Iowa Legislature Public Hearings

Laura Hessburg [Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence]

CON

Comments will be on HSB 202 Justice Systems Appropriations bill

Nicole Loew []

PRO

P.H.D. candidate with emphasis on sexual and reproductive health, has conducted current research focused on Iowa women with an understanding of how fiscal allocations might impact Iowa's economic potential and social landscape.

Molly Hanson [Iowa Rivers Revival]

CON

We cannot zero out funding for dam safety mitigation and water trails. The health and safety of Iowans depends on those projects being funded.

Stefan Gailans [Practical Farmers of Iowa]

CON

The recently proposed legislation that cuts funding to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University is troubling. This year marks both the 30th anniversary of the Leopold Center. In the late 1980s, the Leopold Center provided much of the funding that supported onfarm research conducted by Practical Farmers of Iowa, a farmerled nonprofit organization whose mission is to strengthen farms and communities through farmerled investigation and information sharing. Those early onfarm research trials involved farmers testing ways to maintain or improve productivity while reducing inputs (fertilizer, herbicide, etc.). To paraphrase several founding members of Practical Farmers: Those trials paved the way for showing that there were different and better ways of doing things. In the words of Vic Madsen, who farms near Audubon, Through Practical Farmers onfarm research I have learned and adopted things I didnt know I could do on the farm. The Leopold Center's support is extremely important to Practical Farmers of Iowa and to a great deal of Iowans researching ways Iowa agriculture can be more sustainable.More recently the Leopold Center has supported academic research on cover crops, extended croprotations, and prairie stripsstudies that directly informed the state of Iowas Nutrient Reduction Strategy released in 2013.These studies have found improvements in crop productivity, weed management, and overall farmer profitability while also reducing pollution to surface and ground water.Put frankly, the Leopold Center has supported onfarm research, supported academic research invaluable to farmers, and supported the training of agricultural scientists for 30 years. Why cut funding to this nationallyrecognized institution whose work has been benefitting Iowans for 30 years?

Juliet Bascom [The Volunteer Physician Network]

CON

The VPN provides free specialty care to 2,500 3,500 Iowans a year

Kathleen Delate []

CON

I am requesting that funding for the Leopold Center be continued to support its great work in helping Iowa farmers deal with regulations related to maintaining our water and soil quality.

Nancy Robertson [Crisis Intervention Service]

CON

As a director of a comprehensive shelter, sexual assault, and violent crime program in rural southcentral Iowa I am extremely concerned about the proposed 26% cuts to victim services. This would severely impact our ability to serve victims throughout our twelve county service area. We currently operate one of eight remaining shelters in the state. Our ability to continue doing so would be greatly impacted by a cut of this size and likely would lead us to needing to close the shelter. This would mean that the 150 women, men, and children that we provided safe shelter to last year would be required to travel to Iowa City or Des Moines for shelter, if those shelter happened to have beds available. Additionally, we would lack the resources to respond to the 631 sexual assault victims we worked with last year. This would mean victims could have to undergo a sexual assault exam and criminal proceedings against their perpetrator on their own. Please, please do not revictimize these individuals by leaving them without the assistance needed to bring their perpetrators to justice. Please do not leave these victims without a safe shelter to escape the violence.

Phoebe Clark [Planned Parenthood of the Heartland ]

CON

Planned Parenthood and the Iowa Family Planning Network have made it possible for me to finish my degree without worrying about getting pregnant and needing abortion services. Without their funding for my IUD I'd be spending a ton of time and mental energy tracking periods and buying pregnancy tests all while trying to scrape $1000 together to pay for it myself. Because of their help I can just live my life for the next three years. So don't cut Planned Parenthood's funding and don't get rid of the Iowa Family Planning Network people all over Iowa rely on them.

Robert Turnbull []

CON

We expect our elected officials to offer real solutions to problems facing our state regarding water quality, the struggling farm economy, the lack of beginning farmers, and the long term reliability of our food system. The Leopold Center is making great strides in addressing these issues. Do not defund the Leopold Center!

Stephen Tews [iowa cci action ]

CON

we have a revenue problem.lets cancel those 200 plus million dollar corporate welfare hand outs, "tax incentives"

Alex Bare []

CON

Undergraduate student at the University of Iowa.

Denise Kanne []

CON

Iowa cannot afford multi million dollar tax breaks to corporations at the expense of education & programs for victims of violence & mental health & much much more. Corporations should not take priority over the health & well being of Iowans. Our state is becoming an embarrassment.

