Congressional redistricting meetings set
The first proposed Congressional and Legislative Redistricting Plan to be submitted to the Iowa General Assembly will be the topic of four public hearings to be held in Council Bluffs, Bettendorf, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines during the first week of April.
The Council Bluffs site will have satellite viewing locations at Mason City, Sioux City and Spencer via the ICN.
The Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission will hold the public hearings to receive the comments of interested citizens and representatives of political subdivisions and organizations on the plan.
The plan is being prepared by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency, based on the 2010 Census Bureau population data, using strict nonpartisan guidelines.
The plan will be released at 8:15 a.m. on Thursday at the State Capitol.
The five members of the commission include Maggie Tinsman, of Davenport; Rose Brown, of Council Bluffs; Lance Ehmcke, of Sioux City; Matt Paul, of Des Moines; and Eric Turner, of Des Moines.
The Council Bluffs public hearing will be held from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., on April 4, in the ICN Room at the Council Bluffs Public Library, 400 Willow Ave.
The following ICN sites will be interactive with the Council Bluffs site:
- North Iowa Area Community College, Room 106, Activity Center, 500 College Drive, in Mason City.
- Northwest Area Education Agency, Room 206, 1520 Morningside Ave., in Sioux City.
- Spencer Public Library, 21 East Third St., Spencer.
The Des Moines public hearing will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on April 7, at the Wallace State Office Building Auditorium, 502 E. 9th St.
Any individual wishing to make comments about the proposed plan at a hearing may contact the Legislative Information Office at (515) 281-5129 and the individual will be listed as a speaker at the hearing requested in the order that the request is received.
Those requesting to make comments from an ICN site will be listed in order for that particular ICN site. It is not required that speakers provide written copies of their testimony, but written copies of testimony will be accepted and will be made available to Commission members.
The Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission will accept written testimony in lieu of oral presentations either by ordinary mail or by electronic mail if the written testimony is received on or prior to April 7 by the Legislative Services Agency.
Any written testimony must include the name and address of the author.
Oral presentations will be limited to three minutes for each presenter.
It is not required that those requesting to speak register in advance of the hearing, but those registering to speak at the hearing location will be called upon to speak after those who registered prior to the hearing.
If time remains after all who have registered to speak have spoken, the Commission may hear additional remarks from those who have already spoken and from those who did not register prior to the hearing.
For more information contact Craig Cronbaugh, Legislative Information Office, at (515) 281-5129.