Marquette receives
IJOBS grant for stormwater projects

By Trudy Balcom

The City of Marquette received word last week that their application for $677,000 in IJOBS grant fund was approved.

The grant will help cover the cost of the planned stormwater infrastructure projects to mitigate flash flooding on The Bench.

The grant application, which was prepared with assistance from H.R. Green Co., was submitted on Aug. 3

Fifty-eight initiatives in 33 counties around Iowa were awarded I-JOBS funds to improve public buildings, rebuild after natural disasters and construct infrastructure projects to prevent future disasters. The approved projects represent $118.5 million in competitive grant funding.

The Culver/Judge I-JOBS program will invest a total of $830 million over the next two years to create and retain jobs, strengthen the economy, recover from last year’s natural disasters, and improve Iowa’s infrastructure. The funds will be used to upgrade Iowa’s roads and bridges, invest in renewable energy projects, improve water quality, and upgrade public facilities such as the Iowa Veterans Home. I-JOBS is funded with existing gaming revenue, meaning no increase in taxes.

“Our top priority last session was to create good-paying jobs and help communities recover from last summer’s devastating storms.  I’m pleased that the state is partnering with us to prevent future flood damage while creating good paying jobs for Iowans,” said State Representative Roger Thomas of Elkader.

According to Marquette City Manager Dean Hilgerson, the $677,000 in grant funding represents a 50 percent match for project costs.

Marquette City Council held a public hearing on Sept 1 on the plans and specifications for the project, but the city does not expect to let bids for the project until possibly next month. The city is awaiting news on another grant with the Watershed Improvement Review Board (WIRB) for $500,000. The city expects to hear word on this funding at the end of September.

Once all possible funding is assured, and weather permitting, bids will be let on the first of two phases of the stormwater project, focusing on the Brown Street neighborhood.

“We have to get downstream areas ready first, “ explained Hilgerson. He said that if weather is good and a contractor is available, Phase I could be completed by November 15.

Effigy Mounds to be honored on U.S. coin

Gov. Chet Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge announced Sept. 8 that Iowa’s Effigy Mounds National Monument will be honored as part of the new United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters program. 

Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner approved the list of sites recommended by the United States Mint on August 25 after consultation with the nation’s Governors and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. 

“Iowa’s Effigy Mounds National Monument is more than just a park—it is a national treasure,” said Governor Culver. “This picturesque Northeast Iowa site helps tell the story of the earliest Americans and is a fascinating area to explore, learn, and discover. This is an honor for Effigy Mounds and our state as a whole.”

The United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program is a 12-year initiative authorized by Public Law 110-456 — the America’s Beautiful National Parks Quarter Dollar Coin Act of 2008. The act directs the United States Mint to strike and issue 56 circulating quarters with reverse (tails side) designs emblematic of a national park or other national site in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. 

The quarters will be issued sequentially each year, beginning in 2010 through 2022, in the order in which the featured site was first established as a national park or site. The coins’ obverse (heads) will feature the familiar “restored” 1932 portrait of George Washington, including subtle details and the beauty of the original model.   

The complete National Site Registry, which lists all 56 sites to be honored under the United States Mint America the Beautiful Quarters Program in chronological order by year, will be available at www.usmint.gov/mint_programs/NSQuartersProgram/?action=siteRegister on September 9.

Roys and Livingston to join MFL MarMac school board 

By Trudy Balcom

Newcomers Gina Roys (Monona) and Mitchell Livingston (Monona) have been elected to join the MFL MarMac School Board.

Tuesday’s election also returned incumbents Brian Meyer (Monona) Patti Ruff (McGregor) and Sharon Greener (McGregor) to the board. Incumbent Greg Formanek (Farmersburg) was not re-elected.

Voter turnout was low in this post-holiday election. Monona  and Farmersburg precincts had nearly even turnout with 8.42 percent turnout in Farmersburg and 8.41 percent turnout in Monona. McGregor’s preceint turnout was the lowest with 2.95 percent turnout. Overall, voter turnout in the district was 6.44 percent.