Michael Delaney [Izaak Walton League]

CON

The Iowa Chapter of the Izaak Walton League is opposed to cuts to the Iowa Flood Center, The Leopold Center, REAP and the Dam removal and River Restoration Program.

Daniel J Gudahl [Whiterock Conservancy, Coon Rapids]

CON

Leopold Center is an Iowa gem that deserves everyone's support. I would like to speak against defunding.

Ben Lehman [Lehman Farms ltd]

CON

I am a senior in high school going into agriculture and concerned about the impact of cuts to the Leopold Center

Seth Watkins [Pinhook Farm]

CON

We cannot achieve our Iowa Nutrient Reduction Goals on a voluntary basis without the research, education, and outreach provided by The Leopold Center. As a farmer often credited with doing the "right thing" when it comes to soil health, grazing, & nutrient reduction. The credit for my success comes from the information I receive from The Leopold Center. Two things have made Iowa the great state she is: Our Land & Our Schools. There is no better proof than the results delivered by The Leopold Center. Please continue your support of The Leopold Center.

Mary Radloff []

PRO

Corporate giveaways turned our surplus into a deficit. Big business can pay their share.

Sherry Kiskunas [N/A]

CON

This legislative session has been a total disater! How could a huge surplus turn into a $130 million deficit in one year?? That, among other activities that the GOP lead Govenorship, Senate & House, is gross mismanagement & incompetence. Along with funding for all the right programs and passing/funding for all the wrong programs and bills done in this session! This Iowan has had enough of the incompetent, idiotic and inhumane conditions that this session has produced. This Iowan is wondering how much money has the Koch Brothers and the NRA spent in this State to achieve its goals? This Iowan would like a GOP representative to explain the surplus to deficit!!

Lisa Bell [Select...]

CON

Iowans are suffering because of your poor decision to issue a tax cut to the manufacturing industry. You choose to put corporations before people. This is your mess to clean up. It's not on the shoulders of foster children. It's not on the shoulders of sexual assault victims. It's not on the shoulders of preschoolers. It's on your shoulders. Start acting like adults. Admit that you made a mistake, and start taking responsibility for solving this problem. Iowa does not have a spending problem. It has a corporate tax cut problem. The citizens of this great state are not the mat you wipe your feet on. We are your bosses. This budget is your number one priority. Get to work.

Ryan Marquardt [Iowa Food Cooperative ]

CON

The Iowa Legislatures proposed 2018 budget eliminates the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The Leopold Center supports research and discussion in a wide array of agricultural topics ranging from farming practices that improve water quality, to livestock housing, to local food system research. The Iowa Food Cooperative, with its 1200 members, grew out of a feasibility study funded by the Leopold Center. The Iowa Food Cooperative now moves around $15,000 dollars in Iowa made and produced product every two weeks. That is why, I would encourage you to preserve the Leopold Center as a vehicle to invest in our state and as a resource to foster homegrown solutions to the challenges all parts of the agricultural sector face. The work of the Leopold Center is not done, it has been a valuable contributor and we at the Iowa Food Cooperative would like to see it continue in that role into the future.Ryan MarquardtIowa Food Cooperative Board President

Anonymous [none]

CON

Given the poor water quality in Iowa and the lack of not even being close to meeting all the recommendations of the Nutrient Strategy, it seems very shortsighted and antithe future of Iowa to defund the Leopold Center at ISU. The work the center does is critical to the success of farmers across the state transitioning to sustainable farming practices. Ag success is Iowa's success. If you are truly proeconomic development and growth, then closing a research center is NOT the way to go. Please rethink your position on this critical topic.

Cecilia Norris [Iowa City Free Medical Clinic]

CON

Much of the legislative agenda has resulted in an all out war on women through their access to health care, ability to attain an education, economic wellbeing and safety from domestic abuse. As a physician I am appalled at how quickly these decisions were made based on ignorance (that women who have had a miscarriage should have to bear that dead fetus until they go into labor or die themselves), misinformation or outright lies (that there are enough providers outside of Planned Parenthood to continue providing necessary cancer screenings, primary care and other medical services for women). I, too, would like to see an end to abortion as a form of contraception. But these policies will likely result in an increase in unwanted pregancies and increase disability and death of women. Medically there are times that abortion is indicated and the legislature should not have the right to make that decision for a woman. As a family physician resident at a Catholic hospital, I used to discuss what choices a woman with an unwanted pregnancy had and urge them to continue the pregnancy. But after hearing individual women's stories, I realized that not all women had the same choices that I, a privileged, educated, white woman, had. I met women who feared for their lives if they continued their pregnancy, women who feared for the wellbeing of their other children if they had one more mouth to feed, women who feared for the loss of a job if it was discovered they were pregnant, women who had been raped and were so traumatized and marginalized that they didn't seek medical care right away. These stories led me to see that the truly ethical and humanitarian thing to do is to prevent these unwanted pregnancies in the first place. This is more cost effective, healthier and more humane and our society should be putting resources into preventing pregnancy rather than taking them away.

