers to send news about their upcoming events to events@AroundDesMoines.com. 

Leave the state for a week and it is hard to get re-focussed on the General Assembly upon the return to Iowa, particularly as the session is nearing its end. In an attempt to catch up on events that happened while I was gone, I flipped through the newscasts of local television stations and made a lethargic attempt to look online at old articles in the state’s newspapers. Just as tulips grew a bit taller but did not bud while I was gone, there seems to have been little movement in the state’s government. Eventually I settled on the tried and true resource of the General Assembly’s website to find out what happened in the past week.

On Wednesday, April 9, 2008, the legislature sent 33 bills to the governor. These future laws aim to make changes in funding for natural resources, protection for certain actions of good will, rules for governmental financing, information provided to victims of sexual assault, and policies for local school districts.

On Tuesday, April 8th, Gov. Chet Culver signed 16 bills. These new laws include such exciting rules as the per diem compensation for directors of the Iowa soybean association board, a requirement for the Department of Transportation to study the acceptance of electronic payments at its customer service sites, and issuance of non-resident turkey and deer hunting licenses to people who have severe physical disabilities or a terminal disease. Some of the bills signed on Tuesday were among the 16 bills sent to the governor on Monday, April 7th.

Looking at the April 10th Senate Journal, I discovered that several appointments made by the governor were confirmed. These included members of the Commission on the Status of African-Amerians, the State Board of Education, the Interior Design Examining Board, the Real Estate Commission, and the Renewal Fuels and Coproducts Advisory Committee. If anyone wants to read the conference committee’s compromise on the Smokefree Air Act, it can be found in the April 8th House Journal. The vote to accept the conference committee report was 52-48. The vote to pass the compromise bill was 54-45.

Much happened at the statehouse during Week 13 of the session. How lives will be changed because of those many actions remains to be seen.

M.R. Field writes for AroundDesMoines.com.