Over the last 50 years, many rural communities have experienced a significant decline in population. We all must work together to re-populate rural Iowa and capitalize on the strengths of rural communities to create good jobs and improve the quality of life. Statistics show that students with access to broadband in their homes are 6-8% more [...]
The foundation of our economy is rooted in the strength of the middle class. The last decade has been especially tough for the middle class with stagnant wages that have not kept pace with rising costs. We need to grow our economy, create new jobs, and make sure young people aren’t forced to leave Iowa to [...]
The future of Iowa’s economy depends on a highly skilled workforce that is ready to compete with workers from around the globe. Iowa can compete and win in this global economy as long as we invest in education and job training to build our skilled workforce. Iowa is facing a skilled workforce shortage. Over 56% of [...]
Iowans looking to develop skills or a technical trade have additional opportunities after actions taken by the Iowa Legislature. The new opportunities are designed to address Iowa’s skilled worker shortage by streamlining the Iowa Jobs Training Program and expanding access to apprenticeship training throughout the state. A new Apprenticeship Training program will receive $3 million annually [...]
Iowans looking for help landing a good paying job received a boost after changes to the state’s apprenticeship training program became law. Iowa’s apprenticeship training programs will receive an additional $2.75 million to help ensure Iowans have the skills they need to land good paying jobs. The bill also changed the formula so that it is [...]
In an effort to help middle class families, the House approved a tax credit to help Iowans offset the cost of child care. The Iowa Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit is a refundable tax credit available to anyone that had child care expenses in the last year, such as paying someone to care for a [...]
Iowans looking to purchase their first home will have extra help under legislation passed by the Iowa House. The bill would allow first time home buyers to set up a savings account to finance the purchase of a home and deduct a portion of this savings from their state income taxes. In order to be eligible, [...]