Charlotte Shivvers [Shivvers Lecture]

CON

The Leopold Center has been instrumental for many years in bringing Shivvers Lecture forward as consistent words on sustainable agriculture. Also, only ten days Gov. Branstad gave me a framed certificate "in recognition of your generous contribution to Iowa and its Natural Resources" It makes no sense.

Elizabeth Willem []

CON

I'm especially opposed to defunding Planned Parenthood when that rejects $3 million of federal funding. It is not fiscally responsible nor morally responsible to strip our uninsured and poor from access to reproductive healthcare.Additionally, I'm opposed to ANY additional cuts to education at any level. Cut the economic development and corporate tax incentives to nearly zero. The corporate welfare we have provided has not created enough jobs to warrant the incentives.

bob shrem [private citizen]

CON

I think it is appalling that the budget for Leopold Center funding will be eliminated I am an ardent supporter of the Center; there programs and research add to the quality of life of thousands of small growers in our state, supporting local economies and jobs; with markets in nearly every town throughout the state to market and sell local produce

Leigh Adcock [Personal]

CON

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is famous nationwide as a leader in sustainable agriculture research and education. Clearly the state's farmers are not all doing a fantastic job of conservation, or we would not be bottom in water quality and continuing to lose ton after ton of topsoil each year. I say this as the daughter of a farmer and eventual inheritor of farmland in northwest Iowa. I value the Center's work as a citizen, a landowner, and a mother of two children who wants this state to be somewhere they will want to come back to someday.Please vote to reject this cut and keep the Leopold Center strong decades into the future. There is no other entity in the state doing the work this Center does, and it is vitally important to the quality of our land and water the basis of our economy and quality of life.Sincerely,Leigh Adcock

Shelly Silver [Indivisible Iowa SD 19 HD37/38]

CON

I am against any bill that makes further cuts to our budget. PLEASE START MAKING CORPORATIONS PAY THEIR FAIR SHARE IN TAXES so that we can stop these cuts to education, health and human services, and public safety including corrections and survivors programs. The argument "we don't want to hurt job creators" is completely false especially for multibillion dollar corporations like Walmart. What it translates to is this you care more about corporations than working families and the services provided to them and our most vulnerable Iowans. I pay my fair share of taxes, why can't corporations pay theirs???

Adam Wright [Iowa State University]

CON

I urge you to restore funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. The Leopold Center sponsors research and extension education on key issues in agriculture for Iowa and the nation. The center serves as the catalyst to research that eventually makes its way into everyday practice by farmers, businesses, and communities.Over the past 30 years, the center has earned a national reputation for exploring innovative, profitable approaches to farming that conserve natural resources and stimulate local economies. Given these difficult times of low commodity prices, funding for the Leopold Center is crucial to the economic health of the state. The Leopold Center has sponsored the work of Iowans concerned about their natural resources through more than 600 research projects on topics spanning water quality, nutrient management, soil health, livestock grazing, cover crops, and local food systems development. The proposed shut down of the Leopold Center will remove the centers ability to fund research in these fields. If you look at just six of the major projects the Center funded, for every dollar the Leopold Center spent on these projects, an additional $4.60 was leveraged to complement or expand the work.Additionally, grants funded by the center in the last four years brought in nearly $20 million in added support (leveraging) for Iowa researchers and educators. The centers programs have been an economically beneficial arrangement for the state and its educational institutions. Eliminating the Leopold Center would mean a loss of roughly $5 million a year to agricultural research initiatives.The entire state would be impacted by the cuts as the Leopold Center provides demonstrations and field research in all 99 Iowa counties epitomizing Iowa States landgrant mission.As an Iowa State grad student in sustainable agriculture, I have seen numerous friends given opportunities by the Leopold Center. My graduate advisor, Fred Kirschenmann, works at the Leopold Center and is one of our nation's foremost leaders in sustainable agriculture. To lose Fred and all the other amazing staff at the Leopold Center would be a terrible loss for our state and country as a whole.

