Blasphemy, thy name is Trump
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 6 Replies
“And on June 14, 1946, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So, God gave us Trump.”
I didn’t make that up. It comes from a video distributed by ever-humble Trump himself. It is a voice-over, so we don’t know if it was God himself hired as narrator. He can’t be inexpensive, but, what the hell, He is certainly worth every penny it takes.
My interest is only political, but I have tried to understand evangelicals’ embrace of Trump, including here in Iowa. Trump hasn’t found a commandment he wouldn’t break. He lies, cheats on wives, essentially steals through fraud. The hold Donald Trump has on evangelicals across the country is astounding.
As he has from his holy start, the Orange Deity reigns over our parade (oops, rains.) Like most of you, I was excited to learn that Donald Trump was ordained by God and that a recent blessing came with the first absentee ballot ever mailed from Heaven. The postmark and return address make it special, and it should be cherished, but Trump, I’ve heard, put it on display in the Trump Tower lobby and has been selling copies to evangelicals, claiming each is the real thing.
Evangelicals somehow believe Trump’s nonsense, and think they are patriots and saints when they vote for him. It intrigues me even as it bewilders me and scares the religion out of me. This is not the Christianity that fills the heart with love.
Evangelicals believe they must be born again. (“If you bothered to be born again, why did you come back the same way?”)
As best I can tell, being born again should involve only a person’s relationship with God and the Bible as the law. They don’t have to worship Trump or vote for him as so many have and will. That is what continues to worry me, even as his support seems to be shrinking.
About a quarter of our population is evangelical. Most evangelicals are Republicans. Only 20% identify as Democrats—I’d guess almost all of these are Black, and understand racism as most evangelicals do not (or are themselves bigots.) It is hard not to sound irreligious or prejudiced in disparaging evangelicals for their Trump idolatry. They may be more Christian, but I think I’m more religious than most of them. Trump is a false idol, a Golden Calf.
I am used to Trump’s ego trips, his nasty tongue, chronic philandering. Long after Trump has gone to his reward, his devoted followers and their children and grandchildren will fill a century with hate and delusion.
Here is the video again: ‘‘God said, ‘I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, fix this country, work all day, fight the Marxists, eat supper, then go to the Oval Office and stay up past midnight at a meeting with the heads of state.’ So God made Trump.’’
If you meet an Evangelical for Trump, first wash your hands, and then quote from the Book of Jonah.
“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”
Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary, and authored a memoir “From Nowhere to Somewhere.”
www.thegazette.com
I didn’t make that up. It comes from a video distributed by ever-humble Trump himself. It is a voice-over, so we don’t know if it was God himself hired as narrator. He can’t be inexpensive, but, what the hell, He is certainly worth every penny it takes.
My interest is only political, but I have tried to understand evangelicals’ embrace of Trump, including here in Iowa. Trump hasn’t found a commandment he wouldn’t break. He lies, cheats on wives, essentially steals through fraud. The hold Donald Trump has on evangelicals across the country is astounding.
As he has from his holy start, the Orange Deity reigns over our parade (oops, rains.) Like most of you, I was excited to learn that Donald Trump was ordained by God and that a recent blessing came with the first absentee ballot ever mailed from Heaven. The postmark and return address make it special, and it should be cherished, but Trump, I’ve heard, put it on display in the Trump Tower lobby and has been selling copies to evangelicals, claiming each is the real thing.
Evangelicals somehow believe Trump’s nonsense, and think they are patriots and saints when they vote for him. It intrigues me even as it bewilders me and scares the religion out of me. This is not the Christianity that fills the heart with love.
Evangelicals believe they must be born again. (“If you bothered to be born again, why did you come back the same way?”)
As best I can tell, being born again should involve only a person’s relationship with God and the Bible as the law. They don’t have to worship Trump or vote for him as so many have and will. That is what continues to worry me, even as his support seems to be shrinking.
About a quarter of our population is evangelical. Most evangelicals are Republicans. Only 20% identify as Democrats—I’d guess almost all of these are Black, and understand racism as most evangelicals do not (or are themselves bigots.) It is hard not to sound irreligious or prejudiced in disparaging evangelicals for their Trump idolatry. They may be more Christian, but I think I’m more religious than most of them. Trump is a false idol, a Golden Calf.
I am used to Trump’s ego trips, his nasty tongue, chronic philandering. Long after Trump has gone to his reward, his devoted followers and their children and grandchildren will fill a century with hate and delusion.
Here is the video again: ‘‘God said, ‘I need somebody willing to get up before dawn, fix this country, work all day, fight the Marxists, eat supper, then go to the Oval Office and stay up past midnight at a meeting with the heads of state.’ So God made Trump.’’
If you meet an Evangelical for Trump, first wash your hands, and then quote from the Book of Jonah.
“Those who pay regard to vain idols forsake their hope of steadfast love.”
Norman Sherman of Coralville has worked extensively in politics, including as Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s press secretary, and authored a memoir “From Nowhere to Somewhere.”
Opinion: Blasphemy, thy name is Trump
President Donald Trump holds a Bible as he stands outside St. John’s Church across Lafayette Park from the White House …
www.thegazette.com
Chicago welcomes immigrants bused out of Texas with open arms
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 22 Replies
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Thursday promised to help the city’s new “neighbors” gain stability by providing resources to the dozens of Venezuelans who arrived Wednesday after being sent on buses chartered by Texas officials.
“While there’s no way that we can fully make up for the cruelty that our new neighbors have experienced, what we have and will continue to do is welcome them with open arms,” Lightfoot said during a news conference. “I refuse to turn our backs on them at a time when they need support the most.”
The 79 immigrants, which include individuals seeking asylum, were greeted in Chicago with food, fresh clothes and a place to take a hot shower, Lightfoot said. Still, the immigration status and future of many of the individuals seemed unclear. Many plan to reunite with friends or family in other parts of the country, while some will remain in shelters in Chicago, city officials said.
The 79 people who arrived included seven infants, five other children and eight “youths,” according to information provided by City Hall on a Thursday afternoon call with those assisting the efforts.
There will likely be more buses of immigrants arriving in Chicago from Texas, officials said on the call. In addition to the 79 who arrived by bus at Union Station, 16 immigrants — four families — flew into O’Hare and received assistance from a nonprofit group.
City agencies and community organizations spent Thursday getting more information from the immigrants to see what services they needed.
