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Letters to Editor

Dislikes State Treasurer comments at levy appeal

Letter to the Editor, At the June 26th meeting of the State Appeal Board, all three members of the board voted in support of upholding Hamilton Hospital dba Van Diest Medical Center FY 2027 property tax levy. In the meeting, board member, State Treasurer Roby Smith chose to scold the hospital board members for their budgeting and levy process. I find his scolding very rich, coming from Iowa’s chief financial officer who has overseen the states FY 26’ train wreck of a budget. One billion plus dollars in the hole, using the states rainy day funds to keep the lights on. No rain, just ...

Petitioners takeaways from the Van Diest Medical Center Tax Levy appeal decision

Viewpoint HEADING On behalf of the more than 400 Hamilton County residents who signed the petition challenging the Van Diest Medical Center (VDMC) property tax levy, we are disappointed by the State Appeal Board's decision not to reduce the requested levy. While we respect the Board's decision, we believe the hearing raised important issues that deserve continued public discussion. Our petition was based on two fundamental concerns. First, we believe the property tax levy is not necessary for Van Diest Medical Center to continue operating successfully. Based on the hospital's ...

Overbearing management

Letter to the editor, I think it is time that we rein in our city fathers and have a moratorium on condemning and buying property until they can take care of the property that they own. They can’t even tell you how many properties they own in Webster City. They set standards that you have to follow, but they need a reminder that they have property they forgot they have or they change the standard so they don’t have to care for them. For instance, if you buy a lot from them and build an expensive home, the city lots around you don’t have to be mowed and kept pretty. But your ...

Petitioners Takeaways From the Van Diest Medical Center Tax Levy Appeal Decision

Viewpoint: On behalf of the more than 400 Hamilton County residents who signed the petition challenging the Van Diest Medical Center property tax levy, we are disappointed by the State Appeal Board's decision not to reduce the requested levy. While we respect the Board's decision, we believe the hearing raised important issues that deserve continued public discussion. Our petition was based on two fundamental concerns. First, we believe the property tax levy is not necessary for Van Diest Medical Center to continue operating successfully. Based on the hospital's financial ...

Vote to stop the crazy

If we are supposedly the most powerful nation on earth, then this mid-term election in November is the most important thing you will do in your life. Because it is not “We the People,” it is “I the Dictator" will do what I want. “I the Dictator don’t care about inflation or the people and just feed my ego. I will start a war with a nation that has a choke point on oil and try to convince you it was about something else. That “drill baby drill” really worked, didn’t it? Republicans have been setting this up for years, starting with Citizens United to get unlimited what I ...

The fossil fuel industry’s control of our government

To the editor: The world as we know it today was built on the back of burning fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this process has come at a tremendous cost. Emissions from burning fossil fuels are rapidly warming our world at a rate that has never occurred in the history of our planet. Why, then, do we continue to burn planet-killing fossil fuels? One primary reason is the tremendous control the fossil fuel industry has over our government. The industry spends approximately $250 million per year lobbying elected officials. The vast majority of this money goes to Republican officials ...