Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Iowa lawmakers plan to propose an 8- to 10-cents-per-gallon fuel tax increase.
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
We spend a lot of money on gas already, and the price is expected to go up. That's why on the surface a suggested Iowa fuel tax hike leaves a sour taste for many motorists, even if the tax is only 8 to 10 cents per gallon and will go to maintain Iowa's roads. Iowans are split on what to do. What do you think? Vote in the Patch Poll below and let us know in comments. In Cedar Falls, lawmakers Sen. Jeff Danielson, a Democrat, says he is keeping an open mind to a gas tax increase because something is needed to take care of the roads, while his colleague Rep. Walt Rogers, a Republican, said increasing a gas tax now would be detrimental to the economy, but added that we need to find a way to improve our roads. Economists, such as Iowa State …
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A look at the proposed gas tax and it's impact in Marion and across the state.
Jill Ackerman, the president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, said that keeping up with road construction has always been a huge issue in Marion. "They are the number one priority of residents and many business owners," she said. Because of the somewhat uneven growth of Marion’s residential property versus its commercial property, she said the city has less funds to do road improvements in residential areas. That means the state's proposed fuel tax could help Marion, said Ackerman, who personally supports it. The good news for Ackerman, and possibly Marion-at-large, as momentum appears to be shifting to an increase in the state’s fuel tax, which help maintain all of Iowa’s roads. While some doubt it will muster enough support, a …
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Today, the Marion Chamber of Commerce as well as several business owners and community leaders, will be fighting for Marion to receive the Main Street Iowa designation.
Marion businesswoman Gae Sharp-Richardson gave me the chances of Marion winning the Iowa Main Street designation: 100 percent. "I am a positive person and I think our chances are good," she said. The Iowa Main Street Program, as we have previously reported, is a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation that combines economic development with historic preservation. Jill Ackerman, president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, said that this offers a new forum of cooperation between business owners and city officials. This represents a concerted effort to revamp and retain the historic aspects the main street, