Grassley: Democrats want to “Europeanize” America’s economy.

Federal education grant summons ghost of labor bill past.

Vander Plaats renews pledge to issue unconstitutional executive order.

Steve King rarely strays from GOP.

Statehouse press corps taking Friday off.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. (WDCpix)

Although the two Democratic bills share the central goals of controlling health care costs and covering millions of uninsured Americans, they diverge, in key places, over how to go about it. Some of the differences concern the very topics that have been most contentious throughout the debate, including whether to create a public insurance option, what to do with illegal immigrants and how to ensure that federal funds don’t subsidize abortions. The disparities leave Democratic leaders with the unenviable task of merging the proposals while preserving the backing of the fragile coalitions that ushered the bills to passage in November and December. As difficult as it was for Democratic leaders then to unite their party behind the most sweeping health care reforms since the 1960s, the final step may prove the slipperiest yet.

The Money Must Come From Somewhere

Unlike the Republicans’ sweeping health reforms of 2003, which were unfunded, the Democrats have proposed to pay for the cost of their health care overhaul. But the two chambers would do it differently. House leaders are pushing a 5.4 percent payroll tax hike on the nation’s wealthiest people — individuals making more than $500,000 per year and families earning more than $1 million. Senate Democrats have proposed a similar mechanism, hiking Medicare’s payroll tax by 0.5 percent on individuals pulling in more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000. But a larger chunk of funding under the Senate bill would come from an excise tax on high-cost insurance plans — a provision that’s wildly unpopular among a key Democratic constituency: organized labor.

Kids’ Care

Few federal programs have been as successful as the Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, which was enacted 12 years ago and now covers roughly 10 million people. Yet House Democrats have proposed to terminate the program at the end of 2013, shifting those kids into either Medicaid or private plans found on a proposed insurance marketplace, dubbed the exchange. The Senate bill, on the other hand, would reauthorize CHIP through 2019 and provide funding for it through 2015.

Many children’s welfare advocates have put their weight squarely behind the Senate approach, fearing that the move to exchange plans will lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for some of the country’s lowest-income families — a barrier discouraging those parents from buying their kids insurance at all, thereby threatening to reduce kids’ coverage in the name of expanding it.

Closing the Doughnut Hole

Democratic leaders in both chambers have vowed to close the coverage gap in Medicare’s prescription drug benefit — known as the doughnut hole — but only the House bill actually does it. The trouble is that the lower chamber would fund that provision by allowing states to haggle directly with drug makers on behalf of their lowest-income seniors — a proposal that Senate leaders and the White House have promised not to support as part of an $80 billion deal cut with the pharmaceutical industry earlier in the year.

That leaves conference negotiators with two choices: Break the deal with Big Pharma or find some other way to fund the elimination of the doughnut hole. A third choice — not to close the coverage gap fully — seems unlikely from a Democratic Party hoping to win over a skeptical senior population in the run-up to the 2010 elections.

Anti-Trust

Democrats have long eyed a repeal of the anti-trust exemption enjoyed by the insurance industry, and the House bill would do just that, overturning a 64-year-old law that allows companies to share cost and coverage information without federal scrutiny. The provision didn’t fly in the Senate, however, due to the opposition of Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.), the moderate Democrat whose close ties to the insurance industry include a stint as CEO of the Omaha-based Central National Insurance Group. Although an earlier version of the Senate bill would have eliminated the anti-trust exemption, Senate leaders later bowed to Nelson by plucking that language from the bill.

Abortion Coverage

Concerned that taxpayer dollars would be used to subsidize abortion coverage on the exchange, Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) led a group of moderate Democrats in threatening to kill the House bill unless it explicitly prohibited exchange plans from covering abortion. And they won.

The Senate restrictions aren’t quite so severe, allowing women to buy abortion coverage from exchange plans if they write two separate premium checks — one for abortion services and one for all other treatments. Though it was seen as a less stringent form of the Stupak amendment, the Senate language has still alienated many liberals who say it goes too far to restrict women from getting comprehensive care. Stupak, meanwhile, says it doesn’t go far enough. Satisfying both camps will require some delicate wording.