Brandi Knazze, commissioner of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, said they helped individuals connect with relatives in Chicago or in other parts of the country. Those who want to stay in Chicago will continue to stay at a shelter, she said.
“For folks that decide that Chicago is going to become their home, we’ll work with them to decide what does that look like for finding employment,” she said. “And in terms of housing, we’ll work with them to see about their jobs and resources to get them connected.”
At a shelter in Humboldt Park on Thursday afternoon, rows of tables were set up in a hallway to accommodate more than a dozen men who had arrived from Venezuela. Some ate food while others played games together.
The group bused to Chicago is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to send people arriving at the southern border into Democrat-led cities. Under Abbott, a Republican, Texas has spent $12 million to send migrants from Texas to East Coast cities, according to the Texas Tribune.
In July, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported the Justice Department was investigating Abbott’s border initiatives for possible civil rights violations.
Lightfoot described Abbott’s actions as racist, xenophobic and unpatriotic during a news conference Thursday at the Salvation Army, which is providing shelter for some of the immigrants. She later added that Abbott is attempting to manufacture a crisis by sending immigrants by buses to other cities.
“It is my prayer, literally, that this man finds some humanity and doesn’t do it, but surely he’ll continue to do what he seems determined to do,” Lightfoot said. “We’re ready. We are the village. We are going to make sure that whoever comes to Chicago, that we are going to take care of them, that they are going to find shelter and that they will be welcomed and we will do whatever it takes to make sure that their rights are respected.”
U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., said Texas officials promised the immigrants — all from Venezuela — they would have access to lawyers, housing and other forms of assistance to lure them onto the bus. When they arrived Wednesday, they told officials they had not eaten all day, he said.
“We need to ask the question of whether Gov. Abbott may be involved in trafficking of migrants for political gain,” García said.
He said he will be asking President Joe Biden’s administration to extend the designation of temporary protected status to allow the newly arrived Venezuelans to remain lawfully in the U.S. In July, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended the designation — which allows an immigrant to live and work lawfully for a temporary period of time — for 18 months. However, Venezuelans are eligible for the status only if they were in the United States as of March 8, 2021.
Temporary protected status is typically granted to people from a certain country because of an ongoing conflict, an environmental disaster or other conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“This will be similar to what we did for Syrian and Ukrainian refugees,” he said. “There’s also a long backlog of court dates for asylum seekers, so that is another barrier that they would be facing.”
The National Immigrant Justice Center spent Thursday trying to help the individuals figure out their immigration status and how they can seek legal help, said Alejandra Oliva, the community engagement manger.
Many had paperwork indicating when they had to check in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oliva said they were advising people to check in with the local ICE office as soon as they arrive at their final destination.
Some of the people in the group had just arrived in the United States this week, she said.
.”
chicago.suntimes.com
“While there’s no way that we can fully make up for the cruelty that our new neighbors have experienced, what we have and will continue to do is welcome them with open arms,” Lightfoot said during a news conference. “I refuse to turn our backs on them at a time when they need support the most.”
The 79 immigrants, which include individuals seeking asylum, were greeted in Chicago with food, fresh clothes and a place to take a hot shower, Lightfoot said. Still, the immigration status and future of many of the individuals seemed unclear. Many plan to reunite with friends or family in other parts of the country, while some will remain in shelters in Chicago, city officials said.
The 79 people who arrived included seven infants, five other children and eight “youths,” according to information provided by City Hall on a Thursday afternoon call with those assisting the efforts.
There will likely be more buses of immigrants arriving in Chicago from Texas, officials said on the call. In addition to the 79 who arrived by bus at Union Station, 16 immigrants — four families — flew into O’Hare and received assistance from a nonprofit group.
City agencies and community organizations spent Thursday getting more information from the immigrants to see what services they needed.
Brandi Knazze, commissioner of the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, said they helped individuals connect with relatives in Chicago or in other parts of the country. Those who want to stay in Chicago will continue to stay at a shelter, she said.
“For folks that decide that Chicago is going to become their home, we’ll work with them to decide what does that look like for finding employment,” she said. “And in terms of housing, we’ll work with them to see about their jobs and resources to get them connected.”
At a shelter in Humboldt Park on Thursday afternoon, rows of tables were set up in a hallway to accommodate more than a dozen men who had arrived from Venezuela. Some ate food while others played games together.
The group bused to Chicago is part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to send people arriving at the southern border into Democrat-led cities. Under Abbott, a Republican, Texas has spent $12 million to send migrants from Texas to East Coast cities, according to the Texas Tribune.
In July, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica reported the Justice Department was investigating Abbott’s border initiatives for possible civil rights violations.
Lightfoot described Abbott’s actions as racist, xenophobic and unpatriotic during a news conference Thursday at the Salvation Army, which is providing shelter for some of the immigrants. She later added that Abbott is attempting to manufacture a crisis by sending immigrants by buses to other cities.
“It is my prayer, literally, that this man finds some humanity and doesn’t do it, but surely he’ll continue to do what he seems determined to do,” Lightfoot said. “We’re ready. We are the village. We are going to make sure that whoever comes to Chicago, that we are going to take care of them, that they are going to find shelter and that they will be welcomed and we will do whatever it takes to make sure that their rights are respected.”
U.S. Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García, D-Ill., said Texas officials promised the immigrants — all from Venezuela — they would have access to lawyers, housing and other forms of assistance to lure them onto the bus. When they arrived Wednesday, they told officials they had not eaten all day, he said.
“We need to ask the question of whether Gov. Abbott may be involved in trafficking of migrants for political gain,” García said.
He said he will be asking President Joe Biden’s administration to extend the designation of temporary protected status to allow the newly arrived Venezuelans to remain lawfully in the U.S. In July, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security extended the designation — which allows an immigrant to live and work lawfully for a temporary period of time — for 18 months. However, Venezuelans are eligible for the status only if they were in the United States as of March 8, 2021.
Temporary protected status is typically granted to people from a certain country because of an ongoing conflict, an environmental disaster or other conditions, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“This will be similar to what we did for Syrian and Ukrainian refugees,” he said. “There’s also a long backlog of court dates for asylum seekers, so that is another barrier that they would be facing.”
The National Immigrant Justice Center spent Thursday trying to help the individuals figure out their immigration status and how they can seek legal help, said Alejandra Oliva, the community engagement manger.
