Colfax woman found guilty of child neglect
Tami Jo Hodges to serve 10 years in prison for leaving an infant alone at a residence
By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune
During a call involving dog complaints, the Colfax Police Department found there was more going on at a local residence. As a result, Tami Jo Hodges, 31, was found guilty on two charges of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person, a class C felony, and was
sentenced to two, simultaneous 10-year prison terms by District Court Judge Terry Rickers March 17.
The Colfax Police Department was called to East Broadway Street about two dogs at large Aug. 21, 2024. It was reported one of the dogs had chased and bit a child.
Once the dogs were
IMPACT served almost 2,500 residents in Jasper County
Annual report shows 25% of the county population can apply for assistance
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
IMPACT Communi-
ty Action Partnership is proud to know it served 2,484 Jasper County residents this past year, but representatives of the organization told the board of supervisors that still leaves about 6,671 other residents with an income below 185 percent of the federal poverty line who are eligible to receive services.
Brandon Pollard, grants and donors coordinator at IMPACT, provided the county board of supervisors with an update of the work done in the community during the March 18 meeting. IMPACT is the Community Action Agency that serves Jasper, Boone, Marion, Polk and Boone Counties.
“Our mission is to help folks that are experiencing poverty or have a low
located, they were identified as belonging to Hodges after having been at-large several times in previous days. While trying to round them up, the dogs ran back to the Hodges residence. After arriving at the residence, officers heard a baby crying inside. They tried to make contact with an adult or care giver at the residence by
knocking and announcing their presence, but there was no answer.
With the baby continuing to cry, officers found the front door to be unlocked, opened it and announced their presence. The baby was located on a mattress in the living room of the house.
After searching the home, no adult or care
giver was found. The officers did observe the house was full of trash, animal feces and human excrements.
The dogs at large were contained within the house. Animal control was called and took both dogs.
While officers were still at the residence, Hodges arrived along with another child. The
JASPER COUNTY LEGISLATORS
SAY
Department of Human Services was called and took custody of both children.
The child with the dog bite was also identified by officers. They found the adolescent with a small scratch on her leg reportedly from the dog bite. The area previously had swelling and redness according to the child’s mother.
THERE ARE WAY TOO MANY BILLS FILED THIS SESSION
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
Editor’s note: This is the third in aseriesofarticlescoveringthetopics discussed at legislative gatheringshostedbytheLeagueofWomenVotersofJasperCounty.
Sen. Ken Rozenboom said there have been way too many bills filed this session, and hardly any of them are good ideas.
“There are over 900 House Files, nearly 1,000,” Rozenboom said during a recent legislative gathering hosted at the Newton Public Library by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County. “There are over 600 Senate Files. And then there are study bills. And there aren’t that many good ideas, let me to you.”
He said it again when he and his fellow lawmakers, Rep. Barb Kniff McCulla and Rep. Jon Dun-
Property tax document sent in mail only confuses an already complicated subject
Jasper County leaders say budget year statements are confusing and misleading
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune
If the goal of the local government budget year statements released in the mail this past week was to confuse taxpayers, then it was an overwhelming success.
Leaders from the City of Newton, Jasper County and Newton Community School District agree that informing their citizens of the upcoming public hearings for the proposed property taxation is a good thing, but they suggest the data included in the statement is confusing, misleading and overgeneralizing.
For instance, Newton residents can be forgiven if they believe their taxes for city, county and school district are all increasing by 12-14 percent, because it suggests as much on the back page of the document. Although it gives these figures as hypotheticals, it also suggests property values are increasing by 10 percent. However, it is unlikely every resident’s assessed property value increased that dramatically or at all, unless they made significant changes or upgrades to
their home in the past year or so. Newton City Administrator Matt Muckler said these 10 percent assessment increases are false assumptions for almost all residents.
“The FY26 budget year is a non-assessment year,” Muckler told Newton News, noting that odd-numbered fiscal years are assessment years. “Unless property owners constructed an addition on their home or business, their property assessments will most likely not increase from FY25 to FY26.”
For FY26, the City of Newton would only take in an additional 1.36 percent
in property taxes compared to the current year.
Muckler also argued that some taxpayers actually saw a decrease in their current year taxes for FY25 due to the implementation of the first phase of the 65-and-older and military exemptions passed by Iowa legislators. Furthermore, the tax estimator tool linked in the statement does not include these exemptions.
“With fully implemented exemptions in FY26 for residents over 65 and for those who qualify for the military exemption, Newton residents in those cat-
egories may see a declining property tax bill for the second year in a row,” Muckler said, adding that the statement also fails to mention taxes pay for important services.
Tim Bloom, director of business services at the Newton Community School District, said the notices to taxpayers are accurate in that it gives the current tax rate and the proposed tax rate. But he said at the same time the effective rate is not really meaningful and the increased property valuation is an arbitrary factory.
