State Senator Mark Zieman's Highlights from the senate

On Thursday, Kathryn Skilton of Nashua was honored by the Senate as a winner of the statewide “Write Women Back Into History Essay Contest”. This is the fourth consecutive year that Kathryn has placed in the contest. Honoring a young person for a job well done is one of my favorite tasks. Unfortunately, the poor choices some of our young adults make reflect unfavorably on this generation, so it is indeed a pleasure to recognize Kathryn as an outstanding example among her colleagues.

The governor signed into law the strongest pseudoephredrine restriction in the country. There will be nearly 80 products that contain this drug that can still be sold over the counter in stores other than pharmacies. I fear that this is only a tiny step on the road to solving a much larger problem. This should aid our law enforcement officials in their fight to shut down meth labs.

As citizens of Iowa, we all need to be aware of our surroundings. If you suspect illegal activity, it should be reported to law enforcement officials. The drug problem is of such a huge magnitude that we must keep focused on this crisis. More than 80% of the meth used in Iowa is shipped into our state, not manufactured here. It is easy to see the importance of an observant public.

The week ended on a bright note with a visit to the Capitol from Don and Thea Thies, Waukon, and their son, Ryan. Accompanying them was Ryan’s sponsor Jo Schwartz. Ryan is active in the organization, Future Business Leaders of America. I enjoyed escorting them around the Senate and would encourage more of you to make the trip to Des Moines during the legislative session.

My next town meeting will be at the Chickasaw County Farm Bureau office in New Hampton, on Saturday, March 26th. Please join Representative Quirk and I at 9:30 am for an update on legislative issues.

In closing, I send greetings to you all for a happy, joyous Easter holiday.