Many had paperwork indicating when they had to check in with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Oliva said they were advising people to check in with the local ICE office as soon as they arrive at their final destination.
Some of the people in the group had just arrived in the United States this week, she said.
.”
Chicago welcomes immigrants bused out of Texas with open arms
Nearly 80 people seeking asylum at the U.S. southern border were sent to Chicago by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott as part of his plan to move them to Democrat-led cities; Blasting Abbott’s actions as racist, xenophobic, Lightfoot said, “We’re ready. We are the village.”
chicago.suntimes.com
-
Poll
How do you feel about Budmayr being hired as WR coach?
- By Eliot Clough
- The Press Box
- 24 Replies
Alcohol could be tied to Iowa’s fastest-growing cancer rate
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 49 Replies
Iowa continues to have the second highest cancer rate in the nation — and the fastest growing rate of new cancers, with another 21,000 estimated this year — according to the Iowa Cancer Registry’s 2024 “Cancer in Iowa” report.
And while a confluence of factors are believed to be behind the state’s rising cancer rates — making it the only state in the nation reporting a significant increase in incidence from 2015 to 2019 — one piece of the problematic puzzle is Iowa’s high rates of alcohol use and abuse, according to the new report made public Tuesday.
Alcohol is a known carcinogen and a risk factor for cancers like oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, prostate, and breast cancer. Iowa has the fourth highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the country — and the highest in the Midwest — matching its fourth-highest ranking for adult binge drinking.
“It's pervasive throughout our state; I think it's a cultural thing in our state, and it’s something that I think people need to be aware of,” Mary Charlton, professor of epidemiology and director of the Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa, told reporters Tuesday — citing a 2023 study that found, “Only 40 percent of the general public even knew that alcohol could contribute or cause cancer.”
That study found alcohol contributed to an average of more than 75,000 cancer cases and 19,000 cancer deaths a year from 2013 to 2016 — and that more than 10 percent of U.S. adults actually believed wine lowered cancer risk.
“All beverage types containing ethanol (e.g., wine, beer, liquor) increase cancer risk,” according to the study.
The amount of alcohol seems to matter more than type — from wine to whiskey to that beverage central to the Hawkeye-victory song about drinking here because, “In heaven there is no beer.”
“Alcohol is one modifiable risk where Iowans stand out from the rest of the country, and that may be contributing to our high cancer rates,” Charlton said. “My main message today is meant to be a literal buzz kill.”
Defining binge drinking as five or more drinks on one occasion for men and four or more drinks for women, more than one-fifth — or 22 percent — of adults in Iowa reported binge drinking in 2022, meaningfully above the national average of 17 percent.
Men more often binge drink than women, and Iowans making more than $100,000 a year binge drink at significantly higher rates than those making $50,000 or less — at more than 30 percent, compared to under 20 percent among the lower income brackets.
Most counties in Iowa report higher binge drinking rates than the national average — with Jackson County reporting the highest rate at 27 percent and Polk, Johnson, and Linn counties reporting rates of 23 percent, 21 percent, and 19 percent, respectively.
The highest rate of binge drinking in Iowa is among those ages 25 to 34. But binge drinking is a concern for young people too, with 23 percent of Iowans ages 12 to 20 having at least one drink and 15 percent reporting binge drinking.
That is a concern given findings from research on the connection between alcohol and cancer, according to Michael Henry, interim director of the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
One recent paper, Henry said, found alcohol exposure for mice at an adolescent stage “can have dramatic consequences on down the road for the risk of developing cancers and then the aggressiveness of those cancers in mice.”
“So it's important to think about exposure at any time,” he said. “But in that adolescent stage, binge drinking, heavy drinking, can potentially have long-lasting effects.”
Alcohol increases cancer risk in several key ways, according to Henry, like by damaging DNA and other molecules and harming the body’s ability to repair damage done to DNA.
“And so that's kind of a double whammy that can lead to accumulation of mutations … accumulation of mutations that can drive cancer,” he said. “But even more than that, it can also cause inflammation and affect the function of our immune system. And that can actually cause cancers that develop to be worse and have worse consequences.”
The good news, Henry said, is reducing alcohol consumption can cut the risk. Updated dietary guidelines for Americans recommend adults either don’t drink or limit their daily consumption to fewer than two drinks for men or no more than one for women.
Among alcohol-tied cancers, Iowa is a leader — with 14 percent of its estimated new cancers this year expected to be breast, another 14 percent expected to be prostate, and 8 percent expected in the colon and rectum category.
John Stokes, 77, of Iowa City, is among Iowa’s 168,610 cancer survivors — having been diagnosed twice, first 13 years ago with “voice box cancer” and again in 2022 with a second head-and-neck cancer on his tongue.
“When I was younger, I had problems with alcohol,” Stokes said, sharing he also smoked. “I drank frequently and would also binge drink. Never during that time did I realize that those choices could cause cancer later in life.”
Stokes said he addressed his alcoholism in 1981 at age 36 but continued smoking until he was 50. His cancer diagnosis didn’t come until nearly four decades after he got sober.
“That's typically what we see,” said Marisa Buchakjian, UI Health Care assistant professor of otolaryngology. “Decades after stopping that exposure, the cells continue to change and build up mutations.”
www.thegazette.com
And while a confluence of factors are believed to be behind the state’s rising cancer rates — making it the only state in the nation reporting a significant increase in incidence from 2015 to 2019 — one piece of the problematic puzzle is Iowa’s high rates of alcohol use and abuse, according to the new report made public Tuesday.
Alcohol is a known carcinogen and a risk factor for cancers like oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, esophagus, colon and rectum, liver, prostate, and breast cancer. Iowa has the fourth highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the country — and the highest in the Midwest — matching its fourth-highest ranking for adult binge drinking.
“It's pervasive throughout our state; I think it's a cultural thing in our state, and it’s something that I think people need to be aware of,” Mary Charlton, professor of epidemiology and director of the Iowa Cancer Registry at the University of Iowa, told reporters Tuesday — citing a 2023 study that found, “Only 40 percent of the general public even knew that alcohol could contribute or cause cancer.”
That study found alcohol contributed to an average of more than 75,000 cancer cases and 19,000 cancer deaths a year from 2013 to 2016 — and that more than 10 percent of U.S. adults actually believed wine lowered cancer risk.
