Legislature passes incentives for steel plant
The Iowa Legislature met in special session Friday to approve about $1.4 billion in refundable and other tax credits for a new Mesabi Metallics steel plant in Lee County. Gov. Reynolds signed the bill the same day. The company said they expect to hire about 6,000 people to build it and employ 1,750 people once it’s running. It would be the largest steel complex in the United States.
Voting begins next week – debates scheduled
Voting in Iowa begins on Oct. 14. It’s time to find out if you’re actually registered to vote! Go to the state Secretary of State’s website to find out. You can register to vote here.
There are four televised debates coming up between the two major party candidates for governor, Zach Lahn and Rob Sand. According to Axios, the debates are scheduled for tomorrow night, Tuesday, Oct. 6, and Oct. 14, 21 and 27.
Respect Life Month is here
October is Respect Life month in the Church, a special time for prayer, reflection and action. The approaching elections are a great opportunity to produce change and be an influence for the good. Get to know the candidates who will be on your ballot. Educate yourself and your family and friends about where candidates stand on the life issues. Here’s a place to find questions to ask your candidates. Another avenue for action is to join the nationwide invitation to protect women and unborn babies from the abortion pill. Click here for more information.
This week the attorneys general of Louisiana, Alabama, and Arkansas sued in the United States Supreme Court against New York, Massachusetts, and California challenging the legality of the abortion “shield laws” enacted in those states. Abortion “shield laws” protect individuals from being held accountable for sending chemical abortion drugs into other states, including states such as Iowa, that protect preborn children.
The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to begin its 2026-2027 term today.
Parental choice in education at issue during election season
The status of Education Savings Accounts for students in nonpublic schools has been a common topic during the campaign season. Keep an eye on our social media and that of Iowa Alliance for Choice in Education (Iowa ACE) for accurate information. Check out a response here to some claims being made about the program.
On a related matter, interim rules for the new federal “Education Freedom Tax Credit” have been released. Starting next year, the program provides a federal tax credit for contributions to scholarship granting organizations (SGOs) for public and private schools.
There are plans for at least three state-based SGOs here: one for students in Catholic schools, another for the non-Catholic Christian school students through Iowa ACE, and another for public school students from the School Administrators of Iowa group.
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Catholic Education, called the scholarship program a transformative opportunity for children across the country, “The Catholic Church teaches that parents are the first and primary educators of our children, and that parents have the obligation of educating their children in the manner best suited for their development and needs.”
Commemorating the 40th anniversary of ‘Economic Justice for All’
Next month the U.S. Church will commemorate the 40th anniversary of Economic Justice for All, a landmark pastoral letter from the U.S. bishops on Catholic Social Teaching and the American economy. As the bishops wrote four decades ago, “Economic decisions have human consequences and moral content; they help or hurt people, strengthen or weaken family life, advance or diminish the quality of justice in our land… We write to share our teaching, to raise questions, to challenge one another to live our faith in the world.”
As we approach this anniversary, you are invited to read this pastoral letter and the 1996 statement, “A Catholic Framework for Economic Life,” and reflect on how these principles apply to today’s society. The Secretariat of Justice and Peace developed a summary resource to help unpack Economic Justice for All, including points for reflection on the important role of Catholics in a powerful and complex economy.