“It is giving people undue stress for something that is not likely and is the worst case scenario for a tax increase,” Bloom said. “I believe this was not the intention of the elected officials. They would like to have sent to people their taxes for the current year and what the next year’s proposed amounts are going to be.”
Bloom lamented that this is not what was included in the laws. He also suggested there are other factors that play into property taxes, such as the rollback. The rollback makes it so Iowans do not pay 100 percent of their valuation.
Bloom said the legislature is trying to address some of these issues but the real issue is people pay taxes for services. He also suggested a lack of state funding to
well, were questioned about a bill letting homeschools charge tuition and possibly be eligible for education savings accounts. He said it once more when they were asked
about a bill penalizing use of genetic-based
Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune Sen. Ken Rozenboom speaks with constituents during a legistlative gathering hosted by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County in the meeting room of the Newton Public Library.
Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune Representatives from IMPACT Community Action Partnership provided an annual update to the Jasper County Board of Supervisors during its meeting on March 18 at the county courthouse.
Charles Wayne Osborn
March 16, 2025
Obituaries
able to Kevin Osborn or Carrie Soderblom.)
Charles Wayne “Chuck” Osborn, 90, of Newton, died Sunday, March 16, 2025. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m., Monday, March 24, 2025, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Newton. The family will greet friends from 2-4 p.m., Sunday, March 23, 2025, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Memorials in Chuck’s name can be left at the church during the services or at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory in Newton. (Please make checks pay-
Chuck, the son of William Frederick and Violett (Brown) Osborn, was born February 8, 1935, at home in rural Marshalltown. The family also lived north of Haverhill before moving north of Newton in 1940 to what became their family farm. Chuck attended Malaka #6 country school. Charles was drafted into the US Army, where he served from 1957to 1959 as a water treatment specialist, stationed in Germany. Chuck was united in marriage with Rachael Rollstin on September 22, 1962, in Newton. He worked as a hired man and owned his own spray-painting business and farmed on his family farm. Chuck had a knack for building things from a young age. He was a member of Holy Trini-
ty Lutheran Church, the Izaak Walton League, and the Jasper County Farm Bureau. He was a talented craftsman, designing and manufacturing a variety of toys, from farm equipment and Army vehicles to wagons and Jeeps. He also made jewelry out of silver. Chuck also enjoyed buying and restoring old tractors, a hobby he began in the 1970s. He was well known for his bibs and his cinnamon Dentyne gum. Chuck never knew a stranger and was considered by many to be a baby whisperer. He had a presence that calmed children no matter how fussy they were. That same presence was felt by his grandchildren, who were a great joy in his life.
Chuck is survived by his children: Kevin (Christine) Osborn, Carrie Soderblom, and Christina (Chuck) Spangen-
burg, all of Newton; his grandchildren: Meghan (George) Valdes, Lindsay (Wade) Halverson, Justin (Lisa) Osborn, Jenelle (Nick) Braglia, Chelsea Soderblom, Melissa (Mike) McDonald, Kyle (Jen) Soderblom, Colton Spangenburg, and Kaylee Spangenburg; 18 great-grandchildren; his siblings: Steve (Linda) Osborn, Stanley (Patricia Anthony) Osborn, and Joe (Kathy) Osborn; two sisters-in-law, Catherine Osborn and Nancy LaFrenz; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Rachael; great-granddaughter, Madison Nesbitt; and his siblings: Leona (in infancy), Maxine Osborn, Robert Osborn, John Osborn, Helen Hills, Ramona Russell, Ada Strick, Shirley Hoyla, and James Osborn.
Second half property and mobile home taxes due on or before March 31
County Treasurer Doug Bishop would like to remind Jasper County residents that the second half property tax and mobile home taxes are due and need to be paid on or before Monday, March 31.
HOWARD ST. CHRISTIAN CHURCH
(Disciples of Christ)
Pastor Josh Burns
101 N. Locust St., Colfax Cell - 515-779-3148
SUNDAY - 10 a.m. Fellow-
ship;10:30 a.m. Worship, in person or online via YouTube
MONDAY - Pastor Josh day off TUESDAY - 9:30 a.m. Coffee Time; 2:30 p.m. Chair Yoga
WEDNESDAY - 3:30 p.m. After school elementary youth; 6:15 ChiRho and CYF youth supper; 7:30 p.m. Youth Group
THIRD SUNDAY - 8 p.m. Elders meeting, Board meeting after church; Collect for Food Pantry
FOURTH SUNDAY - Potluck Dinner
FIFTH SUNDAY - Potluck Breakfast
FIRST MONDAY - WIC appointments
FOURTH & FIFTH TUESDAY3 p.m. Table of Grace
IRA UNITED CHURCH
Pastors Doug Cupples and Phil Butler
SUNDAY - 9:30 a.m. Church
Payments can be made at the office from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily. Credit card and E-check payments can also be made online at www.iowatreasurers.org.