Illegal Immigration

Both the House and Senate bills would prevent illegal immigrants from getting taxpayer subsidies for insurance coverage on the exchange. But the Senate bill is the more restrictive of the two, prohibiting undocumented folks from buying exchange plans even if they pay full price. That provision has angered a number of liberal and Hispanic lawmakers, who have questioned how letting workers buy a product from U.S. companies with U.S. dollars could be a threat to the country’s well-being. The Senate provision, critics point out, would also encourage illegal immigrants to use emergency rooms for primary care services. Still, with the 2010 elections looming, Democrats will be tempted to go with the Senate provision for simple fear of lending campaign ammunition to Republican challengers.

Public Option

It’s been the most prominent of the hot-button issues surrounding health care reform from the start, and observers of the conference negotiations will be watching closely to see what Democrats will finally do with the proposal to create a public insurance option to compete with private companies. The House bill includes such a provision, but Senate leaders were forced to yank a similar proposal when Sens. Nelson and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) threatened to withhold their support. Many liberal lawmakers have said that the public plan is vital to reforming a health care system made more dysfunctional by for-profit insurance companies whose incentive is to deny care rather than pay for it. But with no sign that either Nelson or Lieberman will have a change of heart, negotiators will have little choice but to pluck the House provision for the sake of passing the larger bill.

“I expect the final bill will be pretty much the Senate bill,” Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., told The Charleston Gazette last week, “simply because we have to get the 60 votes.”

From the Globe Gazette:

The vote was 238 to 119, exactly the two-thirds majority vote needed for it to pass.

“I’m happy that they decided to go this direction because I think it sets the possibility for a new and stronger future for the congregation,” said Rev. Dean Hess, senior pastor at the Clear Lake church.

Carole Roth, church council president, said she was pleased with the results, too.

“Certainly God has spoken today,” she said.

Last month nine Iowa congregations joined a new sect of Lutheran churches, a signal that they were considering leaving the ELCA.

The trade journal Editor and Publisher has manged to finally bring some good news to Iowa journalists with its annual “10 That Do It Right” awards highlighting papers from around the country that “are doing one particular thing very well (sometimes more than one thing), and merit recognition for that effort and achievement.”

The Sioux City Journal’s efforts to provide news that gives readers “something to talk about” in the paper and online  won it a spot on the 2009 list, compiled by staff of E&P.

Sioux City (Iowa) Journal
Latin American and European newspapers have proven so much more interested in applying the findings of The Readership Institute than U.S. publishers that the research center suspended domestic operations. But in the American heartland, the 40,000-circulation Sioux City (Iowa) Journal proves every day that one “readership driver” identified by the Institute works.

When Editor Mitch Pugh arrived at the Lee Enterprises-owned Journal in 2007, he focused the 32-person newsroom on giving readers “something to talk about” in the paper and online. The Journal already had a couple of very popular local columnists with a knack for finding the engaging, sometimes irreverent, stories that get readers talking. “It just was not part of the everyday DNA of the newsroom,” Pugh says. It is now.

In the past 12 months, according to researchers Tom Wilkerson & Associates, Journal readership is up about 5% on weekdays and 6% on Sundays. Total market reach increased 5.3%, and the number of readers accessing its Web site “yesterday” jumped 86%.

It has been a particularly tough few years for the Journal’s owner, Davenport-based Lee Enterprises. In June, the company reported a $24.5 million quarterly loss and a drop in ad sales of 24 percent. The company owns numerous papers in Iowa, including the Quad-City Times, Waterloo Courier and the Mason City Globe Gazette.

Most legislation that was passed during the 2009 General Assembly takes effect July 1, at the start of the 2010 fiscal year.

Iowa House Democratic staff sent out a list of the major new regulation set to be made official:

- Foreclosure protection – Iowans will see expanded services when facing foreclosure, more accurate information from mortgage brokers or bankers and active duty reservists and national guard members will have new protections from foreclosure while serving (House File 706, Senate File 355 and Senate File 364 all passed both chambers unanimously).

- Historic tax credits — $30 million in Historic Tax Credits will be available for communities (Senate File 481 passed the Senate unanimously and the House 89-3).

