Today marks day 78 of the scheduled 100-day legislative session. Work on the state budget is well underway while a final push is made on outstanding policy issues. Policy issues include the Governor’s biofuels bill (HF 2128), the Governor’s Education Policy proposal (HF 2577 and SF 2369), unemployment benefits (HF 2355), and workforce proposals

The Revenue Estimating Conference (REC) met Thursday to revise budget projections for the state’s 2022 and 2023 fiscal years. You can view the one pager HERE. As expected, the REC’s FY 2022 was revised upward by $110.5 million over the December estimate. This estimate reflects an overall increase in FY 2022 revenues of $370.5 million, or 4.2%,

Venture Academics, an innovative project-based learning model launched last fall. Led by the Linn-Mar Community School District, this community based program is a partnership with Marion Economic Development and Community Promise. Venture Academics allows students to earn high school credit by meeting Iowa Core standards and applying knowledge to real-world