Employment

There appears to be some significant ground to cover before the Republican-led Iowa House and Senate reach an agreement on those issues.

GOP says changes needed to modernize, put focus on re-employment. The legislationm they say, updates a system from the 1930s when unemployment compensation was the sole safety net for out-of-work Iowans.

The non-profit’s new social enterprise involves creating 13 supportive housing apartments, and giving people exiting homelessness a place where they can learn new skills and prepare to enter the workforce.

With just 23 calendar days — which means closer to 18 actual legislative work days, since lawmakers rarely work on Fridays — remaining until lawmakers’ expense reimbursements run out, the push to adjournment begins in earnest next week.

Most of Iowa depends on volunteer fire departments to respond to fires and other emergencies, but available volunteers can be hard to find. More and more fire departments are partnering together to make sure they’re prepared.

Iowa’s seasonally adjusted jobless rate in January dropped to 3.7 percent, down from 3.9 percent in December, according to Iowa Workforce Development.

Among the bills that need at least some movement to survive this week’s funnel deadline are Republicans’ attempts to address what they consider transparency in public school curriculum.

Under the new program, Mercy Medical will provide financial assistance and salaries to Mount Mercy University nursing students, and in exchange, those students will work at the hospital after graduation.