- Sex Offenders – Sex offenders will be prohibited from being within 300 feet of schools, parks or other places kids gather. The state will also enhance tracking of the most dangerous sex offenders. (Senate File 340 passed unanimously in Senate and 93-3 in House).

- Children’s health care – Health care will be expanded to an additional 30,000 uninsured kids, more low-income women will be eligible for health care during pregnancy and it will be easier for parents to keep their adult children under 25 on their insurance plan (Senate File 389 passed 39-9 in Senate and unanimously in House).

- Wind energy – Schools, hospitals, universities, private colleges and community colleges will be eligible to apply for wind energy tax credits (Senate File 456 passed unanimously in Senate and 94-2 in House).

- Manure application during winter – Animal confinement operations are banned from surface application of liquid manure on snow covered ground from Dec. 21 to April 1, and on frozen ground from Feb. 1 to April 1, unless there is an emergency (Senate File 432 passed 41-7 in Senate and 87-9 in House).

- Electronic logs for pseudoephedrine – Pharmacies will now use electronic logbooks to track pseudoephedrine sales and stop meth makers from “pharmacy shopping” to get enough of the drug to make meth (Senate File 237 passed 44-6 in Senate and unanimously in House).

- Job protection for volunteer emergency providers – Volunteer emergency service providers, like fire fighters and first responders, will have new protections from being fired if they are late or absent due to an emergency (House File 671 passed unanimously in Senate and House).

- Nursing home safety –Nursing homes will face higher fines for incidents resulting in death or severe injury (Senate File 433 passed unanimously in Senate and House).

- Consumer fraud protections – Iowa consumers who are defrauded will have new rights to sue the business that defrauded them, with several exceptions (House File 712 passed unanimously in Senate and 96-1 in House).

The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency said earlier this week that net state receipts fell by 12.4 percent last month and pushed tax collections into the negative column by 4.5 percent. That left the state with an ending balance of $45 million and a potential $111 million shortfall this fiscal year, which ends June 30.

Iowa is legally bound to balance its budget every year.

During a conference call with reporters Thursday, Culver remained optimistic that the state can make it through this fiscal year without drastic measures, which could include layoffs or calling a special legislative session. The state can use its roughly $45 million ending balance, along with up to $50 million the governor is authorized to withdraw from the state’s cash reserve, to plug any holes, he said.

“We will be able to balance in 2009 as we have always believed,” Culver said.

In addition, Iowa’s $529 million share of federal stimulus dollars and the $830 million I-JOBS program will give the state’s economy a shot in the arm before the year is over, he said.

Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley said the governor was in denial.

“Once again, Gov. Culver failed to recognize the serious consequences for every taxpayer as a result of his and legislative Democrats’ unsustainable record spending,” McKinley said, adding: “It is clear that the governor and his Democratic allies in the Legislature do not comprehend the severity of this spending problem and the taxpayers of Iowa will once again suffer because of their desire to grow Iowa’s government instead of growing Iowa’s economy and creating sustainable jobs.”

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Matt Strawn criticized Culver for “ramping up his campaign operation” instead of focusing on governing the state, citing a Des Moines Register article quoting Culver as saying “I love campaigning.”

Culver called the Republican response “rhetoric and misinformation.”

“If Republicans choose to play politics with these issues, that’s their choice,” said Culver press secretary Troy Price. “In the meantime, the governor will continue to do what he was elected to do — serve Iowans and get things done for our state.”

Price said the governor still believes state revenues will end the fiscal year in line with the projections of the Revenue Estimating Conference. If that is the case, fiscal 2009 will be end balanced within the budget passed by this year’s legislature.

“While the final numbers are not in, Gov. Culver and Lt. Gov. Judge are well aware that the country and state continue to face an economic challenge, the likes of which we haven’t seen since the great depression,” Price said. “The good news is, Iowa’s economy is growing at a greater rate than the national average, with Iowa ranking ninth in the country in terms of economic growth this year.”

State Attorney General Tom Miller has pushed for passage of the legislation for nearly a decade. The bill, House File 712, passed 95-1 in the House. The Senate later approved it 48-0.

