This week I was greeted with spring weather as I arrived in Des Moines and the Iowa State Capitol on Monday. First order of business was organization and scheduling to move bills we are working on out of committee. These bills will then be sent to the House as the House sends their bills to the Senate. Committees are arranged around floor debate. Key bills that were debated this week were:

The Iowa Legislature continues to prioritize expanding access to mental health care in every corner of the state by passing bills to recruit and retain mental health providers to every corner of Iowa. Below is a list of bills that help access to mental health care and where they are at in the process:

By Jessica Amendt - Discovery House Director

Well, this one might not make it to an actual hard copy page in the DCN. I've gone back and forth about it a few times since sketching it up over the weekend.

Sure are hearing lots of rumors about “big” money going to farmers selling out to the pipelines. The number I am hearing might be enough to pay off some credit card bills and put money down on a new combine.
When the pipeline companies say big money this is what they are thinking:

• 12 million tons of CO2 each year
• $85 tax credit per ton
• $1,020,000,000 tax credit annually
• $2.8 million per day
• $116,438 per hour
• $2,000 per minute

What separates average-to-good Iowa towns from thriving ones, former Gov. Terry Branstad often said, is the presence of locally owned banks and a dedicated community newspaper.

Community newspapers are a big part of what makes Iowa, well, Iowa.

And that's why it's so troubling that some in the Iowa Senate are considering requiring legal notices to be posted on some to-be-created state-run website and not requiring they be published in a local newspaper.

This week, the Iowa House of Representatives passed a piece of legislation that streamlines and realigns the state government of Iowa. It has been nearly 40 years since the organization of the state government has been evaluated and restructured in order to serve Iowans. In that time, the number of cabinet-level departments and agencies has grown to 37 agencies.

This week has been a very productive week in the Iowa Senate. We have had important bills, debates and meetings take place over the course of the week. I served on several subcommittees, chairing two. We also had a Ways & Means Committee meeting where several bills passed and are now eligible for floor debate. After two days of floor debate in the Senate, the House is now working through several of those bills.

Every five years, Congress reauthorizes the Agriculture Improvement Act – better known as the Farm Bill – to protect the productivity, profitability and international competitiveness of American agriculture. As the second largest agriculture-producing district in the nation, I am working to ensure that every farmer, producer and agricultural stakeholder in Iowa has a seat at the table when the Farm Bill is negotiated and eventually signed into law.

By Deb Mechler

We have entered the Lenten season, when many of us engage in spiritual practices and rituals leading up to Easter. Roman Catholics have traditionally abstained from red meat on Fridays, thus the increase of fish on menus this time of year. It is a kind of fasting, which has many benefits. In general, fasting helps us remember to focus on God and to appreciate the suffering of Jesus for our sake.

It's been a while since I had time to sit down and crank out an editorial cartoon for the DCN. But sometimes all it takes to really get you motivated is a topic you really care about.

Funnel week may be over, but that doesn’t mean all of the work is over. Subcommittees will be done for the most part, but now my time will be focused on debate and running the bills I chaired in subcommittee on the floor. This week our focus was on floor debate and sending important bills to the House to be considered.

The Department of Revenue recently updated their guidance regarding the retirement income exemption that went into effect at the beginning of this year. The department was hearing from numerous Iowans that plan administrators were still withholding on their retirement disbursements.

By Carol DeSchepper - Spiritual Director, First Lutheran Church

Now Peter got really nervous and swore, “I never laid eyes on this man you’re talking about.” Just then the rooster crowed a second time. Peter remembered how Jesus had said, “Before a rooster crows twice, you’ll deny me three times.” He collapsed in tears. Mark 14:71-72 - The Message

Editor's note: State Sen. Dave Rowley of Spirit Lake was one of seven lawmakers who voted against advancing Senate File 546 out of the Ways and Means Committee.