“All beverage types containing ethanol (e.g., wine, beer, liquor) increase cancer risk,” according to the study.
The amount of alcohol seems to matter more than type — from wine to whiskey to that beverage central to the Hawkeye-victory song about drinking here because, “In heaven there is no beer.”
“Alcohol is one modifiable risk where Iowans stand out from the rest of the country, and that may be contributing to our high cancer rates,” Charlton said. “My main message today is meant to be a literal buzz kill.”
Iowa drinking rates
Defining binge drinking as five or more drinks on one occasion for men and four or more drinks for women, more than one-fifth — or 22 percent — of adults in Iowa reported binge drinking in 2022, meaningfully above the national average of 17 percent.
Men more often binge drink than women, and Iowans making more than $100,000 a year binge drink at significantly higher rates than those making $50,000 or less — at more than 30 percent, compared to under 20 percent among the lower income brackets.
Most counties in Iowa report higher binge drinking rates than the national average — with Jackson County reporting the highest rate at 27 percent and Polk, Johnson, and Linn counties reporting rates of 23 percent, 21 percent, and 19 percent, respectively.
The highest rate of binge drinking in Iowa is among those ages 25 to 34. But binge drinking is a concern for young people too, with 23 percent of Iowans ages 12 to 20 having at least one drink and 15 percent reporting binge drinking.
That is a concern given findings from research on the connection between alcohol and cancer, according to Michael Henry, interim director of the UI Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.
One recent paper, Henry said, found alcohol exposure for mice at an adolescent stage “can have dramatic consequences on down the road for the risk of developing cancers and then the aggressiveness of those cancers in mice.”
“So it's important to think about exposure at any time,” he said. “But in that adolescent stage, binge drinking, heavy drinking, can potentially have long-lasting effects.”
‘I had problems with alcohol’
Alcohol increases cancer risk in several key ways, according to Henry, like by damaging DNA and other molecules and harming the body’s ability to repair damage done to DNA.
“And so that's kind of a double whammy that can lead to accumulation of mutations … accumulation of mutations that can drive cancer,” he said. “But even more than that, it can also cause inflammation and affect the function of our immune system. And that can actually cause cancers that develop to be worse and have worse consequences.”
The good news, Henry said, is reducing alcohol consumption can cut the risk. Updated dietary guidelines for Americans recommend adults either don’t drink or limit their daily consumption to fewer than two drinks for men or no more than one for women.
Among alcohol-tied cancers, Iowa is a leader — with 14 percent of its estimated new cancers this year expected to be breast, another 14 percent expected to be prostate, and 8 percent expected in the colon and rectum category.
John Stokes, 77, of Iowa City, is among Iowa’s 168,610 cancer survivors — having been diagnosed twice, first 13 years ago with “voice box cancer” and again in 2022 with a second head-and-neck cancer on his tongue.
“When I was younger, I had problems with alcohol,” Stokes said, sharing he also smoked. “I drank frequently and would also binge drink. Never during that time did I realize that those choices could cause cancer later in life.”
Stokes said he addressed his alcoholism in 1981 at age 36 but continued smoking until he was 50. His cancer diagnosis didn’t come until nearly four decades after he got sober.
“That's typically what we see,” said Marisa Buchakjian, UI Health Care assistant professor of otolaryngology. “Decades after stopping that exposure, the cells continue to change and build up mutations.”
Alcohol could be tied to Iowa’s fastest-growing cancer rate
Iowa continues to have the second highest cancer rate in the nation — and the fastest growing rate of new cancers, with another 21,000 estimated this year — according to the Iowa Cancer Registry’s 2024 “Cancer in Iowa” report.
www.thegazette.com
Iowa lawmakers advance bill to reintroduce death penalty for those who murder police
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 62 Replies
Iowa Republican lawmakers advanced a bill Monday that would reinstate the death penalty for individuals who murder a peace officer.
A three-member subcommittee voted 2-0 to advance Senate Study Bill 3085, with a proposed amendment, for consideration by the full Senate Judiciary Committee.
As written, the bill would make anyone convicted of first-degree murder eligible for the death penalty. But lawmakers said they would amend it to pertain only to someone who murders a law enforcement officer.
For the death penalty to be considered, the person must be 18 years or older and have knowledge that the victim was a police officer. The act must also be intentional, the offender must be a major participant in the commission of the crime, and they must not be mentally ill or intellectually disabled.
A jury or judge would need to find the defendant guilty, and then decide in a separate proceeding whether the death penalty should apply.
It also would require the Iowa Supreme Court to automatically review all death penalty sentences to examine whether the sentence is excessive or disproportionate to penalties in similar cases.
Capital punishment was abolished in Iowa in 1965.
Previous attempts to reinstate the death penalty have failed to gain traction in the Iowa Legislature.
Religious groups and others opposed to the bill said studies have shown the death penalty doesn’t deter crime. U.S. states using the death penalty have a similar murder rate to states that don’t use it, with opponents arguing the threat of capital punishment does not appear to prevent homicides.
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Others noted racial disparities in death penalty prosecutions, and the inherent risk the death penalty carries of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 190 people have been exonerated from death row in the U.S., according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
“You never get to what you want because revenge does not reward you. That's all the death penalty is, is revenge,” said subcommittee member Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, who declined to sign off on the bill. “Frankly, life in prison without parole has to be one of the most painful, mentally torturing things I would think that you could go through.”
Bisignano also took issue with the fact that death penalty would only apply to law enforcement — who “signs up for” and are equipped for “dangerous duty” — and not extend to children killed in a school shooting.
“I think it's a political round. We keep playing with politics in election years,” he said. “And this … cop killer bill seems to be that thing that you want to put in your brochure, but I hope you'll put along with that that you excluded children killed in school shootings.”
Subcommittee member Sen. David Rowley, R-Spirit Lake, mentioned Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram, who was shot and killed last year as he tried to serve an arrest warrant.
“A husband. Father of three. Son. Grandson. That is who wants to be heard when this sensitive issue comes up,” Rowley said, “because their pain and suffering, regardless, goes on and on.”
Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, who chaired the subcommittee, echoed Rowley.
“I know there's a lot of conversation about this doesn't deter anybody. But that closure that those parents need, or the wife, or the husband, or the kids need, should be considered also,” he said. “I agree with that. This is a difficult situation and I believe that we should back our police officers and our peace officers that work within our prisons. We should make sure that we realize and we know that they're out there defending us and we defend them.”