“This new law creates a private right of legal action for Iowans who are victims of consumer fraud,” Miller said. “Iowans now finally join the citizens of every other state in having the important right to be able to go to court to protect their rights as consumers.”

Consumer advocates were pleased with its passage, but said Tuesday they would continue their fight next year to reverse the exceptions included in the bill. In order to finally assure passage, the attorney general’s office and supporters of the bill agreed to protect a wide array of professionals and service groups from new lawsuits.

As pointed out by an editorial in the Des Moines Business Record last month, the list of exempted businesses is long:

Insurance companies. Attorneys. Financial institutions. Doctors. Veterinarians. Architects. Banks. Retailers that advertise a product with advertising prepared by a supplier. Print publications and broadcast outlets, in connection with the ads they run. Telephone companies. Cable TV providers. Public utilities. Funeral directors. Real estate agents. Charity volunteers. Physical therapists. Optometrists. Anyone whose conduct is permitted by government. And more.

With exemptions like these, who needs the phone number of a lawyer?

“It makes me wonder whose voices were being listened to by our legislators – big business or their constituents,” said Adam Mason, a community organizer for Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement. “In a time of bank bailouts, credit fraud, mortgage fraud and other corporate fraud, one would think the political will would have been there to stand up to these corporations and say enough is enough. Hopefully they revisit this legislation next session and take a more principled stand for our consumers.”

The bill, Senate File 340, changes Iowa’s law banning some sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or day care and replaces it with exclusionary zones where registered sex offenders would be prohibited from working or visiting without permission.

Law enforcement officials, who overwhelmingly supported the measure, called the status quo unworkable, pointing to the fact that under current law, a sex offender can loiter near places like schools but simply cannot live in that location. The changes would give law enforcement more authority to remove sex offenders from such areas.

House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen introduced an amendment to the bill that would have kept the 2,000-foot rule in place, allowed local communities to write their own residency requirements and mandated electronic monitoring of sex offenders, as opposed to letting the state Department of Corrections determine if electronic monitoring is appropriate on a case-by-case basis.

The amendment sparked impassioned debate among GOP lawmakers, with Paulsen and Republican Reps. Christopher Rants, Dwayne Alons and Jodie Tymeson arguing in favor of the amendment and Republican Reps. Clel Baudler, Lance Horback and David Tjepkes arguing against it.

Rants said the new law could make Iowa’s restrictions on sex offenders weaker than surrounding states, causing them to move to Iowa.

“They’re going to move here. I don’t think for a minute that was your intention. But that’s what I’m afraid the effect of this bill is,” he said. “It’s an unintended consequence, and I think we can do better.”

Those who vote against the amendment are voting to allow sexual preditors to live “in between my house and my daughter’s school,” Rants said.

Baudler, who floor managed the bill, said that line of thinking doesn’t hold water, because sex offenders are already living near schools and day cares. In order for police to prosecute someone for violating the 2,000-foot rule they have to prove the residence is where they are sleeping.

“Still have to prove they slept there, not that they were up all night playing video games or watching TV and slept somewhere else,” he said.

Horbach, who help craft the original sex offender law, said he was wrong when he went back to his constituants and said the law made them safer.

“The only time I’m protecting my neighbors is when he or she is sleeping,” he said. “The only time I get them away from children is when the day care or school is closed. If someone has common sense, they’d say ‘You politicians, you think that fixed it?’”

Paulsen tried to make the argument that a new definition of what constitutes as a sex offenders residency would make the 2,000-foot rule more easily enforceable, but the amendment eventually failed on a 65-29 vote.

Law enforcement officials have long called for the legislature to address their concerns with the 2,000-foot rule. However, politics and fear of being called soft on sexual preditors has halted efforts to craft new legislation.

In his closing remarks, Baudler said he woud personally stand up for any lawmaker who supports this bill and has it used against them in the future.

“I do believe in what we’re doing here, and because of the emotion surrounding this issue, some of you have had concerns about the politics of this issue,” said Baudler, a retired trooper from Greenfield. “I give you my word, if you support this legislation and it is used against you in this election or any thereafter, just call me and I will be there. And I can almost guarantee the law enforcement community will be there as well.”