David Weisberger [student]

CON

The Leopold Center does great work in supporting and promoting agriculture related research that benefits all Iowans. It more than pays for itself in the results of its studies, the grant dollars it generates, the careers it helps to launch and the communities it supports via its mission. Moving its small funding amount to a more myopic and less transparent research entity is an insult to the good work it has done and all those who benefit from it. It is an affront to the tax paying citizens of the state. The issues it supports from soil and water quality to equitable access and distribution of Iowa grown foods are important to the state's urban and rural economies. Cutting funding for the Center demonstrates the sort of feeble partisan politics that are setting Iowa up for challenging times ahead. The Center has always been and should always be a nonpartisan research institution for the kind of important agricultural systems research that we will so desperately need as we move into the future.

Jess Soulis [Women, Food and Agriculture Network]

CON

I am a graduate of Iowa States Graduate Program in Sustainable Agriculture, a board member of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network, a staff member of Lutheran Services in Iowas Global Greens urban agriculture Program, and an Iowan. Whichever of those perspectives I consider, the importance of the work and funding of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture cannot be overstated. I'm commenting on behalf of the Women, Food and Agriculture Network (WFAN) a community of women in sustainable agriculture. Women own or coown nearly half the farmland in the Midwest, and women farmers are leaders in sustainable agriculture. But women are underrepresented on the boards of policymaking bodies and often encounter barriers when accessing information from agencies and institutions. WFAN exists so that women can give each other the information, connections, and encouragement they need to be effective practitioners and supporters of sustainable agriculture and healthy local food systems. The Leopold Center has provided critical funding for WFAN's programming and innovative projects that educate and elevate women farmers, landowners, and others working in healthy food and farming. Women farmers and landowners in Iowa and throughout the Midwest depend upon the research and programs of the Leopold Center to help them overcome the barriers they encounter. The Leopold Center is the only publicly funded sustainable agriculture research center in Iowa, and eliminating this funding would be detrimental, not only to the women who benefit directly from WFANs Leopoldfunded programming, but to the future of the land and people of Iowa as well. Please consider this future and do not cut the funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Thank you.

Ranae Dietzel []

CON

Bear Creek runs through my parents' farm near Radcliffe and when I was growing up the Leopold Center funded a riparian buffer research and demonstration project that covered much of the creek. My parents were not involved in the project, but I drove by with interest and did a 4H project about the buffer, winning an award that went to the State Fair and got me a ticket to attend the World Food Prize where I even met Norman Borlaug. This one Leopold Center project opened my eyes to conservation issues in my state and encouraged my scienceloving mind in ways that five years of detassling corn and a failing high school never could. The next summer I came back from my first year of college in Minnesota and got a job as an undergraduate research assistant working on Bear Creek. This began 14 continuous years of working in agricultural research, including a Master's degree in soil science from Cornell University and a PhD in Crop Production & Physiology and Sustainable Agriculture from Iowa State University. As a postdoctoral research associate, I now have my very own research project funded by the Leopold Center.The Leopold Center supports a lot of good science that helps us understand better farming practices, but one thing it does that no other Iowan institute does is support social and economic projects that are crucial to implementing the science that we know can make a difference for soil and water quality. Creating an elaborate buffer on just one of Iowa's streams has limited value for improving the entire state's water quality. But for the tens of thousands of people that have walked through the buffer, it has had a huge impact. I am just one of those people for which Leopold Center funding had an enormous and lifelong ripple effect. In addition to being a researcher at Iowa State, I am also a fifth generation Iowa farmer. My husband and I, along with our two children, own a dairy farm near Jewell and we make all of our milk into cheese. Implementing sustainable practices on our farm has been easy (like I said, I have a PhD in that stuff), but beginning a new farm in Iowa is almost impossible. In some circles, telling people that your husband is a grassbased cheesemaker is met with confused expressions. We have been very fortunate to have one strong agricultural community that has understood and supported this endeavor, a community in which the Leopold Center is an unwavering leader. As much as I respect the Nutrient Reduction Center, it is difficult for me to envision them filling the same role the Leopold Center has occupied for beginning farmers, especially those not farming corn and soybeans. I wish I could list for you all the times the Leopold Center has supported me as an Iowan, a graduate student, a researcher, and a farmer, but I can't. The Leopold Center doesn't work that way. They contribute small parts to make huge things happen. As a result their name is just in one line at the end of a long paper. Their logo is one of many on posters, conference brochures, field day guides, and roadside signs. We easily took their support for granted until the day we heard they may no longer exist. Now I am not sure how we would function without them. Please do not eliminate the Leopold Center, there is nowhere else where $400,000 does so much good.

