Thank you, governor, for protecting jobs and infrastructure with veto pen
Now that some of the dust has cleared, I’d like to say thank you to Gov. Kim Reynolds for vetoing House File 639.
As president of LiUNA Local 177, I can confidently say that this legislation would have severely harmed our workers and, by extension, their families. Local 177 laborers build a huge amount of the infrastructure that we see around us and use every day. They also build a lot of the infrastructure that you don’t see – notably, pipelines.
For many Iowans, natural gas is the practical solution for heating homes, powering appliances, and cooking meals. Most still drive gas-powered vehicles. The pipelines delivering that gas, and the oil that becomes gasoline, may well have been built or maintained by our members.
House File 639 would have made it harder for pipeline companies to build the critical infrastructure our state relies on. That would have put our members out of work and made it more difficult for them to provide for their families.
Our members take pride in building safe, reliable infrastructure. With House File 639 dead, we’re ready to keep doing that work. Reynolds’ veto was a welcome one, and we thank her for it.
Richie Schmidt, Des Moines
Guest essay’s Trump flattery left out a lot
Joe Mitchell’s June 29 opinion piece would have the public believe President Donald Trump to be the greatest American patriot and warrior in U.S. history. Never mind that he was a draft dodger and incited a coup attempt on Jan. 6, 2021.
Mitchell welcoming Trump with a fanfare that his record makes him untouchable goes too far. The piece is nothing more than an opportunistic work of Trump flattery. Writing that Trump is the most consequential president ever is pure fantasy. Forget the likes of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, FDR, Truman, Eisenhower, LBJ, Reagan, and Barack Obama. Touting Trump as impervious to justice is an insult to democracy and an affront to all those hurt at the Capitol on Jan. 6.
Donald Trump needs to be held accountable, not praised. A prison stay would be fitting and “consequential.”
Richard Duffy, Boone
Lack of doctors and nurses can’t be talked about too much
I want to thank Aastha Chandra for her wonderful article June 29 guest essay. As a 15-plus-year Registered Nurse in a state with an aging population but ranking in 48th in pay, brain drain is a pressing issue.
I can’t pinpoint when science became controversial. As a child of the 1990s, if your provider recommended a vaccination, your parents guaranteed it was done, for the sake of you and your community. Midwest values are caring about your neighbor while respecting bodily autonomy.
Iowa used to be ranked so high in education, but instead of worrying about failing test scores, child hunger and poverty, potentially poisoned drinking water and homelessness, we focus on what bathroom children use or what sports they want to play. While Kim Reynolds’ incentives might seem like a great idea in theory, improving Iowa as a state would be a better way to attract medical talent.
Kate Thompson, Ankeny
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Thank you, Kim Reynolds, for protecting jobs and infrastructure with veto | Letters
Reporting by The Register’s readers / Des Moines Register
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