Payments mailed and postmarked before April 1 will be ac -
cepted without penalty.
There is also a convenient drop box on the east side of the office building at 315 W. Third St. N. in Newton. If you have any questions, call the Treasurer’s office at 641-792-7731.
Church Schedules
service; 10:30 a.m. Sunday school Communion first Sunday
METZ COMMUNITY CHURCH
3253 W. 62nd St. S., Newton Pastor David Rex 641-521-4354
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday school; 10:10 a.m. Worship Last Saturday of month - 8 a.m. Men’s Breakfast
FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH Colfax Minister, Pastor Cody Dyer Church Office 674-4165
SUNDAY, March 30 - 9 a.m. Fellowship; 9:15 a.m. Bible Education Classes; 10:25 a.m. Message by Pastor Cody Dyer;; 5 p.m. “The Well” Youth Group
TUESDAY, April 1 - 3:30 p.m. Women’s Prayer and Coffee; 6:30 p.m. Easter Bible Study
WEDNESDAY, April 2 - 9 a.m. Busy Bee Quilters and Fresh Encounter Prayer; 5:45 p.m.
AWANA Family Meal; 6:25 p.m. AWANA Clubs
SATURDAY, April 5 - 7:30 a.m. Men’s Breakfast/Bible Study
www.coburnfuneralhomes.com
Baxter Comfort Solutions now doing business as Baxter Heating & Air
Baxter Oil Company, doing business as Baxter Comfort Solutions, has rebranded and is now doing business as Baxter Heating & Air, marking a new chapter in its nearly 100-year legacy in central Iowa.
Family-owned and operated since 1928, Baxter Heating & Air has built a reputation for integrity, expertise and customer-focused service across four generations.
“Our new name and brand colors mark a pivotal moment for our company,” Dylan DeJong, fourth-generation owner of Baxter Heating & Air, said. “This evolution represents our dedication to staying ahead in the industry, while preserving the same high-quality service our customers have relied on for decades.”
The company remains under the same trusted family ownership, and customers can expect the same dedicated team of professionals. For more information, visit www.baxterheatingandair.com or call 641-328-5202.
SACRED HEART CATHOLIC CHURCH
Newton, Iowa
SATURDAY - 4 p.m. Mass
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Mass
COLFAX FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
S. Locust & W. Division St. Office - 674-3782
Rev. Phil Dicks pastor
SUNDAY - 10:30 a.m. Family Worship; Sunday School
HOPE ASSEMBLY OF GOD
126 E. Howard
Rev. Paul Avery, pastor Church: 674-3700 hopeassemblyofgod@yahoo.com
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday school; 10 a.m. Worship
WEDNESDAY - 7 p.m. Evening Service
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
CATHOLIC CHURCH
302 E. Howard St., Colfax Fr. Marty Goetz
515-674-3711
SUNDAY - 11 a.m. Mass
MINGO UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Rev. Phil Dicks
515-689-4926
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Worship service (Sunday school not meeting at this time)
ASHTON CHAPEL
8887 W. 122nd St. N., Mingo
Pastors: Larry Craig & Mark Eddy
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday school; 10 a.m. Worship
BETHANY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
5627 N. 95th Ave. W., Baxter 641-227-3402
Pastor Chris Hayward
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday School (Sunday after Labor Day to second Sunday in May); 10 a.m. Sunday Worship. First Sunday communion. All are welcome. baxterbethanyucc.org
EVANGELICAL FREE CHURCH BAXTER
Mike Mclintock, Pastor
SUNDAY - 9:15 a.m. Sunday School; 10 a.m. Worship; 6 p.m. Awanas
WEDNESDAYS - 1st & 3rd6:30 p.m. Mens Bible Study 2nd & 4th - 6:30 p.m. Men’s and Womens Bible Study
THURSDAYS 10 a.m. - Womens Bible Study
BAXTER CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH
218 S. Main, Baxter Pastor Ben Spera Church: 641-227-3382
SUNDAY - 10 a.m. Worship
WEDNESDAY - 6 p.m. Bible Study
THIRD THURSDAY of month
- 6:30 p.m. Theology on Tap at Bea’s Place on Main Street Check us out on Facebook and baxtercongregational.com
CORNERSTONE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP
1000 E. 12th St., Newton Rev. Josh Farver, pastor Phone 641-792-4650
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Sunday school; 10:15 a.m. Worship
WEDNESDAY - 6:30 p.m. Prayer Meeting and Bible Study; Youth Group
HERITAGE WORD OF LIFE ASSEMBLY OF GOD 102 Second St. NW, Mitchellville Pastor Dave Adams 515-967-3330
SUNDAY - 9 a.m. Bible classes; 10 a.m. Worship service; 6 p.m. Evening service
WEDNESDAY - 7 p.m. Evening activities
LUTHERAN CHURCH OF HOPE Capitol II Theatre in Newton SUNDAY - 9:30 a.m. Livestream Worship Service
MITCHELLVILLE CHRISTIAN DISCIPLES OF CHRIST 210 Third St. NW, Mitchellville Text/Voicemail 515-519-0206 SUNDAY - 10 a.m. Coffee Time; 10:30 a.m. Worship Time, in person or via YouTube Live at 1040 am
WEDNESDAY - 5:30pm W.O.W Youth Group with supper provided Visit mitchellvillechristianchurch. org and follow us on Facebook
income and help them address their basic needs,” Pollard said. “In our last fiscal year, which would have run October 2023 to September 2024, we served 1,093 families (households) in Jasper County and just under 2,500 residents.”