Anonymous [Iowa State University]

CON

Conservation in Iowa would not be where it is without the support and work of the Leopold Center. Iowa is the most modified state in the nation having converted well over 80% of its native cover to agricultural practices. Soils that once could accept heavy rain fall now are easily eroded, more stream channels exist today than prior to settlement because of the increased runnoff. The Leopold Center has been instrumental in supporting research that has helped developed major conservation practices such as riparian buffers which not are a USDA supported conservation practice across the country. Without initial and early support for that research the buffer practice would probably not have been developed. There is still major work that needs to be done our stream banks are eroding at alarming rates and research is now focusing on ways to reduce those losses of sediment and phophorus that contaminate our rivers and the Gulf of Mexico. It would very shortsighted if the Iowa Legislature removed funding support of the center and would show that it does not care for creating a healthy Iowa landscape.

Suzan Erem [Sustainable Iowa Land Trust]

CON

I write to oppose the budget cuts to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture for these reasons: Iowa is now ranked in the Top 10 in number of organic farms, and that only counts the ones that are certified. Thousands of Iowa farmers are using fewer synthetic inputs, and finding a lucrative market for their food and commodities. Last year, Harn Soper, a century farm owner from Emmetsburg sold his organic corn for $12.50 a bushel. Leopold Center helps provide the research for those farmers.Many young people are looking at farming in a new way, one that is not so new to people who have been around a while. They want to get back in touch with the soil. They want to grow fresh food and plant orchards. They want to grow food in the woods. This is labor intensive farming, which means more jobs and more opportunities in our rural communities. Leopold Center was providing the information they needed to get started.The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust was formed based in part on the assumption that the Leopold Center was now an institution in Iowa and all that was left was to improve it increase staffing, increase quality of research. Without Leopold, our young farmers will look to the University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota among others. And then they will wonder, why am I in Iowa when all the good information is in other states? Given the size of the Leopold budget compared to the overall budget it will be difficult for Iowa legislators to justify this as anything other than a politicallymotivated budget cut, and people from around the nation who have modeled their own programs on this Center are watching. To draw businesses, jobs and young people, Iowa needs to continue to look innovative. Maintaining the Leopold Center will do that.We are facing the serious challenge of bringing young people back to Iowa and attracting young people to farming. The Sustainable Iowa Land Trust is doing both, but we are doing it with the valuable information that the Leopold Center provides. We have a long way to go before Iowa is known for sustainable farming. Take away the Leopold Center and those opportunities are gone. On behalf of the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust whose leadership includes a broad spectrum of people from Jeff and Bobby Kaufmann to Denise O'Brien and Fred Kirschenmann I request that you restore the Leopold Center funding. Thank you,Suzan Erem

Cindy Burchett [Iowa Public Television]

CON

Education Budget: Iowa Public Television is an essential component of the budget that has the power to impact every citizen in Iowa. It is an equalizer in education, reaching all ages and all income levels. As a former educator, I have watched IPTV onair and outreach programs bridge the educational gap for disadvantaged children while also providing opportunities for enrichment, creativity and exploration for all. IPTV provides information about our State along with fine arts and historical programming that would not otherwise be produced. The States supportive role for IPTV, along with private funding and grants, is essential to promoting lifelong learning in Iowa. Further cuts would greatly diminish our ability to fulfill an important public service mission. Cindy Burchett, Director Iowa Public Television Foundation

Lisa Schulte Moore []