County-wide, the Clayton Ridge School District had the highest voter turnout with 10.82 percent.

Braley healthcare Town Hall gets friendly reception

By Trudy Balcom

A number of area residents took time on a beautiful Friday afternoon to share their concerns about the health care system with U.S. Representative Bruce Braley (D), who sponsored a town hall meeting in Elkader on Sept. 4. About 100 people attended.

Braley gave a fast-paced 20-minute overview of his work on H.R. 3200, America’s Affordable Health Choices Act.

Braley said that he had been working on the bill since last March as a member of the Health Subcommittee of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.

Braley supports the bill, and told the crowd that H.R. 3200 would help the people of the First District of Iowa. Braley said that in the First District alone, 36,000 individuals would benefit  and 13,900 small businesses would get a tax credit. Individuals with incomes of less than $43,000 and a family of four with an income of less than $88,000 would receive a tax credit for health insurance purchases.

“Probably the most important piece of this bill is that it eliminates discrimination by insurance companies on people with pre-existing conditions,” Braley told the crowd. The bill would also prohibit a lifetime cap on benefits and limit yearly out-of-pocket expenses.

“The families I represent can’t afford a 10.5 percent annual increase for private health insurance,” the Congressman said.

Braley supports public option health insurance. He explained that insurance companies, which are profit-driven, have no incentive to reduce costs because there is little competition. Public option health insurance, Braley told the crowd, would level the playing field by creating competition. No one would be mandated to use public option health insurance, he noted, it  would simply become another option for consumers.

The bill is affordable, as well, Braley said. About one-half of the program’s costs would be paid for by a surtax on people with adjusted gross incomes of $280,000 or more; the other half by cost-savings over current spending through increased efficiencies. Braley did not elaborate on what the efficiencies would be, but did say that the plan had been scored by the Congressional Budget office.

During a question and answer period, Braley responded to questions about Medicare, fraud and waste, tort reform and insurance regulation, among others.

Medicare is particularly problematic, Braley said. A big part of the problem, he explained, is that Medicare reimbursements to physicians and health care providers is based upon a “fee for services” model that provides incentives for the use of many tests and procedures over quality of care. States like Iowa that provide high-quality care get fewer federal Medicare dollars than states like Louisiana and Texas where Medicare payouts are high and the quality of care is low.

“We have to do a much better job of policing Medicare and Medicaid fraud, and waste needs to be eliminated,” Braley noted, but did not offer specifics.

Braley is a co-sponsor of H.R. 2844, The Medicare Improvement Act of 2009, which was introduced by Rep. Ron Kind (D-Wis.), and has been referred to the House Ways and Mean Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Tort reform, Braley told the crowd, is not directly addressed by H.R. 3200, but the bill does encourage early settlement of malpractice suits. It does not, however cap damages. Braley stated that so-called “defensive medicine” accounts for only 1.5 percent of the cost of care, and that he does not want to interfere with individuals’ Seventh Amendment right to trial by jury.

While many people in the crowd were concerned that the bill address personal accountability and reduction of waste in the medical system, only two speakers said that they were directly opposed to it.

The crowd seemed to generally support the bill.

One, a retired physician, read a lengthy statement that questioned the need for reform. He said that he would rather get sick in the U.S. than in any other country.

 He was interrupted several times by others in the crowd with cries of “What’s your question?” and “Hurry up!”

Braley responded that by standards of infant mortality and longevity, the U.S. is falling behind other countries, and that many cannot afford any health care.

“ We have the best healthcare providers, not the best healthcare delivery system,” Braley responded.

Another man said that he was concerned that this health care program resulted from President Obama and his advisors, whom the man did not trust, and he went on to name some of the advisors and controversial positions the man said that they took.

Braley said that he did not know any of these advisors, and that they had no part in crafting the bill he had worked on.

Braley concluded the meeting with a question on the current status and future of the bill. The bill has been recommended for consideration to the full House of Representatives by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Braley thought it would reach a vote in the house by the end of September. In the Senate, he said, work on the bill had been completed by some of the committees. He did not predict the outcome of the bill in the Senate.