Instead of limiting where sex offenders can live, would prohibit them from loitering within 300 feet of an elementary or secondary school; being at an elementary school or day care without permission; working at a school or childcare facility; or loitering within 300 feet of anyplace intended primarily for use by children, such as a playground or sports field.

The bill now goes to Gov. Chet Culver, who has indicated he supports the changes. The three no votes were from Rants and Republicans Dawn Pettengill and Doug Struyk.

This map from FEMA shows which Iowa counties will be impacted by a project to modernize flood maps. The map also shows 16 Iowa counties that are slated for inclusion in a FEMA pilot mapping program happening this year. Click on the graphic above to download a full PDF version with a legend and additional information.

ELY — It was a cold February day when Pat and Cindy Nulty learned that their home in this town southeast of Cedar Rapids, untouched by last June’s massive flooding, was unexpectedly identified as being in a flood zone by federal authorities.

“It goes without saying that I was stunned,” Pat Nulty said. “We’ve never had any flooding problems and, as far as I know, none of our neighbors have had any either.”

The Nulty family and 50 additional property owners were notified of the Federal Emergency Management Agency flood map change by a letter from Aaron Anderson, Ely’s city administrator.

“I first learned of the change in December 2008,” Anderson explained. “I didn’t alert the residents right away, because I didn’t fully understand what the notice from FEMA meant to the residents and the town. I spent about two months trying to get more information, so that I could help the residents figure out what to do next.”

The Flood Map Modernization Program

Since 1978, FEMA has been charged with producing maps that detail geographic areas at risk for flooding. The maps, which identify areas at highest risk for flood, indicate which property owners should be required to carry flood insurance and also where communities should locate key facilities such as schools, hospitals and emergency services for disaster planning purposes.

FEMA, which is now under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, came under scrutiny by the department’s inspector general for not maintaining and updating maps. The report, filed in 2005, stated that “70 percent of the maps” were “more than 10 years old” and “hand-drawn” and “difficult to update.” Because the maps have not kept up with construction developments and local improvements, the inspector general summarized that the maps have “generally [been] rendered inaccurate and obsolete.”

The highly critical report was filed two years after FEMA embarked on a six-year program to modernize and digitize its flood mapping program. The program, which nearly all agencies and lawmakers agree is needed, is hampered by severe underfunding. The budget of $1.5 billion is less than half of what the Association of State Flood Plain Managers estimated in August 2005 was needed.

While the program has been criticized for poor management, oversight and contractor performance, most of those woes can be traced back to FEMA embarking on an unprecedented program without an adequate budget. As a consequence, the agency has used “best available” data to make flood zone designations. Unfortunately, the “best available” data is often old, out-dated and without precise topographical details.

To add to the confusion, the rules regarding what constitutes a flood zone have changed. Previously only waterways that had at least two-square-mile watershed were considered. Currently FEMA looks at waterways with a one-square-mile (640 acres) or larger watershed to make a flood zone designation.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Despite the use of questionable data to create new flood maps, the preliminary FEMA designation is considered valid unless local authorities or residents band together to disprove it.

“I understand what FEMA is attempting to do,” said Pat Nulty. “I can’t disagree with its importance, but I think they should be using the most accurate and up-to-date information possible to draw these new maps.”

Inaccurate flood maps may cause property owners to be mistakenly identified, which places significant current and future regulatory restrictions on property. In addition, property owners and local facilities erroneously omitted from flood maps could be in unknowing risk.

Once a preliminary FEMA designation has been made, local authorities have a short period of time to appeal it. Homeowners have no appeal process, but can band together to pay for a survey that could change the flood boundaries. FEMA’s technical review fee is $4,800, but homeowners would also need to have a flood study done by a licensed engineer, which typically costs several thousand dollars.

Believing that a mistake had been made in Ely, Nulty worked with the other residents in his Southbrook subdivison, city officials and the subdivision developer to present FEMA with accurate information. Developer Keith Schulte submitted a three-page bulleted list to the agency, outlining the history and surveying of Southbrook. The list included details of “significant channel improvements” that had been made to Southbrook Creek between 2000 and 2001, evidence of out-dated topographic maps showing 5-foot increments, and information on storm water easements.