CON

Through the Looking Glass: The Role of the Leopold Center in My Career Success By Lisa Schulte Moore The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is important to me, and Im not alone. This central theme came to my mind as I set to write about the Centers role in helping forge collaborations, leveraging grant dollars, conducting research to benefit farmers while conserving our natural resources, and communicating project results, over my 13.5year career in Iowa. The Leopold Center is important to me because it underwrote a workshop series on the potential for perennials in Midwestern agriculture, which I participated in as a newly minted Ph.D. from Wisconsin. It was through these workshops that I met and was inspired by Dick Schultz and Tom Isenhart, and where first learned about the Bear Creek Riparian Buffer Project. The project is 25 yearsrunning, award winning, and internationally recognized study of the impacts of riparian buffers on stream stability, nutrient cycling, water quality, and wildlife habitat. Since then, I have sought to emulate these two masters in my commitment to meaningful connections with farmers, high quality research, and outstanding teaching and outreach. The Leopold Center is important to me because, as a young faculty member, its staff provided constructive feedback on my research ideas, helping me hone them into something that fit the Centers mission and link with advisory board priorities. The board took a gamble on my first grant with them: $14,998 for a retrospective analysis of land cover change in the Clear Creek Watershed in Iowa and Johnson Counties. This grant helped me start a funding track record, fund one of my first graduate students, connect with landowners, and gather data that led to a couple of my first Iowafocused publications. Center staff continued to push me to think harder about the work I wanted to do and how it could benefit farmers, which laid the groundwork for my current research focus on humanlandscape interactions. In academic circles, this is what I am now known for nationally. The Leopold Center is important to me because it was an early investor and continues to support the STRIPS* project, the most successful project of which Ive had the privilege to be a part. The team began to form during my first semester at Iowa State in 2003, and was able to move from idea to implementation through a $125,000 grant from the Leopold Center in 2004. This fiveyear grant helped fund instrumentation of our initial research site at Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, and hire a field technician to coordinate research and efforts among the many project investigators. These roles are critical to generating the high quality data, such associated with STRIPS. The STRIPS data have formed the backbone of more than 250 technical presentations reaching approximately 9,000 people, 16 student theses and dissertations, and 34 peerreviewed publications to date. Research findings have captured the attention of the Iowa agricultural community, inspiring 34 Iowa farmers and farmland owners to implement prairie strips on 2,450 acres of cropland. Farmers and landowners have committed to plant additional prairie strips in Iowa as well as in adjacent states. Prairie strips have also captured the attention of the press, bringing positive national recognition through news outlets such as the New York Times and The Washington Post. The Leopold Center is important to me because its staff and board members help communicate my research results beyond the boundaries of academia. For example, Center staff spearheaded production of prairie strips videos and outreach brochures: A Landowners Guide and Costs of Implementing Prairie Strips, as well as handouts for specific audiences including farmers, technical service providers, and the public. This communications work is an essential connector within the knowledgetoaction pipeline, but not something a young faculty member is poised to do on ones own. In reflecting upon impact that the Leopold Center plays in my career, I also think about my colleagues who have similarly benefitted, and the collective legacy of knowledge we are building on how to profitably, sustainably manage agricultural landscapes. Some of my colleagues include Dick Schultz, Tom Isenhart, and Dan Jaynes with the Bear Creek riparian buffer and saturated buffers work; Matt Liebman, Mike Castellano, and others with the Marsden Farm crop rotation study; Emily Heaton with Longterm Assessment of Miscanthus Productivity and Sustainability (LAMPS). Also Kristen Hofmockel, a former ISU professor, who studies soil microorganisms and nutrient storage, now a lead scientist at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory in Richland, Washington. Her work illustrates the farreaching impact of the Leopold Center. As I travel the country and talk with my colleagues, its clear that these studies put Iowa at the forefront of research on sustainable agriculture. As I travel the countryside and talk with farmers, its clear that they value this work. Both researchers and farmers are inspired and thankful for the Centers role in derisking ideas and the scientifically generated evidence to support farm management decisions. The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture is important to me, and Im not alone. Its important to Iowa.

Laura Dickey [NA]

CON

I first want to say thank you for your time. I am very disheartened by the idea of taking away Planned Parenthood as an option of where to receive help with reproductive services. I have been a patient at Planned Parenthood since I was in my early teens. As a sexually active teenager, I honestly had nowhere else to go for this type of care. I needed confidentiality and Planned Parenthood was a sure way for me to receive the sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment I needed without being judged and without my privacy being compromised. I continue to use Planned Parenthood as an adult because I know I will receive nonjudgmental medically accurate high quality care. Had Planned Parenthood not been an option for me as teen I never would have been diagnosed and treated for chlamydia and I would likely be infertile now. I would not have felt safe going to my family doctor for this type of service out of fear my parents would find out. I am sure this is the case for the many patients Planned Parenthood sees every year. I now work at Planned Parenthood in my capacity there I have seen thousands of women and teens receive testing and treatment among many other services that we provide. Many of them college students seeking services they would never go to their family doctor for. I know because they have told me. I know because I was once one of them. Taking Planned Parenthood away from these patients is going to have a huge negative impact on our community. Please vote no on this. Thank you.

Anonymous []

CON

The proposed Republican budget is a disaster for all Iowans. Huge cuts in human services will leave those in need without services or opportunities. Cutting funding to programs that serve survivors of domestic abuse and sexual assault is devastating to those already in a terrible situation. Multimillion dollar cuts to corrections make workers and all of us less safe. Additional cuts to the regents' universities and community colleges do not square with our stated priority of good quality education. The cuts to and elimination of the Iowa Flood Center and the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture are incredibly shortsighted given the climate changes farmers and all of us are already experiencing. And defunding Planned Parenthood will not stop abortion, it will only stop accessible, affordable reproductive healthcare education and services that have decreased unplanned pregnancies and abortion in Iowa. The Republican administration created this situation through mismanagement and favoring corporations over working families over the years. There are other ways to solve the budget "shortfall" than to decimate services to Iowans. Make the real hard choices. Do your job.

