Senator Waylon Brown of Osage meets with Mason City development official at state capitol

The following is a legislative update from State Senator Waylon Brown, representing Iowa Senate District 30 which includes portions of Cerro Gordo, Mitchell, Worth and Floyd counties:

Week two came and went in a blink of an eye.

Being home for MLK Day and caucus on Monday gave me an additional opportunity to slip into the local school and watch an FFA Conduct of Meetings team practice. The FFA organization offers so many great development opportunities for their members and it is always a pleasure to offer a helping hand where I can. I also had a wonderful opportunity to visit with folks at caucus on issues important to them. I always enjoy a respectful, productive conversation. Caucus locations saw great turnouts despite the bitter cold weather. Thank you to all who participated in the process. Now, Iowans get to observe what the rest of the nation does as the process to select the next president continues.

This week in Des Moines was busy with meetings. I met with local AEA administrators on Tuesday and gained a tremendous amount of insight. Many of the questions and concerns they had were also questions and concerns I share, and have also heard from many people from the district and across the state via email, phone calls, and text messages. My office has responded to over 400 emails on the AEA issue alone. As for an update, your voices are being heard and I am being informed the legislation will see changes. However, I have not seen what those changes are yet. I will be meeting with area superintendents back in the district to discuss their concerns on various issues.

I also had a great meeting with Mr. Steven Van Steenhuyse, Director of Development Services, of Mason City. We discussed proposed legislation in regards to land trusts and building material requirements. We also had a great conversation about infrastructure, economic development, housing, and other topics important to Mason City and surrounding communities.

Mr. Gary Wattnem was also down in Des Moines this week for Veterans Day on the Hill. We had a wonderful conversation in regards to veteran services and look forward to further discussions with him back in the district. To Gary and all of the service men and women, thank you for your service.

Due to the short week and the need to start having subcommittees, the Commerce Committee did not meet this week. I want to give my committee members as much time as possible to work on the legislation assigned to them. Commerce will meet next week with the Insurance Commissioner presenting to us on various topics.

Next week will prove to be a very busy week in Des Moines with a tremendous amount of subcommittee work.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve North Iowa. It is truly and honor.

Respectfully,

Senator Waylon Brown