Weird Iowa Rewind: 'Bamboozled' on Homosexuality, Paintball Stick Up, Mudsliding Away, How Flexible is Gabby Douglas?

As weird as ever, Iowa never disappoints.

Schneider Statehouse Report: Education Plan in Conference Committee

Republicans and Democrats differ on allowable growth.

By Sen. Charles Schneider Some of the most important work that will get done during this legislative session will take place in conference committees. Conference committees are created when there are competing House and Senate versions of a particular bill. This is common when the chambers are controlled by different parties, as is the case this session. Conference committee members meet several times to try to resolve differences between competing bills.  Education reform is currently in a conference committee comprised of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans. Conference committee members have been meeting over the last few weeks in an attempt to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of education reform. …

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Best of Waukee Craigslist: Death-Ray Parts, Haunted Grinder, Will Trade Mustang for Brain Surgery

And – wait for it – Craigslist dating isn’t working out (as if you didn’t know that).

Before we get to those woebegotten Craigslist daters, a word of warning: Down south in Missouri, someone wants to give away a collection of death ray parts. Bring minions. They’re heavy. Okey-dokey. And there’s this any aluminum foil user can relate to, and this offer to trade a 2006 Mustang for brain surgery to remove or suction out an egg-sized cyst. Poor sucker tried to get at the cyst, located behind the right eyeball, but has “been trembling and had too bad of a headache to attempt any solo surgery.” And some folks in Wisconsin want to give away winter. Don’t we all? Is your coffee grinder haunted? This one is. Despite the drama, it apparently makes a fine cup o’ joe. We don’t make this stuff up. They do. Around the Patches Apparently…

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Schneider Statehouse Report: Senate Republicans Introduce Income Tax Relief

Flat-tax option eliminates federal deductibility and replaces itemized deductions with a higher standard deduction.

By Sen. Charles Schneider Iowa taxpayers are plagued with headaches every year as they prepare their state income tax returns, thanks to our complex tax system. Iowa has nine marginal tax brackets, ranging from 0.36 percent (the lowest Iowa tax bracket) to 8.98 percent (the highest Iowa tax bracket). This last week, I co-sponsored a bill that creates a new, simplified option taxpayers can use to calculate their income tax liability. The new option flattens the Iowa income tax brackets, eliminates federal deductibility, and replaces itemized deductions with a higher standard deduction. Compared to current law, the proposed plan provides an overall 5 percent reduction in income tax liability in the first year of enactment, an overall 10 …

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Ask the Patch Pros: All Your Lawn and Garden Care Questions

Break out the rakes, fuel the lawn mower and start rattling those tomato cages -- it's spring.

For some of you, you've waited all winter for this. For others, it's the beginning of a long, grueling battle with the yard that doesn't end until it snows. Yes, spring is here and it means time to take care of your lawn and garden. But, so many questions. What should you do to get your lawn ready for the season? Do you need to aerate? When do you plant tomatoes? What type of grass seed is best to use? Thankfully, we have some helpful professionals lined up to answer all of your lawn and garden questions. Just pose your questions in the comment section below and the professionals will respond beginning on Wednesday morning. Check back frequently. Here's our panel of pros who've graciously agreed to answer questions: Mark Coleman, Geoff …

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Quality Care, Nature Care

11:34 am on Friday, April 19, 2013

Thank you everybody for your questions! If you would like more questions answered in the future or just information about your lawn, visit quality-care.com or the Iowa State University extension. Also, don't forget to like us on Facebook for updates on Quality Care and local turf conditions! -Mark, Geoff, and Craig   more ›

Should 'Pink Slime' Safety Data be Made Public: Iowa Patch Poll

Judge blocks release of food safety data for lean finely textured beef, which gained the better known nickname of "pink slime."

That incendiary term "pink slime" is back in the news again. A judge ruled recently that Iowa State University should not release food safety research conducted for Beef Products Inc.'s lean finely textured beef, which earned the infamous nickname. Judge Dale Ruigh said releasing the information would cause “irreparable harm” to Beef Products because the information is proprietary. Allowing the information to be made public might also harm Iowa State laboratories because companies would go elsewhere for testing to avoid records becoming public, according to a an Associated Press report in the Iowa City Press-Citizen. Should "Pink Slime" Safety Data be Public? Vote in the poll and tell us in the comments.

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Joe Stutler

11:03 am on Saturday, April 20, 2013

Um....what?   more ›

Iowa Patch Poll: Are Pink Locker Rooms Discriminatory?

The University of Iowa has a pink locker room for opponents. But speakers at a state LGBTQ conference last week say that is discriminatory and possibly illegal. What do you think? Vote in our poll and tell us your views in comments below.

Is pink a color for girls and sissies? A way to shame athletic opponents who have to dress in a pink locker room? Or even discriminatory and illegal? Pink locker rooms -- such as the opponent's locker room at the University of Iowa and others around the country -- are about shame, implying that a football team’s opponents are girlish, dainty and weak, said Jill Gaulding at a state LGBTQ Youth conference last week, the Des Moines Register reports. Former U of I football coach Hayden Fry, who first had the pink decor installed, said it's a way to psych out the opposing team. But speakers at the conference said the use of pink to insult men is sexist and homophobic because it reinforces a notion of masculinity that’s focused on being …

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