I think education is the No. 1 item this year, says Ed Wiederstein, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation president. The question is where to find the money. Sen. Jack Kibbie, D-Emmetsburg, also agrees education will be the dominant issue. That s been one that both parties and both party s leaders agree on, Kibbie says. Teachers salaries seem to be the hot-button issue.
Agriculture also has a number of items on the agenda.
Republicans retained their hold on the House and Senate in the recent elections. That means the GOP leadership in both houses will set the agenda, and the men and women who head the committees are all Republicans. The relatively calm relationship the past two years between GOP legislative leaders and Democratic Gov. Tom Vilsack might be upset. With another gubernatorial election less than two years away, it appears doubtful Vilsack will get any honeymoon from Republican leaders this session. While he gets generally high marks from farm organization leaders, he has not been able to get an ethanol mandate through the Legislature.