Lawmakers also are considering advancing a bill that stalled during last year’s session that would bring back the death penalty in Iowa for murder in the first degree when it involves kidnapping and sexual abuse offenses against a child.
Financial institutions would be prohibited from declining to provide services based on an individual’s beliefs or social actions under legislation advanced by Republicans on a Senate subcommittee.
The legislation bars financial institutions from refusing to provide services based on a so-called social credit score, which is defined in the bill to include an individual’s religious beliefs, behaviors related to climate change, refusal to participate in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and other social matters.
Republicans and conservative advocacy groups that spoke at a subcommittee hearing said the legislation is needed to protect people who hold conservative beliefs from political backlash from financial institutions like banks, credit unions and credit card companies.
Republican Iowa Sens. David Rowley, of Spirit Lake, and Lynn Evans, of Centerville, signed off on advancing the bill, Senate Study Bill 3094, to the full Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Sen. Herman Quirmbach, of Ames, declined to support the bill.
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird co-authored a multi-state letter showing support for Texas’ border enforcement actions as the protracted standoff between the state's governor and President Joe Biden’s administration continues.
Bird and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes co-led the letter, joined by 24 other Republican attorneys general and the Arizona State Legislature.
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that Texas has the constitutional right to conduct border enforcement at its southern border, including setting up razor wire fencing.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week cleared the way for Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire at the Texas border after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sued to prevent Border Patrol from intervening. The ruling did not impact Abbott’s ability to continue placing the razor wire.
Abbot has declared the rise in illegal border crossings an “invasion,” saying he has a constitutional duty to enforce border policies.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last week joined most Republican governors in a statement defending Texas’ actions at the border.
“While the Biden Administration has opened the door wide for drug cartels, traffickers, and potential terrorists to cross our border, States have been left to fend for themselves," Bird said in a statement. "If the Biden Administration won’t do its job to secure our border and keep Americans safe, it should step aside to let the States do the job for them. Iowa proudly stands with Texas in this fight.”
www.thegazette.com
A three-member subcommittee voted 2-0 to advance Senate Study Bill 3085, with a proposed amendment, for consideration by the full Senate Judiciary Committee.
As written, the bill would make anyone convicted of first-degree murder eligible for the death penalty. But lawmakers said they would amend it to pertain only to someone who murders a law enforcement officer.
For the death penalty to be considered, the person must be 18 years or older and have knowledge that the victim was a police officer. The act must also be intentional, the offender must be a major participant in the commission of the crime, and they must not be mentally ill or intellectually disabled.
A jury or judge would need to find the defendant guilty, and then decide in a separate proceeding whether the death penalty should apply.
It also would require the Iowa Supreme Court to automatically review all death penalty sentences to examine whether the sentence is excessive or disproportionate to penalties in similar cases.
Capital punishment was abolished in Iowa in 1965.
Previous attempts to reinstate the death penalty have failed to gain traction in the Iowa Legislature.
Religious groups and others opposed to the bill said studies have shown the death penalty doesn’t deter crime. U.S. states using the death penalty have a similar murder rate to states that don’t use it, with opponents arguing the threat of capital punishment does not appear to prevent homicides.
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Others noted racial disparities in death penalty prosecutions, and the inherent risk the death penalty carries of executing an innocent person. Since 1973, at least 190 people have been exonerated from death row in the U.S., according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
“You never get to what you want because revenge does not reward you. That's all the death penalty is, is revenge,” said subcommittee member Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, who declined to sign off on the bill. “Frankly, life in prison without parole has to be one of the most painful, mentally torturing things I would think that you could go through.”
Bisignano also took issue with the fact that death penalty would only apply to law enforcement — who “signs up for” and are equipped for “dangerous duty” — and not extend to children killed in a school shooting.
“I think it's a political round. We keep playing with politics in election years,” he said. “And this … cop killer bill seems to be that thing that you want to put in your brochure, but I hope you'll put along with that that you excluded children killed in school shootings.”
Subcommittee member Sen. David Rowley, R-Spirit Lake, mentioned Algona Police Officer Kevin Cram, who was shot and killed last year as he tried to serve an arrest warrant.
“A husband. Father of three. Son. Grandson. That is who wants to be heard when this sensitive issue comes up,” Rowley said, “because their pain and suffering, regardless, goes on and on.”
Sen. Scott Webster, R-Bettendorf, who chaired the subcommittee, echoed Rowley.
“I know there's a lot of conversation about this doesn't deter anybody. But that closure that those parents need, or the wife, or the husband, or the kids need, should be considered also,” he said. “I agree with that. This is a difficult situation and I believe that we should back our police officers and our peace officers that work within our prisons. We should make sure that we realize and we know that they're out there defending us and we defend them.”
Lawmakers also are considering advancing a bill that stalled during last year’s session that would bring back the death penalty in Iowa for murder in the first degree when it involves kidnapping and sexual abuse offenses against a child.
Bill would ban so-called social credit scores
Financial institutions would be prohibited from declining to provide services based on an individual’s beliefs or social actions under legislation advanced by Republicans on a Senate subcommittee.
The legislation bars financial institutions from refusing to provide services based on a so-called social credit score, which is defined in the bill to include an individual’s religious beliefs, behaviors related to climate change, refusal to participate in diversity, equity and inclusion programs, and other social matters.
Republicans and conservative advocacy groups that spoke at a subcommittee hearing said the legislation is needed to protect people who hold conservative beliefs from political backlash from financial institutions like banks, credit unions and credit card companies.
Republican Iowa Sens. David Rowley, of Spirit Lake, and Lynn Evans, of Centerville, signed off on advancing the bill, Senate Study Bill 3094, to the full Iowa Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Sen. Herman Quirmbach, of Ames, declined to support the bill.
Iowa AG leads Texas defense letter
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird co-authored a multi-state letter showing support for Texas’ border enforcement actions as the protracted standoff between the state's governor and President Joe Biden’s administration continues.
Bird and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes co-led the letter, joined by 24 other Republican attorneys general and the Arizona State Legislature.
In the letter, the attorneys general argue that Texas has the constitutional right to conduct border enforcement at its southern border, including setting up razor wire fencing.
