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A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
Palo Mayor Jeff Beauregard and Iowa Gov. Chet Culver did as much listening as talking Wednesday during a brief press conference and subsequent tour of flood damage. Palo officials hope funds from Culver's proposed bonding plan can help provide much-needed disaster recovery in the wake of the unprecedented 2008 flood.
PALO — Gov. Chet Culver isn’t afraid of compromising a $750 million bonding program he believes will bring much-needed jobs to Iowa. The governor isn’t afraid, he said, because he understands that current needs outweigh any background political noise.
“I think the bottom line is just to find consensus,” Culver told reporters Wednesday. “There’s not enough time to argue about our differences. Let’s figure out where we can agree.”
Culver’s vision is a three-year investment he’s dubbed I-JOBS. The total cost of $750 million breaks down to $250 million for transportation infrastructure, $175 million for essential, already-scheduled projects, $150 million for currently unfunded flood recovery efforts, $100 million for water and sewer improvements and $75 million for local infrastructure and sustainable construction. The debt taken on by the state to complete the projects would be repaid using a portion of the state’s gambling revenues.
“It sounds like we are making some progress in a bipartisan way,” Culver said. “We’ve been working with the Legislature, trying to tackle some of these differences. There’s been a debate about the road piece and the best way to pay for that. I’ve resisted an increase in the gas tax and believe the best alternative is to bond $250 million for bridges and roads. Maybe there is another alternative that [the Legislature] will come up with.
“At the end of the day, we’ve got to get a package done. Will be $750 [million]? I don’t know, but I think we will have a major bonding proposal that is going to create jobs in communities like Cedar Rapids and Palo and dozens of others before we adjourn.”
One of the areas where Culver said he could easily see compromise is in relation to his proposed Iowa Jobs Board, a body that would accept and review project applications from Iowa communities. Although Culver has proposed an 11-member board built with a mix of citizens and state officials, he stated that he was open to discussions with the Legislature concerning the size and make-up of that review panel.
“But we must have transparency and accountability,” he said. “I’d like for Iowans to be able to get on a Web site or make a phone call and be able to figure out what’s happening in their county —how many sewer projects, how many road projects, how many school improvement projects. We need to be very transparent and, most importantly, we need a chair for this board that will make sure that these projects are done on time and on budget.”
Culver, who indicated he had approached Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, about speaking with the Republican Caucus, said he was optimistic such discussions would take place and that compromise could be found.
“He was very receptive to the idea,” Culver said about McKinley.
It is not an exaggeration to write that the June 2008 flood decimated Palo, a town with less than 1,000 residents. The Cedar River and three tributary creeks damaged the fire station, public works building, recreation areas and even the city hall/community center. The sewage system failed, contaminating the flood waters and impacting everything they touched. In the end, all but 10 Palo homes and businesses were flooded, and more than 400 structures sustained significant damage. Only one of the three roads into and out of the community did not suffer significant washouts. While residents and volunteers have come together to muck out homes and repair structures, city officials have already begun to address much-needed sewer and water infrastructure.
“Everyone in Palo had a private well,” Palo Mayor Jeff Beauregard explained. “These are considered contaminated since the flood and we’d like to bring water as a utility to the community.”
Beauregard said the city is facing a $5.4 million price tag in order to complete the needed water infrastructure. The city is also in the process of completing a $4.2 million sewer project. While such a projects provide immediate construction jobs, city officials also hope that such improvements would intice business and industry to locate in Palo.
“These two projects are really good examples of what we are proposing to provide with the Iowa Jobs Initiative… Our state has these types of challenges statewide, but they’ve really been compounded in the flood-impacted areas,” Culver said. “That’s also the purpose of this tour — to highlight critically important projects that need funding.”
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