Fair Housing Art Contest Offers C.R. Students $1,000 Scholarships What does home mean to you?
That s the inspiration of a new art contest open in Cedar Rapids that was launched in an effort to offer educational opportunities for all students who are U.S. citizens or non-citizens, homeschooled, virtual learning or in person. The intent is to also promote the ideas that
fair housing is everyone s right to choose housing free from discrimination and
engage students about fair housing by providing them the opportunity to creatively educate the Cedar Rapids community . Home and Belonging: What Home Means To Me encourages students to submit pieces of art for approval that meet that theme, and those can include a poster for grades K-8 or a spoken word or written entry for 9-12.
As owner and operator of Trackside Bar and Grill in Peosta, Lundgren is particularly well versed in what bars and restaurants have gone through in the past year in trying to adapt and survive amid the pandemic. That gave Lundgren a key vantage point in helping shape what state assistance for small businesses in Iowa might look like. Thankfully, Gov. Kim Reynolds listened.
Last week’s announcement that the Iowa Restaurant and Bar Relief Grant Program would provide one-time grants of up to $25,000 to businesses whose gross sales decreased in the second and third quarters of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019 was equivalent to a life preserver tossed to these establishments.
Another legislative session, another GOP push to siphon money from Iowa s public schools The Register s editorial, Des Moines Register
In condition of the state, Reynolds calls for open enrollment in every school district
Replay Video
It’s deja vu.
Republicans controlling the Iowa Legislature and governor’s office are focused on making sure everyone can have a gun, no one has an abortion and state and local government is further starved by tax cuts. You’d think after four years in charge, they’d get some new ideas.
Nope.
Enter more proposals for “school choice.”
That phrase, as everyone knows by now, is an attempt to put lipstick on the pig of siphoning taxpayer money from public schools to funnel to private schools. And, largely, to Christian schools. Also, largely, to help families that already have the resources to send their kids to private schools.
Iowa State Treasurer, Michael Fitzgerald, has announced an increase in the state tax deduction amount for College Savings Iowa 529 plans for 2021. “Iowa taxpayers who are College Savings Iowa account owners can now deduct the first $3,474 they contribute per beneficiary account from their state taxable income in 2021,” he says. “This could mean a deduction of up to $13,896 for a family of four when both parents have accounts for each of their children. It’s an ideal scenario for those who want to keep more money in their pocket while saving for future education.” College Savings Iowa is a 529 program that lets parents, grandparents, friends and relatives invest for education expenses on behalf of a future scholar. The money can be used to pay for qualified expenses, such as tuition, room, board, books, supplies and more at any accredited program across the country. The educational institution does not have to be in Iowa and includes colleges, universities, community college