State Sen. Eric Giddens (D-Cedar Falls)

Greetings friends and neighbors! On Tuesday last week, we had an extremely special day at the Capitol – University of Northern Iowa Day! UNI Day is always one of my favorite days of the session. I got to spend time visiting with students, faculty, staff, and administrators who do incredible work that strengthens our state and builds a brighter future for us all. Many of them are old friends from my days working at UNI, and many others are simply great friends from our community. One of the best things about UNI Day is the string quartet ensemble that fills the Capitol rotunda with beautiful music – a classy touch like nothing else during the legislative session!

And speaking of UNI music, my son Henry is a freshman music major at UNI with a concentration in jazz studies. He plays string bass and bass guitar, and on Thursday I got to see him perform in his bass studio recital. I’m very proud of Henry and I’m very grateful for the faculty and staff who work with him in the UNI School of Music.

What’s Going on With AEAs?

The future of Iowa’s Area Education Agencies has been the talk of the legislative session so far in 2024. Gov. Reynolds and the majority party are pushing legislation that would slash AEA services and funding, threatening the whole system with instability and potential collapse.

They’re doing this despite the pleas of Iowa families, students, educators, and school districts, who love their AEAs and value the services and coordination they provide at the local level.

Here in the Senate, the latest plan to slash the AEAs was scheduled for debate and a vote last Tuesday – until, suddenly, it wasn’t. My friends across the aisle pulled the bill from consideration, showing dissent among their members and proving that public pressure is working.

It’s far from over, and we suspect they will bring this bill back up for debate. But, in the meantime, tell Republican senators to vote no. My friends across the aisle are having a hard time ignoring Iowans’ support for AEAs. That’s why they pulled the bill this week. But we know this isn’t over, and we’ve got to keep up the pressure.

We expect Gov. Reynolds and some majority party leaders to keep twisting arms to push these bad bills through. Lawmakers need to know Iowans won’t accept a bill that cuts critical educational services for our kids.

Nominate an outstanding teacher

The nominating period for the 2025 Iowa Teacher of Year is now open through April 1. Anyone is welcome to submit a nomination form to honor the outstanding teacher in their life. Nine semi-finalists representing teachers from all regions of the state will be selected and will interview in-person with educational leaders for the honor of being selected as Iowa’s 2025 Teacher of the Year. Nomination form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMW-TLDylk6I7lwCog4_SU2_2wi7IaC2rIVtjcMaXc5lhnAg/viewform

Trout stocking starts March 21

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources will release between 1,000 to 2,000 rainbow trout in lakes across Iowa in March and April as part of its cool weather trout program. Anglers need a valid fishing license and must pay the trout fee to fish for or possess trout. The daily limit is five trout per licensed angler with a possession limit of 10. Iowans 15 or younger can fish for trout with a properly licensed adult, but they must limit their catch to one daily limit.

2022 Census of Agriculture

The USDA recently released the 2022 Census of Agriculture, spanning more than 6 million data points about America’s farms and ranches down to the county level. Highlights from the report include:

-There were 1.9 million farms and ranches (down 7% from 2017) with an average size of 463 acres (up 5%) on 880 million acres of farmland (down 2%). That’s 39% of all U.S. land.

-Family-owned and operated farms accounted for 95% of all U.S. farms and operated 84% of land in farms.

-U.S. farms and ranches produced $543 billion in agricultural products, up from $389 billion in 2017. With farm production expenses of $424 billion, U.S. farms had net cash income of $152 billion. Average farm income rose to $79,790. A total of 43% of farms had positive net cash farm income in 2022.

-The number of producers under age 35 was 296,480, comprising 9% of all producers.

-In 2022, 1.2 million female producers accounted for 36% of all producers.

Accounting Award

The UNI Department of Accounting has received the inaugural KPMG Accounting Program Innovation Award from the American Accounting Association. The award comes after the inaugural semester of UNI’s new hybrid accounting program, which was created to help address a shortage of accounting professionals.

State Senator Eric Giddens represents Iowa Senate District 38 including Cedar Falls, Hudson, Traer, Dysart, Evansdale, Elk Run Heights, Gilbertville, Washburn, LaPorte City and Mount Auburn. Contact Sen. Giddens at 319-230-0578 or eric.giddens@legis.iowa.gov.