About 900 of those residents served were children and teens, and about 340 were people over the age of 65. Pollard said there are approximately 9,155 Jasper County residents with an income below 185 percent of the federal poverty line, which is about 25 percent of the county’s total population.
“Anyone up to 200 percent of the federal poverty line is definitely going to qualify for at least one of our services in all of our counties,” Pollard said. “…There are a lot more households that could benefit from our services that we’re currently not reaching. We’re always trying to do more to reach more families.”
According to 2022-2023 data from National Center for Education Statistics, 41.8 percent of Jasper County students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.
IMPACT programs that be used in Jasper County include food cards, short-term homelessness prevention program, a senior farmers market nutrition program, the RAYS scholarship program and utility assistance. IMPACT CEO Anne Bacon said there are going to be challenges with energy assistance come April 1. By then, the moratorium on utility disconnections for the federally-funded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) will end.
This means utility companies can resume disconnections for people who have not paid their energy bills. Bacon said it is “extremely unlikely”
Taxes
Continuedfrompage1
public schools puts undue stress on taxpayers. Schools are seeing greater expenses, and it often falls on the backs of property taxpayers.
“I believe I can say everyone is in favor of paying less taxes,” he said. “The state has passed the buck in their absence of funding back to local property taxpayers. The state continues to underfund schools. Our costs have gone up substantially; however, schools are supposed to make ends meet on 2 percent funding.”
Bloom argued a ma-
IMPACT will have any funding to help anyone with a shutoff notice after April 1. Bacon said that has to do with the amount of funding available compared to people who need it.
“So even though we’re not reaching all of the people in Jasper County, we wouldn’t have enough funding to do so if we were able to reach them all,” Bacon said. “We’ve seen that progressively get worse over the past few years — the cost of utilities against how much energy assistance is available.”
IMPACT schedules a community needs assessment every three years, and Pollard is in the midst of doing that right now. The organization looks at every area it serves to make sure if there are any gaps to shift services. For example, IMPACT doesn’t have a food pantry in Newton since there is one in place.
Another reason the IMPACT representatives held a presentation at the board of supervisors meeting to request their continued support in the community. For instance, usually one supervisor joins board of directors. In the past, Denny Stevenson served on the board, but now Thad Nearmyer will serve in his stead.
The board of directors must be comprised of one-third elected officials, one-third private citizens and one-third people who have low incomes or have lived experiences of poverty. Bacon also took a moment to thank Stevenson, a former county supervisor, for his service on the board of directors.
IMPACT also asked supervisors to refer community members who can benefit from the organization’s services, inform the group of community needs they are hearing from residents and help build connections with other community groups, organizations and businesses.
“We want to hear from you about those things, especially right now while we’re doing our community needs assessment,” Pollard said.
jority of schools are facing reductions as a result of reduced state funding. The Newton school board and district leadership, he added, have already made a tough decision to reduce the number of elementary schools in Newton. The district has reduced staff, and it will reduce more going forward.
Jasper County Supervisor Brandon Talsma went so far as to say the statement sent to residents is a “junk mailer.” While the intent behind the bill requiring these statements be sent out was sound, Talsma said the end product is confusing. The mailer was first sent last year, and it was confusing back then, too.
“We don’t have a say in
5201 NE 14th Street, Suite A Des Moines, IA 50313 515-270-9264
time he did not know much about House File 888, which would loosen restrictions on homeschooling and let parents teach other children and even charge tuition. Kim Didier, of Newton, suggested this bill could allow homeschools to eventually apply for ESAs. In order to apply and participate in the ESA program, students must be enrolled in an accredited nonpublic schools. But homeschools do not need accreditation.
“I’ll harken back to what I said a few moments ago: I don’t think there are that many good ideas, and this may be one of them,” Rozenboom said. “A lot of bills get filed for different reasons. Not all of them are for good reasons. Some of them are making a statement. Some of them are, whatever, somebody’s pet project.”
However, he said, that is the purpose of the House and the Senate, as well as the first funnel week — which concluded March 7 — to vet all kinds of bills.
Even though Dunwell agrees there are too many bills filed this session, he clarified that House File 888 has nothing to do with ESAs. In a follow up after the gathering, Dunwell even suggested the bill has a greater chance of not making it to the House floor for debate and a vote. It may not be ready for primetime.
