Neighbors:

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Yesterday was Arbor Day. I remember planting trees in school each year on Arbor Day. It was always great to get outside in the spring and get in the dirt after a long winter in a classroom.

 

Our family loves trees. Friends know that I like to plant trees, so they sometimes give me seedlings. When they do, I name the tree after the donor. So, for example, we have a couple of blue spruce trees named “Doug” and “Dougie” that came from a father and son.

 

One of my projects the last few years has been starting native fruit trees from seed. I have started a small plantation of American persimmon, American pawpaw, and American hazelnut trees, all from seed. So far, they’re doing pretty well, but the deer have been doing quite a bit of damage to the protective “tree tubes” I’ve placed on each seedling.

 

Our State Forest Nursery is a great resource for affordable tree seedlings — particularly for native species that do well in Iowa. The nursery offers spring delivery in April and May for hardwood, conifer, and shrub seedlings grown from Iowa seed sources.

 

You can order seedlings through May 23, 2025. Use the State Forest Nursery’s online store to view seedling varieties and to place your spring order. DNR’s staff can assist with species selection and can answer questions. You can email them at seedlingsales@dnr.iowa.gov or give them a call at 515.233.1161.

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Farm-to-Table Meat Sales

 

This week the House passed HF 1006, which I consider a “food freedom” bill. HF 1006 creates a new type of food processing entity. The bill legalizes the on-farm storage of processed inspected packages of meat and poultry and allows the sale on a wholesale or retail basis for such packages by the producers.

 

These new entities will be licensed and inspected by the Department of Inspection, Appeals and Licensing.

 

This legislation has been referred to the Senate Ways & Means Committee for its consideration. This bill would build on prior legislation that provided for tiered license/inspection fees for small food processors and custom inspected poultry slaughter at state-inspected lockers.

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Health Care Workforce Bill Sent to the Governor

 

This week the House sent HF 516 to the Governor. My hope is that this bill will provide some help to our great hospital in Marengo — Compass Memorial. We need more health care providers serving places like Marengo.

 

This bill concentrates on the medical training at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC). The goal is to focus efforts on growing the health care workforce for rural and small-town Iowa. The data shows that if you do your medical school training and your residency training in one state, or if you have a connection to a state, you are far more likely to stay and practice in this state.

 

My wife is a great example of this. Ericka was a faculty member at UIHC for about 18 years. How did she end up there, providing care to thousands of Iowans? ME. I convinced her to do a one-year fellowship at UIHC, and once she was there, she ended up staying. But it was her connection to Iowa through me that made it happen. (This is probably the best thing I’ve ever done for our state.)

 

Unfortunately, our investment in UIHC is not yet providing adequate results for the entire state, and this bill aims to make improvements while continuing the quality medical training received at UIHC.

 

• Prioritizing Iowans, Rural Rotation – The bill codifies requirements that were placed into session law in 2019 in HF 532. Additionally, it adds fellowships to the requirement that UIHC prioritize Iowans.​​
   

  • Requires medical residencies at the UIHC to give priority to applicants that have an Iowa connection (resident of Iowa, went to undergrad in Iowa, or medical school in Iowa).
     

  • Requires primary care residencies (family medicine, OB, psych, and internal medicine) at UIHC to provide the opportunity to participate in a rural rotation to expose those medical residents to rural areas of Iowa.
     

• UIHC Medical Residencies – The bill requires the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics to offer an interview for the medical residencies of some of the most-needed specialties in Iowa to those with an Iowa connection. Additionally, this bill requires UIHC to offer DMU and UI medical students the option to participate in an audition clinical in the specialty of the residency for which they are applying.
   

• In-State Training – The bill requires the University of Iowa medical school and dental school to have at least 80% of their students be residents of Iowa. This bill also requires an annual report by UI regarding the same schools and UIHC medical residencies demographic information.
  
   

 

Governor Signs Several House Judiciary Bills

 

A majority of our work on the House Judiciary Committee work is done for the session. We have sent a significant number of our bills to the Governor for approval. Below is a short summary of some bills she has signed:

 

HF 314 - Adoption Waiver

 

HF 314 allows a juvenile court to waive the requirement for a preplacement investigation and report in certain adoption cases. This waiver can occur if the adoption petitioner has been the legal guardian of the child for at least 36 consecutive months and has fulfilled their responsibilities as a guardian during that time. Currently, waivers are only permitted if the petitioner is a close relative of the child.

 

HF 363 - Disposition of Remains

 

This bill addressses who can make decisions regarding the final arrangements for a person's remains. It states that if someone is not allowed to be a decision-maker according to a person's wishes, they cannot take control of those arrangements. Essentially, it ensures that only the right people can make decisions about how a person is laid to rest.

 

HF 367 - CINA Family Interaction

 

HF 367 modifies the rules regarding family interactions during ongoing “child in need of assistance” (CINA) proceedings. Currently, family interactions must continue unless a court or the Department of Health and Human Services determines that they are detrimental to the child. This bill changes that requirement, stating that interactions should continue unless a court finds substantial evidence that they pose an imminent risk to the child's life or health.

 

HF 647- Place of Trial

 

HF 647 outlines the venue for trials in criminal cases when the county of the offense is unclear. (For example, when someone commits fraud over the internet, it’s not clear where the offender was when they committed fraud.) It specifies that trials should be held in the county of the victim's residence if they can be identified. If there is no victim or the victim's residence cannot be determined, the trial will take place in the county where the accused resides. For non-natural person victims, the trial can occur in any county where the victim has a physical presence. In cases with multiple victims, the trial may be held in any county where a victim resides, prioritizing natural persons.

 

HF 924 - Possession of Firearms

 

HF 924 lowers the minimum age for acquiring and carrying firearms from 21 to 18 years old. Courts have declared that it is unconstitutional to ban 18-year-olds from acquiring and carrying firearms.  So this bill changes Iowa code to be constitutional. 

 

If you have any questions about these bills, let me know.

 

Stay in touch!
 

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