“I would not have believed this could happen in this country,” Schulte wrote in correspondence with FEMA. “As a federal agency, FEMA’s emphasis should be more about accurate mapping and advising homeowners of realistic flooding potential than about generating maximum low risk flood insurance premium dollars by publishing ‘estimated’ flood maps that they know are statistically flawed.”

While Schulte’s comments on generating flood insurance premiums might seem far-fetched, the National Flood Insurance Program has been stretched thin. The 2005 claims resulting from hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma alone far surpassed the total of roughly $15 billion in claims that had been paid during the entire history of the program. One way for the government to recoup losses is to generate a larger insurance premium base.

For their part, Ely property owners met and began pooling money to fund their own engineering survey, but, before that process was complete, FEMA agreed a mistake had been made.

“Based on results of … re-evaluation of the contributing watershed drainage area, combined with discussions with a local developer pertaining to more accurate and recent topographical data, it has been decided that the new Zone A along an unnamed tributary to Hoosier Creek in the City of Ely will be removed from the preliminary map,” wrote Rick Nusz, an engineer with FEMA.

Not An Isolated Incident

FEMA is in the process of modernizing flood maps in roughly 56 Iowa counties, with 15 counties already completed. Currently, the city of Atkins, near Cedar Rapids, is investigating a new flood designation that has impacted roughly 40 property owners. In nearby Belle Plain, at least two property owners have discovered they have been placed in a flood plain.

“Benton and Linn aren’t the only counties that have been getting new flood maps — and they aren’t the only counties that will be given new maps before this process is over,” said Bill Cappuccio with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Flood Plain Development Program.

“In the case of Ely and Atkins, they were presented with flood zones that had never existed prior to the map updates. That was because the criteria changed for drainage, for when FEMA would and would not map a stream. But in other places we have people questioning how the flood plain became so large, or how it expanded into a certain area. In those cases, it most often has to do with the approximate nature of the maps.”

Communities that have detailed ground surveys completed will likely see few surprises in the re-mapping process so long as FEMA is given access to that information, according to Cappuccio.

“Right now the state of Iowa is trying to collect 2-foot interval contour maps for the entire state,” he said. “That’s being done by using light detection and ranging methods, with the end goal of having two-foot topographical maps for the state.”

Most Iowa counties, even the larger ones, don’t have topographical maps that are accurate to that degree. The Linn County maps used to make preliminary flood maps in Ely, for example, were likely 5-foot intervals or greater. The Benton County maps were at least 10-foot intervals, likely a decade or older U.S. Geological Survey maps.

“The better your topography, the better your approximation,” Cappuccio explained. “In the case of Iowa, much of the approximation that’s been done to this point was done using 1960s- and 1970s-era [U.S. Geological Survey], 10- and 20-foot interval, contour maps. … But, where there is updated information, FEMA is using it.”

While there is little counties and communities can do before FEMA releases new preliminary maps, Cappuccio encourages any individuals with questions regarding new flood designations to contact him and the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

“It’s not like every community that’s going to be mapped by FEMA is saying, ‘Oh no. We are going to be mapped by FEMA and we know it’s going to be bad.’ So, you don’t want to over-react on the belief that you’re going to be subject to a map that isn’t based in reality,” he said. “There are communities that have gone through this process and realize that the maps created showed areas that have historically flooded.

“That being said, if a community believes that they have a map that is not accurate, then they need to do everything they can to come up with data that shows the inaccuracies in terms of topography and in terms of surveys and studies.”

“Holding a meeting in each of our 99 counties gives me the opportunity to have an open and honest dialogue with the people I serve in the U.S. Senate,” Grassley said in a statement.

As his reelection efforts begin to build, constituents will likely see more of their senior senator.  Grassley’s schedule for the week, starting last Sunday, is reprinted below:

Grassley’s meetings will take him to the counties of Appanoose, Cedar, Clarke, Clinton, Davis, Decatur, Delaware, Des Moines, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Jones, Lee, Louisa, Lucas, Monroe, Muscatine, Scott, Story, Van Buren, Wapello, Washington, Wayne and Warren.