Dunwell also added there is no movement in the Iowa
it,” Talsma said. “This is what the Department of Management gave us to mail out. I’ve been doing this for six years and even I find it confusing, so I know our citizens are confused. I do believe legislation introduced this year is trying to fix it. I don’t think that it was supposed to be.”
Talsma also noted the county’s tax rate included in the statement is not an accurate reflection of how the county levies taxes.
“That is what our max levying could be if we certify the max, but we’re not going to certify the max,” he said. “That’s the other thing I’ve been trying to clear up.”
Talsma also clarified that just because the return address says “Jasper County Auditor” does not mean that office or elected official is responsible for the mailer. The chair of the board of supervisors said the mailer is required under House File 718 to be sent by the county from the Department of Management.
“Property taxes are
House to ever give, at this point, a homeschool student an ESA. He told the audience at the legislative gathering that homeschool parents “would absolutely cry murder” if the Iowa Legislature tried to give them ESAs. Dunwell said they don’t want it.
“They don’t want it because they want to have some of their freedom,”
Dunwell said. “What that bill does is sometimes homeschool parents want to have a little bit better education, say, on some topics for their kids; so they’re going to bring a teacher in to endorse that, to teach them more complicated topics.”
The bill would allow them to do what is already being done, Dunwell said. There is no law against it, but there is not a law for it.
But he stressed there is not a movement in that bill to give ESAs to homeschools. Dunwell said it would be too complicated to track accountability; whereas private schools have accreditation.
“Accreditation means something,” Dunwell said. “It’s about governance. It’s about finances. It’s about audits. It’s about all those things beyond education that are there, and that would be a lot of responsibility to place upon a parent. We’re trying to find out is that a legitimate expense or not a legitimate expense.”
Stacy Simbro, a member of the Newton City Council, raised the issues surrounding Senate File 360, the bill that would fine healthcare workers for administering
confusing enough already,” Talsma said. “This mailer adds to the confusion.”
Rep. Jon Dunwell has long lobbied for what he calls “truth in taxation,” in which local governments more directly notify residents and what they will pay in property taxes every year and when they can provide input at public hearings. Dunwell supported legislation requiring the release of budget year statements.
But in a recent legislative gathering hosted by the League of Women Voters of Jasper County, Dunwell expressed that these statements are not enough. He said the statements need to be property specific, meaning that the amounts and calculations would differ from taxpayer to taxpayer or even property to property.
Randy Ervin, a member of the Newton City Council, advocated for property specific statements as well, rather than a document full of “gobbledygook” that “nobody understands.” But
he asked Dunwell how long it will take before it can get to the point where residents get personalized and comprehendible mailers.
“Well there is still an opportunity yet this year,” Dunwell said. “Remember, Ways and Means (Committee) are open until end of session. They put this bill out there, plus there are three others out there to start the discussion about property taxes. Part of it is going to be changing a mindset.”
Dunwell explained part of the challenge the state has is operating in the mindset of being the “guardians” or “parents” to the cities and counties.
“I’d like to provide more transparency,” he said. “That doesn’t mean I’m saying the cities are hiding anything or the counties are hiding anything. Our system is complicated, so it’s very difficult to figure it out. Simplify the system. Get rid of the rollback. Create this transparency piece.”
Dunwell argued it would cost the count
genetic-based vaccines, including COVID-19 vaccines. Dunwell, Kniff McCulla and Rozenboom were very quick to point out that bill had died.
“That’s gone,” Rozenboom said. “That’s going nowhere. That was one of those bills that, frankly, should never have been filed, in my opinion. It had come out of subcommittee. It never got a hearing in full committee … And I had a talk with the person that filed it. I won’t tell you what that conversation was.”
Dunwell added the House killed it. Simbro was happy to hear the bill had died and hoped it would never come up again.
In a followup with Newton News, Dunwell said everything is a greater vetting process. Ideas can develop with a subcommittee of around three or so people then move on to a larger committee of 20 or more. Even if a bill makes it through committee, Dunwell said there may be additional work that can be done.
Lawmakers may also meet in caucuses to discuss topics and concerns. Dunwell said these meetings, too, are an extension of the review process.
“Everything goes through multiple vetting processes, and what happens is some make their way through and some don’t, some get adapted and changed,” he said. “The final position that even a legislator has on a bill, even ones you author, isn’t until you actually vote on the House floor.”
$20,000 to $40,000 for a software upgrade for property-specific statements with the proposed levies.
“It would put you (Ervin) in touch with your voters,” he said. “I don’t like getting blamed or talking about something I don’t necessarily control. I think that’s between you and your voters, and I want to create that relationship and connection. So we’re going to continue to hit away at it.”
It is also important to note the mailer does provide information for when the public hearings will be held for each taxing entity. They are included here:
• Newton Schools — 5:30 p.m. March 24 at the E.J.H. Beard Administration Center, 1302 First Ave. W., in conference room 105A/B.
