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Linn County receives Urban Youth
Corps grant
Successful bipartisan session
reflects Iowans’ priorities
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Linn County receives Urban Youth Corps grant
The Iowa Department of Transportation has approved an
Urban Youth Corps grant for Trees Forever in Linn County.
Urban Youth Corps seeks to provide transportation-related employment and
training to youth between 16 and 21 who face barriers to employment, while
accomplishing improvements to transportation facilities. For more information, go to www.sysplan.dot.state.ia.us/Urban_Youth_Corps.htm,
or contact Rebecca Law at 515-239-1738 or rebecca.law@dot.iowa.gov.
I’m proud of what the recently
adjourned legislative session accomplished for Iowans. Bipartisan efforts
gave us a productive year that honored our commitments on healthcare,
education, jobs and the environment.
At the same time, we put together a fiscally responsible state budget.
One of the highlights of the 2008 session is the effort to
make healthcare accessible to all Iowa
kids within three years. This will
make Iowa the first state to bring
affordable coverage to all of its youngsters and is one of the reasons Iowa has become a
national leader in healthcare reform.
This year’s successes are many. Here are some at the top of my list:
- Completing
a three-year effort to increase average teacher pay to 25th in the
nation, up from 42nd
- Jump-starting
Iowa’s
energy economy by funding the second year of the four-year Iowa Power
Fund initiative
- Legislation
that kick-starts the rebuilding of Iowa’s roads and bridges
- Significant
new investment in school buildings, infrastructure and property tax
relief
- New
consumer protections, including the state consumer insurance advocate, a
mortgage scam crackdown and identity theft protection
- $67
million in income tax relief for working Iowans and seniors by exempting
federal rebates from state taxes
- Ensuring
veterans keep their jobs when returning from Iraq
and Afghanistan
- Setting
aside a record amount of money in the state’s “rainy day” accounts
- Restoring
the Senior Living Trust Fund so that Iowa seniors can continue living in
their own homes
A majority of all Senators approved these efforts because
Republicans and Democrats worked together to craft initiatives important to
all Iowans—education, jobs, health care, and renewable fuels.
Citizens right here in our area also played a part in the
process. I appreciate the time many
people in the district took to contact me during the session. Your ideas, suggestions and priorities are
reflected in many of the bills that made it to the Governor’s desk.
Throughout the interim, please stay in touch. My home phone number is (319) 351-0988. E-mail me at bobdvorsky@yahoo.com.
Thank you for the opportunity to represent you in the Iowa Senate.
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