Susan West []

CON

I'm demanding the Iowa Legislature to zeroout all tax credits for all outofstate or large corporations and return your legislator's salary and benefits to the IA Treasury before considering cutting programs for instate programs and agencies. It is irresponsible business practice to put outofstate profits over local citizens' needs and services.

Cindy Bancroft [Mr.]

CON

This budget is bad for Iowa and bad for Iowans. I am particularly concerned about cuts in funding to Iowa's public universities while you are continuing tuition support for private and forprofit students. Public education is the backbone of our quality of life in Iowa. Many of our Regent's University graduates (and in the case of UNI, the overwhelming majority) stay in Iowa, to work, build families, and contribute to our state and local communities in both taxes and as active, caring citizens. We used to value our public spaces in this country. They were the places where all people could come together, as equals, and learn to work for the common good in spite of our many differences. Public education is where this happens best. I want my tax dollars to be spent for the good of Iowans, not corporations that don't provide the jobs promised and don't care about the health of our communities.

Cheryl Heid [Iowa Public Television]

CON

Jill Malmer [Tax payer ]

CON

Enough harm to state agencies and workers has already been done this year through de appropriation and collective bargaining bills. Why should the citizens and workers of Iowa be the only ones to sacrifice and bear the burden of the States financial predicament? Please enact corporate tax reform so that we do not remain in this budget mess for years to come.

David Stark [personal]

CON

I strongly urge you to reinstate the funding for public broadcasting for IPTV. I am a long time supporter and user of the service and see first hand the impact public broadcasting has made for our family and in fact, most families in the State. It is the single biggest educational component for the underserved and provides so many services to our whole population. IPTV leverages the money it gets from the State with federal funds and is very effective at raising the additional money to make the budget work.This is an Iowa gem and one to be proud of. Please support it the way it should be with full funding. Thank you.

Maurita Murphy Marx [University of Iowa]

CON

Why make cuts to education? The schools are already suffering with facilities, poor teacher salaries, the arts are in jeopardy, sports are overinflated? What's happening to our Iowa values. Iowa values education, period. Get it together people.

Tresa Habinck [Concerned - Ex Republican ]

CON

How can you cut financial support for Iowa students who go to UNI, which may lead to tuition increases, but fund financial aid packages for Iowa students who go to forprofit and private colleges and universities. I URGE you to allow UNI students from Iowa access to the Iowa Tuition Grant program. I will remind them that UNI students stay in Iowa and become Iowa taxpayers. 88% of UNI students come from Iowa and 92% of students from Iowa stayed in Iowa after graduating. Stand up and do something right this legislative session. The way you have attacked education, human service, and important programs, environment....and instead have stood with special interests is appalling. I do not recognize the Republican party. Can't wait till the next election. Thank you for your time.

Michael Duffy [Professor emeritus, Economics, Iowa State University ]

CON

The Leopold Center offers management alternatives for farmers and others. These options are evaluated on profitability, impact on the community, and the environment. The options evaluated build human capabilities as such there usually isn't a product or commercial incentive for companies to do the same work or sponsor researchers. The work is for public gain (clean water, hunting oppportuniies, saving soil, fishing, and so on) it is more efficient if the public help support the work to be sure it gets done...Thank you

Jeneane Moody [Iowa Public Health Association]

CON

Brian Vamstad [Gundersen Health System]

CON

John Olthoff []

PRO

I am not able to attend the hearing but I would like to provide my input on the budget funding for the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. To not fund the Leopold Center would be very shortsighted on the part of the Iowa Legislature. The Leopold Center was initiated to address the needs of agriculture in Iowa. It has served its purpose well, providing necessary research information and initial support for many programs in the state. This funding has been an investment in diversification of Iowa agriculture which has significant economic return for the state. Even if you only consider the financial ramifications, the Leopold Center is an economic investment that should be continuedMore importantly is the role with environmental impact and water quality. If the legislature is committed to the value of Iowa's water and land, as it says it is, than one of the groups that is most instrumental in providing research and guidance in that area needs continued funding. That also is an investment in Iowa's future.Please continue the support for the Leopold Center. It is the right thing to do.