Grassley will hold town hall meetings in Albia, Bloomfield, Burlington, Chariton, Corydon, Hopkinton, Keosauqua, Leon, Maquoketa, Mechanicsville, Monticello, Ottumwa, Wapello and Washington. He will tour businesses and meet with employees at Rathbun Regional Water Association in Centerville, Davenport Community Health Center in Davenport, Siemens in Fort Madison, Bandag in Muscatine, Capital City Fruit in Norwalk, Osceola Foods in Osceola, and MD Orthopaedics in Wayland. He will meet with students at Clinton High School in Clinton. He will also speak with the Fairfield Young Professionals in Fairfield and meet with members of the Iowa State University Department of Agriculture Education and Studies at their annual banquet.

Here is detailed information about Grassley’s upcoming county visits.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

1:50 – 3 p.m. Story County Meeting, meet with the Iowa State University Department of Agriculture Education & Studies, Prairie Moon Winery, 3801 West 190th Street, Ames

Monday, February 16, 2009

8 – 9 a.m. Warren County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Capital City Fruit, 1505 North Avenue, Norwalk

10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Clarke County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Osceola Foods, 1027 Warren Avenue, Osceola

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Decatur County Town Hall Meeting, Leon Community Center, 203 NE 2^nd Street, Leon

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Wayne County Town Hall Meeting, Wayne County Courthouse, 100 North Lafayette Street, Corydon

4:30 – 5:30 p.m. Lucas County Town Hall Meeting, Chariton Public Library, Conference Room, 803 Braden Avenue, Chariton

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Monroe County Town Hall Meeting, Albia Area Chamber of Commerce, 18 South Main Street, Albia

10 – 11 a.m. Appanoose County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Rathbun Regional Water Association, Rathbun Regional Water Treatment Facility, 16166 Highway J29, Centerville

12:15 – 1:15 p.m. Davis County Town Hall Meeting, Southern Iowa Electric Cooperative, Touchstone Energy Training Center, 22458 Highway 2, Bloomfield

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Wapello County Town Hall Meeting, Bridge View Center, 102 Church Street, Ottumwa

4:15 – 5:15 p.m. Jefferson County Meeting, meet with Fairfield Young Professionals, Fairfield Arts and Convention Center, 200 North Main Street, Fairfield

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Van Buren County Town Hall Meeting, Village Cups and Cakes, 202 Main Street, Keosauqua

10 – 11 a.m. Lee County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Siemens wind turbine blade facility, 2597 Highway 61, Fort Madison

Noon – 1 p.m. Des Moines County Town Hall Meeting, Burlington Public Library, Meeting Rooms A and B, 210 Court Street, Burlington

2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Henry County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at MD Orthopaedics, 604 North Parkway Street, Wayland

5 – 6 p.m. Louisa County Town Hall Meeting, Wapello Ambulance Building, 400 Highway 61 South, Wapello

Thursday, February 19, 2009

7:15 – 8:15 a.m. Washington County Town Hall Meeting, Washington County Hospitals and Clinics, Robert Nicola Conference Room, 400 East Polk Street, Washington

*Attendees should enter through South Entrance

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. Scott County Meeting, tour and meet employees and patients at Davenport Community Health Center, 500 West River Drive, Davenport

2:15 – 3:15 p.m. Muscatine County Meeting, tour and meet with employees at Bandag, NAM Award Presentation, Bandag Learning Center, 2000 Bandage Drive, Muscatine

5 – 6 p.m. Cedar County Town Hall Meeting, Mechanicsville Public Library, 218 East 1^st Street, Mechanicsville

Friday, February 20, 2009

7:45 – 8:45 a.m. Clinton County Meeting, meet with Clinton High School Government Class, Clinton High School, 818 8^th Avenue South, Clinton

10:15 – 11:15 a.m. Jackson County Town Hall Meeting, Hurstville Interpretive Center, Community Room, 18670 63^rd Street, Maquoketa

1 – 2 p.m. Jones County Town Hall Meeting, Mary Lovell LeVan Monticello Renaissance Center, Community Media Center, 220 East 1^st Street, Monticello

2:45 – 3:45 p.m. Delaware County Town Hall Meeting, Hopkinton Community Center, 115 1^st Street SE, Hopkinton