Mason City,3/24/2010
Lois Jirgens has been elected to the thirty member
state committee of the Iowa Democratic Party, representing the Fourth
District. The very existence of the Pocahontas County Democrats is
testimony to the organizing skills of Lois Jirgens. We aren't the only
group in the area that benefits from her leadership.
Congratulations, Lois.
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Algona, 3/14/2010
Susan Bangert, an Algona speech
pathologist for Prairie Lakes AEA, is circulating petitions to run for
the Iowa House seat now held by Delores Mertz (see below), representing
Pocahontas, Humboldt, and southern Kossuth counties as well as three
townships in northwest Webster county.
Bangert, a University of Iowa graduate, was
born in Forest City, Iowa. She is married to the Algona chief of
police and has three adult children.
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Crisis Center at County Convention
(Pocahontas, 3/14/10) A Fort Dodge domestic abuse shelter told Pocahontas Democrats
Saturday that it faces a deficit of $150,000 in the budget year
beginning July 1. Beth Stuhr, a counselor at D/SAOC serving Pocahontas and seven other counties, specifically noted a $25,000 drop in support from the Webster county supervisors. Governor Culver's 10% cut in state spending and a loss of some federal grants explain the rest of the deficit, Stuhr said.
The crisis center touches the lives of thousands of people annually, mainly through public programs in schools. They also help victims by providing advice, material support, and even a safe family shelter in Fort Dodge. There is no limit on how long a victim can stay in the shelter, Stuhr said, noting some have stayed for several months, while others depart after only one night.
Abuse victims can get help through a crisis line, help with establishing a new place of residence, and help in court appearances. Counseling help is provided in Pocahontas at the Lutheran Church.
Pocahontas attorney Don Beneke called the Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center a "critical service." County Supervisor Paul Beneke described their work as "excellent," and said his church has put the center in its church budget.
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Roxanne Conlin
(Pocahontas, 3/7/10) When she was a 14 year old
child Roxanne Conlin had an ear ache that “hurt like crazy.”
Her family could not afford a doctor and did not even have a car that
worked, so she “just laid down and
waited for it to go.” As a result Conlin has permanent
hearing loss . . . and a strong interest in the current health care
debate.
Conlin is now a candidate for
the US Senate seat held by Charles Grassley. She was in Pocahontas
March 6 to introduce herself to voters in the June primary.
“I am the oldest of six
children,” she told the audience at the Family Table Restaurant.
Her family used to visit relatives in Pocahontas with “ six of us
riding in the back seat.”
The Conlins were a middle class
family. “We were moving up,” she said, until her Dad lost his
job. Then there wasn't enough food in the house and the utilities
were turned off. “ I have been hungry and I have been cold,” she
recalled. She was the only employed member of her family for a time.
“It's pretty hard to feed a family on the wages of a soda fountain
waitress,” she said, “and so we did without.”
Later Conlin would work her way
through college and law school. In her first year of law school she
met Jim Conlin of Fort Dodge one Friday night. By Monday they had
their marriage license. Conlin's parents objected to a hasty
wedding so they waited—two weeks! Conlin said she had dated lots
of men, but Jim was the first one who didn't think it was bizarre for
her to become a lawyer.
When President Carter named her
US Attorney, she put every heroin dealer in Iowa in jail in one
massive wave of arrests. “They did not like that,” she said.
“They put a contract on me, but I'm still here.”
In her subsequent law practice
Conlin said she “represented people who have been hurt. I've never
represented a corporation.”
She was convinced to run for
Senate in the wake of the Wall Street bail out, which she called
“unforgivable.” A second factor was the way Grassley was
“pretending to work on a bi-partisan solution” for health care,
but then began talking about “pulling the plug on Grandma” in his
effort to kill the bill. “He knew he was not saying the truth,”
she charged.
Conlin has visited 68 counties
so far this winter as part of her campaign. She must win the
Democratic primary in June. She has already raised more money
than any previous Grassley opponent.
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Conlin Wants Health Reform
Candidate Roxanne Conlin and Pocahontas chair Lois Jirgens (photo: Leu)
(Pocahontas, 3/7/10) When she was a child Roxanne Conlin had an ear ache. Her family could not afford a doctor. As a result Conlin has permanent hearing loss and a strong interest in the current health care reform debate.
"We have failed our values" by allowing people with serious health needs to go without help, she said.
Conlin brought her US Senate campaign to Pocahontas March 6, criticizing incumbent Charles Grassley for misrepresenting Iowans in the Senate. She also criticized the Wall Street bailout and the way Grassley allows his own campaigns to be financed by insurance company lobbyists and other political action committees(PACs). Conlin accepts no PAC contributions.
Conlin said Grassley' record is not well known in Iowa because he has never had a vigorous opponent who could wage a full campaign. Grassley has had a "free ride" in past campaigns, she observed. "Well, the free ride is over." Conlin has already raised more campaign money than any previous challenger.
He is to blame for the Medicare "donut hole," she said, and he opposes the current health care reform bill even though some of the provisions are copied from bills he supported in the past. He also wants to privatize Social Security.
Grassley's "reputation for being a watchdog of the purse is not well-deserved," she said, reminding the audience how he cut taxes for the richest Americans, helped create Bush's big deficits, and protects drug company profits.
Conlin has visited 67 counties so far this winter as part of her campaign. She must win the Democratic primary in June. Tom Feigen and Bob Krause are also vying for the Senate nomination.
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Joelson to Politicians: Leave Schools Alone
(Pocahontas, IA, 1/23/10) Laurens-Marathon school superintendent Iner Joelson recently asked Pocahontas County Democrats to send a message to Des Moines . “Leave the kids out of politics. Quit making [schools] the target,” he said near the close of his comments about school budgets and state aid. “Stop pushing things down our throats to fix us. We're not going to jump on a different bandwagon every year.”
Joelson's comment came in reaction to the federal initiative called “Race to the Top” which had just passed the state legislature despite a lack of support from Iowa school districts. He said that this new school reform idea had caused a previous idea to “blow up” after years of steady progress but before it could be implemented.
Joelson and county engineer Jack Moellering were guest speakers before the Democratic Party voters on January 23 at the county courthouse during their 2010 precinct caucuses.
Superintendent Joelson said the L-M district has a budget of $3.5 million. The school board has just built the district's cash reserve to nearly ten percent of the budget from only $50,000 in 2007. He said twenty percent of budget would be a healthy reserve level. The school board had been on the verge of cutting property taxes for next year, Joelson said.
Then came the various cuts in state aid and the requirement that all districts must spend down their cash reserve. The upcoming budget is uncertain now, according to Joelson, who noted that salary negotiations with teachers are about to begin. “We'd like to do right by our teachers,” he said, but he expected to offer only a salary freeze. He said five teachers have signed up for early retirement offers in which the district picks up some of their health insurance costs after they retire.
Speaking about Pocahontas County roads, engineer Moellering compared the rise in the cost of living to changes in the gasoline tax. He said road construction costs have risen even faster than the consumer price index, but the gas tax has not kept pace with either one. Pocahontas County has two hundred bridges and a thousand miles of road to maintain. Moellering observed that the dust rising from gravel roads is “the road blowing away,” and warned that it's very expensive in the long run if maintenance is reduced in the short run. We need to replace four bridges every year, he said, because their life span is fifty years. He said only one bridge was replaced last year. The county road budget is about $4 million/year.
Following the speakers Democrats selected their precinct committee members and delegates to the Democratic Party county convention in March.
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