Shami Lucena Morse []

CON

I strongly urge that you do not defund and do not close the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture.I write to you as one of the rapidly increasing number of women landowners who care passionately about our family farms. My ancestors settled our land in Iowa County in 1956, where my siblings and I were born and raised. Our family has always cared for the land with great love and care, earning several conservation awards over the years.The Leopold Center has been instrumental in providing research, information, and support for families like ours. In 2015 we established prairie strips on the farm, as part of the STRIPs program supported by ISU and the Leopold Center. This is an extremely important project with great potential as a practical approach to fulfilling the Nutrient Reduction Strategy.The Leopold Center has also been a strong supporter of Women, Food and Agriculture Network, whose Women Caring for the Land program and annual conferences I have attended and benefitted from. I have also benefitted as an active member of Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Farmers Union, both of which are important research partners of the Leopold Center.Closing the Leopold Center would be extremely shortsighted.

Matt Lehman []

CON

I oppose the effort to remove funding to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. As an adult office worker who grew up on a farm, and with two brothers involved in agriculture both onfarm and off, I am keenly aware of how difficult it is to start as a young farmer. The Leopold Center, through research and the publicly available work it supplies in support of small farms, has been and will continue to be an avenue for our young people to advance in pursuing their dreams of rural life. A vote for the Leopold Center is a vote for the rural future of Iowa. Thank you.

Anonymous [Laughlin Farms]

CON

I oppose the closing and defunding of the Leopold Center. As a young farmer who is trying to do as much as possible to promote sustainable ag, the work of the Leopold Center has been and continues to be very important. As a western Iowan, I also oppose the defunding of the Loess Hills Alliance. The work that the Loess Hills Alliance does is crucial to the continued preservation of this great natural landmark.

Jacob Simpson [University of Iowa Student Government]

CON

Hello, my name is Jacob Simpson. I am Presidentelect of the University of Iowa Student Government. I am here to discourage you from passing the proposed $6.2 million deappropriation to the University of Iowa. The University cannot afford this cut. To pass another deappropriation would be to shrink or eliminate services to Iowans at large. I say Iowans because the University's impact is not restricted to its locale in Iowa City, but rather its reach extends throughout the state to places like my hometown.In Clinton, Iowa where I grew up my high school faced financial adversity, which meant there were not enough teachers to teach courses with advanced curricula. Yet my high school tried to offer its students the opportunity to earn college credit through advanced online courses developed by the University of Iowa BelinBlank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development. Because of this service, I was able to take AP Chemistry online my third year of high school and receive college credit, and my friends took AP Physics and AP Economics. I have younger brothers who have yet to finish high school, and I believe that they deserve access to the same opportunities I had, but the deappropriation you are considering along with the years of deappropriating until now, make it less and less likely that my brothers and future students in Clinton will have the same opportunities that benefited me.In addition to the services that the University of Iowa has provided to my hometown, it has historically provided affordable, quality education, which is critical for the wellbeing of Iowa's economy. My grandparents and parents are proof of the value of affordable and quality public higher education in Iowa. They all could barely afford their higher education, but because of their degrees, they were able to do well for themselves and their communities as teachers, a biochemical engineer, and a budget analyst. If college would have been more expensive back then, they would not have been able to get their jobs. In fact, I doubt they could afford college today because tuition has been increased to account for a lack of support from the State. Just after my parents graduated from college, state support for public higher education in Iowa was much greater than it is now. For example, in 1997, the University of Iowa was appropriated the equivalent of $321 million dollars today. That figure is more than $100 million more than the proposed appropriation for this year. Tuition will be increasing drastically just to keep the University of Iowa viable. With the increase in tuition, it saddens me to think of Iowans like my grandparents and parents who will not be able to get good jobs that benefit themselves, their families, and the whole of Iowa.In summary, please do not pass the $6.2 million deappriopriation. Iowans deserve a thriving University of Iowa that contributes to the education, economy, and health of the State. The budget is tight this year, but the Legislature has the power to prioritize, and for the sake of students and Iowans, this deappropriation should not pass.

Joe Stutler [Mr.]

CON

Vice President Joe Biden famously said, "Don't tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I'll tell you what you value."The Iowa Republican legislators have shown us what they value, and it's not Iowans, nor good governance, nor public safety, nor national security. Very disappointing to see them pander for their own personal gain.

Joan K. Amos [Lucas County Democrats]

CON

Because of massive tax cuts for big business, Republicans expect, we the people, to make up for the loss of all those tax dollars. You have made a mess out of the budget, but surely you can do better than cut all the domestic programs you are wanting. Please straighten out your budget!!

Romonia Dinkla [citizen]

CON

Keeping the bright minds in Iowa has always been a major concern that I hear about from legislators and business people. The Leopold Center is one of the ways to keep bright minds in Iowa doing research and then later business in Iowa. The needed research is in no way finished. I have read that a tax on fertilizer is where the money for funding programs like this actually comes from. If you are to eliminate funding, are you also eliminating the tax?