The U.S. Supreme Court this week cleared the way for Border Patrol agents to cut razor wire at the Texas border after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sued to prevent Border Patrol from intervening. The ruling did not impact Abbott’s ability to continue placing the razor wire.
Abbot has declared the rise in illegal border crossings an “invasion,” saying he has a constitutional duty to enforce border policies.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds last week joined most Republican governors in a statement defending Texas’ actions at the border.
“While the Biden Administration has opened the door wide for drug cartels, traffickers, and potential terrorists to cross our border, States have been left to fend for themselves," Bird said in a statement. "If the Biden Administration won’t do its job to secure our border and keep Americans safe, it should step aside to let the States do the job for them. Iowa proudly stands with Texas in this fight.”
Proposed bill would reintroduce death penalty for those who murder police
As written, the bill would make anyone convicted of first-degree murder eligible for the death penalty. But lawmakers said they would amend it to pertain only to someone who murders a law enforcement officer.
www.thegazette.com
Tax math is strictly for non-believers in Iowa
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 0 Replies
There were the loaves and fishes, the immaculate conception, and the immaculate reception.
“Do you believe in miracles?” Al Michaels asked as the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. “Yes!”
That’s especially true if you’re a Republican state lawmaker who wants to eliminate the income tax. Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, has crafted legislation that would, over time, do just that.
The plan would reduce the state income tax rate to a flat 3.65% in 2027. In the first couple of years, the elimination plan is less aggressive than a tax plan floated by Gov. Kim Reynolds, which would retroactively drop this year’s tax rate to 3.65% and cut it to 3.5% next year.
Reynolds’ plan would result in tax relief, and lost revenue, to the tune of $3.8 billion over five years. That’s a chunk of change.
Eliminating the income tax means axing nearly half of general fund revenues. But math is for the non-believers. It’s just loaves and fishes, folks. And fat cats will get the biggest servings from the miracle buffet.
First, Republicans will continue lowballing the state budget while socking away surpluses. In the governor’s general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2025, Reynolds could legally spend $9.7 billion but, will, instead, spend $8.9 billion. When the dust settles, according to the Legislative Services Agency, her budget will result in a $972.9 million surplus.
The current budget year, which ends in June, is projected to result in a $1.7 billion surplus. In 2023, the surplus was just over $1.8 billion.
A hefty portion of the surplus flows into the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which is projected to grow to nearly $3.9 billion in FY 2025. That’s money Republicans plan to use to cover the budget hole blown open by tax cuts, at least initially.
If you like funds, you’ll love the Senate bill. Some money from the Taxpayer Relief Fund will get dumped into what’s called the “Iowa Taxpayer Relief Trust Fund,” which will be invested. Then, 5% of the trust fund would get shoveled into the new “Income Tax Elimination Fund.” That will be used to fill the gap created by eliminating the income tax. Cross your fingers, and hope the economy doesn’t nose dive.
Whether the full Senate, House and governor are down with this Rube Goldberg machine and its pipes, buckets and funds, remains to be seen.
But the clear thread running through all these plans is the state must keep undercutting spending on a long list of priorities.
The never-ending thirst for tax cuts means, for instance, the state can’t extend postpartum care under Medicaid without kicking hundreds of people out of the program. That keeps the change “revenue neutral,” while we sit on a mountain of surplus revenue.
Mental health, public schools, universities, state parks, environmental protection and other services may get small budget increases. But after all the surplusing, funding has largely stagnated. But we surely will find billions to pay for private school scholarships.
This is serious stuff. Whatever tax structure we end up with likely will be permanent, even if political winds ever shift. Speaking of miracles.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
www.thegazette.com
“Do you believe in miracles?” Al Michaels asked as the U.S. hockey team beat the Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. “Yes!”
That’s especially true if you’re a Republican state lawmaker who wants to eliminate the income tax. Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, the chair of the Ways and Means Committee, has crafted legislation that would, over time, do just that.
The plan would reduce the state income tax rate to a flat 3.65% in 2027. In the first couple of years, the elimination plan is less aggressive than a tax plan floated by Gov. Kim Reynolds, which would retroactively drop this year’s tax rate to 3.65% and cut it to 3.5% next year.
Reynolds’ plan would result in tax relief, and lost revenue, to the tune of $3.8 billion over five years. That’s a chunk of change.
Eliminating the income tax means axing nearly half of general fund revenues. But math is for the non-believers. It’s just loaves and fishes, folks. And fat cats will get the biggest servings from the miracle buffet.
First, Republicans will continue lowballing the state budget while socking away surpluses. In the governor’s general fund budget for Fiscal Year 2025, Reynolds could legally spend $9.7 billion but, will, instead, spend $8.9 billion. When the dust settles, according to the Legislative Services Agency, her budget will result in a $972.9 million surplus.
The current budget year, which ends in June, is projected to result in a $1.7 billion surplus. In 2023, the surplus was just over $1.8 billion.
A hefty portion of the surplus flows into the Taxpayer Relief Fund, which is projected to grow to nearly $3.9 billion in FY 2025. That’s money Republicans plan to use to cover the budget hole blown open by tax cuts, at least initially.
If you like funds, you’ll love the Senate bill. Some money from the Taxpayer Relief Fund will get dumped into what’s called the “Iowa Taxpayer Relief Trust Fund,” which will be invested. Then, 5% of the trust fund would get shoveled into the new “Income Tax Elimination Fund.” That will be used to fill the gap created by eliminating the income tax. Cross your fingers, and hope the economy doesn’t nose dive.
Whether the full Senate, House and governor are down with this Rube Goldberg machine and its pipes, buckets and funds, remains to be seen.
But the clear thread running through all these plans is the state must keep undercutting spending on a long list of priorities.
The never-ending thirst for tax cuts means, for instance, the state can’t extend postpartum care under Medicaid without kicking hundreds of people out of the program. That keeps the change “revenue neutral,” while we sit on a mountain of surplus revenue.
Mental health, public schools, universities, state parks, environmental protection and other services may get small budget increases. But after all the surplusing, funding has largely stagnated. But we surely will find billions to pay for private school scholarships.
This is serious stuff. Whatever tax structure we end up with likely will be permanent, even if political winds ever shift. Speaking of miracles.
(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com
Opinion: Tax math is strictly for non-believers in Iowa
State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, and state Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, speak with reporters Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, at …
www.thegazette.com
Opinion Forget ‘polarization.’ The problem is right-wing extremism.
