Condition of the State

It's nearing midnight and I'm just getting a moment for a few observations of Governor Chet Culver's third condition of the state address. So here we go:

Culver called the condition of the state "resilient". It sounded a bit different to me, so I checked. The last two years, he called the state "strong". I thought that's what Tom Vilsack used to say, too. What's the difference in the words? Perhaps, nothing. Perhaps, something. But the resilience of Iowans was a bit of a theme in Culver's address.

Culver urged the legislature to act on the findings of the panel looking into whether tax credits are working. He didn't seem to give an opinion, particularly on the most controversial, the film tax credits. Afterwards, his office said he will leave it up to lawmakers to figure it out.

Culver wants to take money out of the road use fund (which goes toward fixing up the state's crumbling road system) to put toward troopers, who saw their funding cut previously. The idea was met with silence in the house chamber when he announced it. Afterwards, Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal said his party is mixed on the idea. Not quite a ringing endorsement.

But Gronstal seemed to be willing to help Culver put back some money in schools, along with the 2% allowable growth increase on their funding.

That's it for now. I'm out of gas.

Thanks for reading.