Re-examine state’s funding priorities

Regarding the Jan. 3 article, “Lawmakers push for new sports fund”:

The article was very positive about moving forward in Iowa until the last paragraph where $100 million in a fund is talked about - you have to be kidding!

The next editorial I read is about closing the Iowa Juvenile Home, a safe place for abused children, and last month, cutting another $30 million from our mental illness funding. Another cut to a system that is trying to land on its feet with a regional reorganization.

I know people with mental illnesses or disabilities and the abused are a small population that need funding but seem to get cuts and closing on a continuing basis in a climate where we have mentally ill individuals killing people. Is it because states are cutting their funding or making it so hard for them to get help?

NASCAR, pro-am golf, NBA groups are mentioned in the article - do they really need a fund from Iowa? Can we put priorities where they need to be?

Cyndi O'Brien

Cedar Rapids