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 57 Replies
Much of mainstream political coverage characterizes “polarization” to be an undisputed, self-evident and defining feature of American politics. The phenomenon is supposed to explain the rise of MAGA extremists, political gridlock and a host of other ills.
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One problem: We don’t have polarization. We have right-wing extremism.
One need only look at primary elections this year to see which party craves mainstream support. The notion that progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) represents the heart of the Democratic Party is clearly wrong. As the Associated Press reports, “New York City Democrats chose Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who is more of a centrist, over several progressive rivals. … About 30 miles north in the Hudson River Valley, a powerful establishment candidate, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, defeated a state lawmaker running to his left and backed by Ocasio-Cortez.”
Axios similarly noted at the end of July that of the 22 primaries in safe Democratic seats in which a progressive candidate challenged a more moderate one, the moderate candidate won 14 — or about two-thirds — of the races. That included victories for “Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the only pro-life Democrat in the House; a come-from-behind victory by Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown over progressive favorite Nina Turner; and a landslide defeat for former Rep. Donna Edwards against Glenn Ivey in Maryland.”
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And where the more progressive candidates won, as with John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s Senate contest and Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin’s, they often did so by stressing their support for a center-left economic agenda and their own working-class roots.
Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy of the moderate think tank Third Way, tells me, “Moderates and mainstream Democrats romped with only a handful of exceptions.” He points to a 77 percent success rate in primaries for candidates endorsed by the moderate NewDem Action Fund. These Democrats, he adds, “are much better positioned to appeal to swing voters in the majority-making red and purple states and districts. Midterms are always rough for the party in power in the first term of a presidency, but if Dems over-perform historical trends in November, it will be because they put up mainstream candidates to face extremist Republicans.”
Meanwhile, MAGA extremists have dominated GOP primaries, turning a potentially strong year into one in which the Ohio Senate seat is at risk (thanks to Republican candidate J.D. Vance) and the Pennsylvania Senate and governor are leaning Democratic due to the candidates’ extreme views. And while Arizona’s Senate race was supposed to be a winnable seat for Republicans, the moderate incumbent Democrat, Sen. Mark Kelly, leads MAGA favorite Blake Masters by a substantial margin in some polls.
The GOP’s list of nominees is stacked with election deniers, prompting many staunch conservatives to refuse to back them. Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), for example, vowed to defeat Republican Kari Lake in the Arizona gubernatorial race. Likewise, a flock of Pennsylvania Republicans have endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor over Doug Mastriano, an election denier and forced-birth advocate.
It’s not polarization when one party recognizes the results of a democratic election and the other does not. That’s radicalization of the GOP. Nor is it polarization when the GOP reverts to positions it has not held for decades (e.g., banning abortion nationwide, ending the protected status of entitlements) while the Democratic Party accommodates its most conservative members as it crafts popular legislation (e.g., paring back proposals to allow the government to negotiate prices for pharmaceutical drugs).
Consider also the parties’ different treatment of abortion. Republicans are furiously scrubbing from their websites their extreme positions in favor of forcing women to give birth. Meanwhile, Democrats are loudly touting their support for Roe v. Wade, which more than 60 percent of the public favors. One party is trying to conceal its extremism; the other is advertising its mainstream views.
“Polarization” is an easy dodge for those in the mainstream media who remain addicted to false balance and moral equivalence. Instead of pointing to one party’s descent into delusions and radicalism, they advance the false idea that both parties are becoming extreme. Perhaps the media should level with voters: We have only one mainstream, pro-democratic national party.
Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
One problem: We don’t have polarization. We have right-wing extremism.
One need only look at primary elections this year to see which party craves mainstream support. The notion that progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) represents the heart of the Democratic Party is clearly wrong. As the Associated Press reports, “New York City Democrats chose Dan Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who is more of a centrist, over several progressive rivals. … About 30 miles north in the Hudson River Valley, a powerful establishment candidate, Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, defeated a state lawmaker running to his left and backed by Ocasio-Cortez.”
Axios similarly noted at the end of July that of the 22 primaries in safe Democratic seats in which a progressive candidate challenged a more moderate one, the moderate candidate won 14 — or about two-thirds — of the races. That included victories for “Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar, the only pro-life Democrat in the House; a come-from-behind victory by Ohio Rep. Shontel Brown over progressive favorite Nina Turner; and a landslide defeat for former Rep. Donna Edwards against Glenn Ivey in Maryland.”
Follow Jennifer Rubin's opinionsFollow
And where the more progressive candidates won, as with John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s Senate contest and Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin’s, they often did so by stressing their support for a center-left economic agenda and their own working-class roots.
Jim Kessler, executive vice president for policy of the moderate think tank Third Way, tells me, “Moderates and mainstream Democrats romped with only a handful of exceptions.” He points to a 77 percent success rate in primaries for candidates endorsed by the moderate NewDem Action Fund. These Democrats, he adds, “are much better positioned to appeal to swing voters in the majority-making red and purple states and districts. Midterms are always rough for the party in power in the first term of a presidency, but if Dems over-perform historical trends in November, it will be because they put up mainstream candidates to face extremist Republicans.”
Meanwhile, MAGA extremists have dominated GOP primaries, turning a potentially strong year into one in which the Ohio Senate seat is at risk (thanks to Republican candidate J.D. Vance) and the Pennsylvania Senate and governor are leaning Democratic due to the candidates’ extreme views. And while Arizona’s Senate race was supposed to be a winnable seat for Republicans, the moderate incumbent Democrat, Sen. Mark Kelly, leads MAGA favorite Blake Masters by a substantial margin in some polls.
The GOP’s list of nominees is stacked with election deniers, prompting many staunch conservatives to refuse to back them. Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), for example, vowed to defeat Republican Kari Lake in the Arizona gubernatorial race. Likewise, a flock of Pennsylvania Republicans have endorsed Democrat Josh Shapiro for governor over Doug Mastriano, an election denier and forced-birth advocate.
It’s not polarization when one party recognizes the results of a democratic election and the other does not. That’s radicalization of the GOP. Nor is it polarization when the GOP reverts to positions it has not held for decades (e.g., banning abortion nationwide, ending the protected status of entitlements) while the Democratic Party accommodates its most conservative members as it crafts popular legislation (e.g., paring back proposals to allow the government to negotiate prices for pharmaceutical drugs).
