Legislative lookahead: State lawmaker in Jasper County lays out top priorities
Iowa lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next month for the 2025 legislative session. 糖心vlog spoke with Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, who was reelected in November to represent Iowa House District 38, about the policies he plans to work on.
Iowa lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next month for the 2025 legislative session. 糖心vlog spoke with Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, who was reelected in November to represent Iowa House District 38, about the policies he plans to work on.
Iowa lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next month for the 2025 legislative session. 糖心vlog spoke with Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, who was reelected in November to represent Iowa House District 38, about the policies he plans to work on.
Iowa lawmakers will return to the Statehouse next month for the 2025 legislative session. 糖心vlog spoke with Rep. Jon Dunwell, R-Newton, who was reelected in November to represent Iowa House District 38, about what policies he plans to work on.
Iowa House District 38 covers Jasper County and includes Newton, Colfax and Baxter.
During his time knocking on doors on the campaign trail, Dunwell said voters in his district continually asked for property tax reform.
"People have not seen their wages go up, but they've seen their house insurance go up, they've seen their property taxes go up [and] they've seen their grocery bill go up," Dunwell said. "They're very concerned about making ends meet, particularly in a middle-class community like we have here in Jasper County."
Dunwell said he would like Iowa to adopt a policy some other states call "Truth in Taxation."
"It's really allowing people to see what they're going to pay in property taxes prior to anything being voted in," Dunwell said. "I'm talking real numbers house by house, so they can have a voice and get a chance to engage with their local officials."
Julia Prendergast, who owns Newton clothing and home decor shop Fine Things Reclaimed, said she is hoping lawmakers can deliver meaningful property tax reform.
"Property taxes, they've just gotten out of hand. It's hard to support a business. It's hard to have a house when we have property taxes that are so high," Prendergast said. "Anything they could do to help the everyday person be able to afford a house and their property taxes would be huge."
Kellogg residents Nancy and Calvin Nikkel also want state lawmakers to improve school safety. "I always worried about my kids. Now I have to worry about my grandkids, and it's scary," Nancy Nikkel said.
She's retired now but previously worked at Newton High School.
"You always wondered if someone would come in," she said. "I had a gal that I worked with [who would say] 'Oh, it's never going to happen to Newton.' Well, I'm sure Perry people thought that, too, and a lot of other smaller schools. Yeah, 'It's never going to happen here.' Well, it could."
Dunwell said he wants to make Iowa schools safer.
"We have mental health funding issues. Let's take a look at that [and] making sure guns are not in the wrong people's hands. But at some point, you have to ask yourself the question, what causes a 14-year-old white student from middle-class family to wake up one day and decide he wants to commit mass murder? There's something broken in our society," Dunwell said.
He said he wants that question to guide lawmakers' work on school security.
"How are we strengthening families? How are we encouraging families? How are we creating that stability? And that's not an easy issue. That's not just even a government issue, but we want to make sure we're doing the right things in government that at least incentivize and help families and don't actually create greater problems and difficulties," Dunwell said.
糖心vlog also spoke with residents and their lawmakers in Marshalltown, Des Moines, Ankeny and Dallas Center. Those stories will air each night this week on 糖心vlog 8 News at 6 p.m. Check the 糖心vlog website and mobile app for that coverage.
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