• Jasper County — 8:30 a.m. April 1 at the Jasper County Courthouse in the board of supervisors room 203.
• City of Newton — 5:30 p.m. April 7 at City Hall, 101 W. Fourth St. S., in the council chambers.
Session is halfway over
By Jennifer Konfrst Iowa House Democratic Leader
Last week, the Iowa Legislature reached the halfway point of the 2025 session, marking the first legislative deadline known as the “funnel.” This process helps streamline the number of bills eligible for debate as we work toward adjournment in May. Democratic lawmakers remain committed to listening to Iowans and working hard to improve lives. That means putting aside politics, leading with Iowa values, and listening through our disagreements to do what’s best for Iowans.
Since session began, we’ve been introducing bills in our People Over Politics agenda to keep this session focused on the priorities of Iowans, especially lowering costs. Here are just a few of the ideas we’re working on this year:
• Lowering costs for Iowans, including bills to make childcare and housing more affordable, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and raising wages.
• Supporting public education by increasing support and expanding preschool.
• Restoring reproductive freedom and expanding reproductive health care.
We’ve heard from thousands and thousands of Iowans so far this session and their message to lawmakers is pretty clear: they are fed up with all the politics and lawmakers trying to control their lives. Iowans have registered their strong opposition to a host of divisive
Week 10 from the Iowa House
The Iowa Legislature, under Speaker Pat Grassley’s leadership, has taken bold steps to reform higher education through the newly formed Higher Education Committee. Facing skyrocketing costs, declining intellectual diversity, and the encroachment of identity politics, the Iowa House passed a series of bills in 2025 to refocus universities on quality education, affordability, and merit-based principles.
House File 269, the Freedom from Indoctrination Act, protects students and faculty from mandatory ideological courses like critical race theory or DEI, preserving academic freedom. House File 401, the Core Curriculum Act, mandates a balanced undergraduate curriculum— covering English, math, sciences, humanities, and American heritage—free from historical distortion or identity politics. House File 295, the Accreditation Autonomy Act, empowers universities to challenge accreditors who impose conflicting standards, safeguarding state law. House File 437 establishes a Center for Intellectual Freedom at the University of Iowa, promoting research and teaching on America’s constitutional foundations
YOUR VIEW
Iowans need more choices, not division
Are you an alt-right Republican or a radical-left Democrat? Most likely, you are neither! Most Americans consider themselves “moderate.” Then why do so many candidates on the ballot have extreme positions? Why has compromise become a dirty word? Could it be that our plurality voting system is flawed? THERE IS A BETTER WAY!!
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is used by 13 million voters across the U.S. and has been successful across the political spectrum. Unlike the current system, where candidates can win without majority support, RCV allows voters to rank candidates by preference,
while fostering civic engagement and diverse perspectives. House File 440, the College Affordability Act, tackles costs by setting tuition deadlines, mandating work-study and threeyear degree options, and exploring a tuition guarantee. Finally, House File 856 replaces DEI with MEI (Merit, Excellence, and Intelligence) at community colleges and private institutions receiving taxpayer funds, ensuring merit drives education. These reforms reflect Iowa’s commitment to maximizing taxpayer investment — roughly $600 million annually to the Board of Regents — by addressing workforce needs, not ideological agendas. Collaboration with the Regents ensured their support, balancing legislative oversight with institutional autonomy. Critics questioning intervention in private colleges should note that, unlike K-12 schools with accreditation and curriculum standards, private institutions accepting public funds must align with Iowans’ rejection of divisive DEI policies. By curbing costs, enhancing intellectual diversity, and prioritizing merit, these bills strengthen Iowa’s higher education system, delivering practical, high-quality education for students and taxpayers alike.
Let’s keep the conversation going!
ensuring broader backing for the winner. This method increases candidate choice, reduces negative campaigning and shifts messaging toward policies that appeal to a wider electorate. It also saves cities and towns money by eliminating costly runoff elections, easing the burden on taxpayers. The Iowa Legislature wants to ban RCV and strip local governments of choice—ignoring what everyday Iowans really want: more options and less division. Politics have become too extreme. It’s time to restart conversations about electing centrist candidates with real solutions. Join me in telling State Senator Ken Rozenboom and State Representative Barb Kniff McCulla to VOTE NO on Senate File 459 and House Study Bill 281. To learn more visit betterballotiowa. org. Mark Stelter Pella
bills brought up by GOP leaders and the Governor, including restricting access to vaccines, credit, healthcare, books, housing, food, and jobs.
I’m frustrated, too. I don’t blame them one bit.
It’s easy to dismiss these bills as simply the latest partisan battles at the Statehouse, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. In fact, the votes against these divisive bills have come from legislators on both sides of the aisle. I can also confirm that the thousands of Iowans who have reached out to me or publicly spoken out on these bills include Independents, Republicans, and Democrats.