Consider also the parties’ different treatment of abortion. Republicans are furiously scrubbing from their websites their extreme positions in favor of forcing women to give birth. Meanwhile, Democrats are loudly touting their support for Roe v. Wade, which more than 60 percent of the public favors. One party is trying to conceal its extremism; the other is advertising its mainstream views.
“Polarization” is an easy dodge for those in the mainstream media who remain addicted to false balance and moral equivalence. Instead of pointing to one party’s descent into delusions and radicalism, they advance the false idea that both parties are becoming extreme. Perhaps the media should level with voters: We have only one mainstream, pro-democratic national party.
University of Iowa Health Care eyes former ACT property for pharmacy services
- By cigaretteman
- Off Topic
- 0 Replies
The University of Iowa is looking to lease 65,760 square feet of warehouse, office and support space on ACT Inc.’s former Iowa City campus for use by UI Health Care’s pharmacy services group.
The agreements, going next week before the Board of Regents, would be for two adjoining facilities owned by ACT Circle Holdings of Bettendorf.
The first 20-year lease would allow UIHC’s pharmacy group to use 47,760 square feet of warehouse space at 2100 ACT Circle in Iowa City for “specialized pharmacy operations and mail order prescription fulfillment.”
The second 20-year lease would enable the pharmacy group to use 18,000 square feet in an adjoining building at 2101 ACT Circle for office and support space, according to regent documents.
Combined, the two facilities would house 95 UI employees — including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, business managers and other support staff.
“UIHC would relocate staff to these new facilities from both an existing leased facility (which ends its lease term in 2024) and from within the UIHC main hospital campus,” according to regent documents, reporting the facilities together would support UIHC pharmacy operations, other health care facilities in the area and “provide mail order prescriptions to Iowans across the state.”
The proposed leases would have UI paying $31,442 a month for the warehouse space and $18,750 a month for the office space — or a combined $602,304 a year, which amounts to $12 million over 20 years.
That $12 million is without consumer price index escalations the parties have agreed would increase rent for both buildings at years four, six, nine, 11, 14, 16 and 19.
News of UI intentions for the property come less than a year after ACT — an education testing company with a long Iowa City history — announced plans to lay off 106 employees and start selling more of its property off Scott Boulevard in east Iowa City.
That main Iowa City campus spans 93 acres. ACT Chief Executive Officer Janet Goodwin last year told The Gazette the company was selling due to changes in how employees work — with many preferring remote work from home.
In 2022, ACT sold its Tyler Building on the Iowa City campus for $8.7 million to the Iowa City Community School District to use as professional development space for educators, online learning support and possibly career and technical education.
As part of the UIHC lease agreement, ACT has agreed to make facilities improvements over the term of the lease. UIHC will be responsible for snow removal, landscaping, building maintenance, janitorial work, insurance and real estate taxes, while ACT will be responsible for the overall building structure.
The lease, should it gain regent support, will compound UIHC’s explosive growth — signing leases for clinics on both the far west and far east ends of the state and buying Mercy Hospital in Iowa City through a $28 million bankruptcy sale.
With that purchase, UIHC added nearly 1,000 former Mercy employees, 192 licensed beds and 10 clinic locations across the region — including the main Mercy campus in Iowa City.
UIHC also is constructing a $1 billion inpatient tower on its main Iowa City campus, a new $525.6 million hospital in North Liberty, a $95 million expansion of its existing inpatient tower and a $37 million upgrade to its main emergency room — among many other projects.
www.thegazette.com
The agreements, going next week before the Board of Regents, would be for two adjoining facilities owned by ACT Circle Holdings of Bettendorf.
The first 20-year lease would allow UIHC’s pharmacy group to use 47,760 square feet of warehouse space at 2100 ACT Circle in Iowa City for “specialized pharmacy operations and mail order prescription fulfillment.”
The second 20-year lease would enable the pharmacy group to use 18,000 square feet in an adjoining building at 2101 ACT Circle for office and support space, according to regent documents.
Combined, the two facilities would house 95 UI employees — including pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, business managers and other support staff.
“UIHC would relocate staff to these new facilities from both an existing leased facility (which ends its lease term in 2024) and from within the UIHC main hospital campus,” according to regent documents, reporting the facilities together would support UIHC pharmacy operations, other health care facilities in the area and “provide mail order prescriptions to Iowans across the state.”
The proposed leases would have UI paying $31,442 a month for the warehouse space and $18,750 a month for the office space — or a combined $602,304 a year, which amounts to $12 million over 20 years.
That $12 million is without consumer price index escalations the parties have agreed would increase rent for both buildings at years four, six, nine, 11, 14, 16 and 19.
ACT changes
News of UI intentions for the property come less than a year after ACT — an education testing company with a long Iowa City history — announced plans to lay off 106 employees and start selling more of its property off Scott Boulevard in east Iowa City.
That main Iowa City campus spans 93 acres. ACT Chief Executive Officer Janet Goodwin last year told The Gazette the company was selling due to changes in how employees work — with many preferring remote work from home.
In 2022, ACT sold its Tyler Building on the Iowa City campus for $8.7 million to the Iowa City Community School District to use as professional development space for educators, online learning support and possibly career and technical education.
As part of the UIHC lease agreement, ACT has agreed to make facilities improvements over the term of the lease. UIHC will be responsible for snow removal, landscaping, building maintenance, janitorial work, insurance and real estate taxes, while ACT will be responsible for the overall building structure.
UIHC expansion
The lease, should it gain regent support, will compound UIHC’s explosive growth — signing leases for clinics on both the far west and far east ends of the state and buying Mercy Hospital in Iowa City through a $28 million bankruptcy sale.
With that purchase, UIHC added nearly 1,000 former Mercy employees, 192 licensed beds and 10 clinic locations across the region — including the main Mercy campus in Iowa City.
UIHC also is constructing a $1 billion inpatient tower on its main Iowa City campus, a new $525.6 million hospital in North Liberty, a $95 million expansion of its existing inpatient tower and a $37 million upgrade to its main emergency room — among many other projects.
UI Health Care eyes former ACT property for pharmacy services
The University of Iowa is looking to lease 65,760 square feet of warehouse, office, and support space on ACT Inc.’s former Iowa City campus for use by UI Health Care’s pharmacy services group.
www.thegazette.com
