Advocating for QC in Des Moines

QC Chamber leaders joined forces with business and community leaders for our annual trip to the Iowa Capitol this week to advocate for the QC. Over the course of 24 hours, we were able to connect with Senate and House leadership, our local legislators, and key departments to discuss property taxes, workforce training, a passenger rail compact, among other issues - all in alignment with our Iowa Legislative Agenda. 

Our business community members brought real-world expertise to our legislative discussions around Chamber priorities in Des Moines, including:

• Providing sustainable property tax relief so businesses can thrive and cities can afford the services that make growth possible
• Expanding mental health services to address our community’s unmet needs
• Sustaining workforce training programs that make Iowa an attractive place to locate and expand a business
• Facilitating future economic development and protecting ratepayers by forecasting our future energy demand
• Collaborating with our fellow Midwestern states by joining the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Compact

Meetings were held with these legislators and departments

• Senate President Amy Sinclair, Senate Majority Leader Mike Klemish, Senate Minority Leader Janice Weiner
• House Speaker Pat Grassley, House Minority Leader Brian Meyer
• State Treasurer Roby Smith
• Stu Anderson, Iowa Department of Transportation
• Debi Durham, Iowa Economic Development Authority
• Our local delegation including Senators Kerry Gruenhagen, Scott Webster, Cindy Winckler and Mike Zimmer, and Representatives Ken Croken, Dan Gosa, Monica, Kurth, Gary Mohr and Mike Vondran

Capitol trip attendees

• John Blunk - Davenport 5th Ward Alderman
• Taryn Edgin - John Deere
• Conor Flaherty - Bettendorf 2nd Ward Alderman
• Nichole Friedrichson - Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
• Mayor Bob Gallagher - City of Davenport 
• Mayor Jason Gordon - City of Davenport
• Jennifer Hirsch - MetroLINK
• Bob Howard - CBI Bank & Trust
• Mark Hunt - City of Bettendorf
• Benjamin Limmer - MetroLINK
• Dylan Parker - Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Foundation for Fair Contracting 
• Decker Ploehn - City of Bettendorf
• Keli Price - Arconic
• Megan Randoll, Carver Pump
• Jeff Reiter - City of Bettendorf
• Troy Said - City of Bettendorf
• Jason Schadt - City of Bettendorf
• Katie Schroeder - John Deere
• Nathan Sondgeroth - Vera French
• Ashlee Spannagel - Eastern Iowa Community Colleges
• Lynnette Tarchinski - Arconic
• Betsy Matt Turner - Putnam Museum
• Ashley Velez-Hagler - Humility Homes & Services
• Scott VanDe Woestyne - City of Davenport

Thank you to our local leaders who joined us on the trip and to our legislators for taking time to discuss these important issues.