Despite the divisive start to session, there are a host of bills still being worked on this session that should help Iowans. Some of the ideas include:
• Banning cell phone usage in schools;
• Expanding parental leave for adoptive parents and state employees;
• Hands-free driving to save lives; and
• Helping individuals with disabilities to work and keep their healthcare.
With session not set to adjourn until early May, there’s a lot of work ahead — bills to watch, debates to follow, and decisions that will impact your family and community. You can find out more information on the bills that made it through the first deadline at iowahouse. org. While it’s been a disappointing start to session, there’s still time to turn it around. But it won’t happen unless state lawmakers hear from Iowans that it’s time to put politics aside. Find your state lawmaker at https:// urldefense.com/v3/__http://www.legis.iowa.gov and tell them it’s time to put people over politics.
YOUR VIEW
Trump granting Medicare coverage of anti-obesity meds will save the government billions
The health of both the American people and the nation’s debt has been going in the wrong direction for many years. Over the last few decades, rates of obesity have skyrocketed, with 100 million Americans now being classified as obese. Projections for the future don’t look great either, with that number expected to soar to 120 million in just five years. The fact that both personal healthcare spending and Medicare spending have increased drastically at the same time is not a coincidence.
It’s no wonder that there is a broad, popular movement to “Make America Healthy Again”that has taken hold of the country over the past few years. Nearly 42 percent of American adults are obese, and the health risks associated with it are taking a toll on the country with over 200 chronic diseases and conditions, including high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart disease.
These diseases and conditions take a toll on the lives and pocketbooks of the American people. Obesity has now become the second leading cause of preventable death in the na-
Brandon Talsma, chair
4309 W Fourth St. S. Newton, IA 50208
641-526-3142
btalsma@jasperia.org
tion. These chronic conditions are expensive to treat over the course of a lifetime, and if we begin fighting as a country to decrease obesity rates, we could drastically improve the lives of millions of people and save a whole lot of money while doing it.
While there are many things that we should do to fight obesity, such as promoting healthy lifestyles and making efforts to improve eating habits, there are also common-sense policies that we can adopt on a federal level. We should allow everyone the choice to access a wide range of treatments to fight obesity, including anti-obesity medications (AOMs). Something seniors on Medicare haven’t had the option to utilize to treat obesity. Many in Congress have previously worked to update Medicare to grant recipients the option to access these medications including Senator Grassley and Representative Miller-Meeks. However, now the ball is in the Trump administration’s court to update the program and improve access to treatments to fight obesity for those on Medicare. By doing so,
Doug Cupples, vice chair
1205 S. 20th Ave. W. Newton, IA 50208
641-521-8725
dcupples@jasperia.org
the administration could improve the lives of many Americans and save the program billions.
The savings to Medicare would be staggering. On average, Medicare spends over $2,000 more yearly on beneficiaries with obesity compared to healthy-weight beneficiaries. If Medicare allows these medications as options, it could save the government billions. Between $175 billion-$250 billion over 10 years that would otherwise be spent on treating obesity related conditions.
President Trump has promised us the greatest comeback in American history. By expanding access to treatments for those on Medicare, he would not only work towards making America healthy again, but he would also be saving the American people billions of dollars. By granting Medicare recipients access to these medications, his administration could improve the lives of many Americans while also saving the government billions. I hope he will consider doing so in our battle to address the growing obesity crisis and “Make Amer-
Thad Nearmyer
4360 S. 96th Ave. W. Monroe, IA 50170
641-891-8863
tnearmyer@jasperia.org
State Rep. Jon Dunwell
State House
Baxter’s Dee named second team all-state by IPSWA
Baxter junior Eli Dee scored 30 or more points 13 times this past basketball season. He reached 40 or more twice and set a new school record with 50 points against GMG in December.
His scoring efforts were just one of the reasons Dee was named second team all-state by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association. The IPSWA all-state teams
were released to the public at 12:01 a.m. on March 18. The organization voted for 10 players on a first, second and third team in all four classes.
Dee ranked third in Class 1A in scoring at 29 points per game. He also averaged 4.4 re-
bounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per contest.
Dee shot 52 percent from the floor, made 41.3 percent of his 3-point attempts and buried 89 percent from the free-throw line.
His 666 total points ranked fourth in 1A and set a new school record. He drilled 57 3-pointers and his 114 made free throws led the class.
In a 45-point game this season, Dee was 16-of-16 from the foul line.
In a 42-point effort, he was 6-of-6 from 3. He also made six 3s and scored 35 points against 2A West Marshall.
Dee’s most impressive efforts came against some of the best teams in the state. He put in 25 against Ankeny Christian Academy, scored 21 against Dunkerton and piled up three 30-point games in four tries against conference rivals Collins-Maxwell and Colo-NESCO.
Dee also was voted to the 1A
High jumpers lead Colfax-Mingo track and field at Dickinson Relays
CEDAR FALLS — Xavi-
er Woods highlighted the Colfax-Mingo track and field team’s indoor opener on March 10.
The Tigerhawks started their competition season at the Dickinson Relays on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa and Woods placed 12th in the high jump.
Colfax-Mingo also placed 32nd in the 4x400 relay and took 39th in the 4x200 relay.
Woods’ best mark in the high jump was 5 feet, 10 inches.
Woods also placed 63rd in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.3 seconds.
The Tigerhawks’ other top individual performances came from Sullivan Wilkins and Chase Trotter. Wilkins took 51st in the 800 in 2 minutes, 13.76 seconds and Trotter placed 86th in the 400 in 56.69 seconds.
The 4x400 relay team of Trotter, Wyatt Thornton, Fisher Grove and Woods placed 32nd in 3:52.10.
Tony Buenrostro, Trotter, Thornton and Woods teamed up in the 4x200 relay and placed 39th in 1:40.54, which was faster than any time the Tigerhawks’ ran last season.
The 4x800 relay foursome of
Owen Ament, Wilkins, Gage Byal and Grove finished 55th with a time 9:38.52, which was faster than any time last season.
Grace Hunsberger leads C-M girls at UNI-Dome
CEDAR FALLS — Like with the boys’ team, the Colfax-Mingo girls were led by a high jumper in the season opener at the Dickinson Relays on March 11.
Grace Hunsberger led a trio of Tigerhawks in the event and Colfax-Mingo scored four top-50 finishes at the UNI-Dome.
Hunsberger and Katelyn Steenhoek both produced a mark of 4-8 in the high jump, but Hunsberger took 26th and Steenhoek placed 40th to lead the Tigerhawks.
Claire Hunsberger was the third Tigerhawk in the event, and she placed 77th with a leap of 4-2.
Lexie Aller (31-7 1/4) took 48th in the shot put, while Emma Cook (30-4 3/4) was 60th.
Colfax-Mingo’s 4x800 relay team of Ashlynn Hosbond, Mallory Sipma, Isabelle Foglesong and Laila Kwaskiewicz placed 48th in 11:59.99.
The Tigerhawks’ 4x200 relay team of Karmylia Snyder, Claire Hunsberger, Steenhoek and Jessica Gibson finished 74th with a time of 2:10.84.
Substate 5 squad by the Iowa Basketball Coaches Association. Joining Dee on that team were Montezuma’s Brady Boulton, Gladbrook-Reinbeck’s Drew Eilers and Michael Boyd, Dunkerton’s Dylan Marquart, Iowa Valley’s Caleb Haack, North Mahaska’s Asher DeBoef and Waterloo Christian’s Eli Evans.
Boulton, Eilers, Boyd, Marquart, Haack and DeBoef all joined Dee on the IPSWA allstate squad.
IHSAA announces new broadcast partner
BOONE — For the first time ever, three Iowa High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) championships in football, wrestling and basketball are coming to Iowa PBS.
The state’s public broadcasting network will produce and broadcast finals from the three most-watched boys’ high school sports starting in fall 2025-26. Through a multi-year initial agreement, each of the selected championship events will appear on statewide Iowa PBS
and stream for free through both Iowa PBS and IHSAA.
“The stories of Iowa student-athletes, teams, coaches and communities are at the center of our Iowa PBS Sports coverage,” said Andrew Batt, executive director and general manager at Iowa PBS. “We are excited to extend our in-depth broadcasts to the IHSAA and mutually ensure statewide access of these games across all 99 counties of Iowa and beyond. Every Iowan deserves an opportunity to witness these athletes pursue a championship on our
state’s most extensive broadcast and streaming network.”
Iowa PBS’s live broadcast and streaming of IHSAA championship sports will be in addition to the statewide network’s existing coverage of Iowa Girls
High School Athletic Union championships for various sports.
While IHSAA’s wrestling championships have history with Iowa PBS, football and basketball will be making modern era debuts in 2025-26.
Their inclusion on Iowa PBS will be the cornerstone of the IHSAA’s broadcast plan for free and accessible state tournament video, starting with football’s semifinals and finals in fall 2025.
In December 2024, IHSAA announced a conclusion of its
long-standing contract with the Iowa High School Sports Network (IHSSN), with coverage ending after the 2024-25 athletic year. Through a nearly 20-year arrangement, IHSAA events appeared on various commercial broadcast and cable television partners across the state as managed by IHSSN. Through this agreement with Iowa PBS, IHSAA will maintain overall event rights while partnering with the successful Iowa PBS Sports team and their 99-county broadcast coverage map.
Jasper County Tribune Foglesong
Jasper County Tribune
Troy Hyde/Jasper County Tribune Colfax-Mingo junior Mallory Sipma ran on the Tigerhawks’ 4x800-meter relay at the Dickinson Relays during the team’s indoor opener in Cedar Falls on March 11.
Jasper County Tribune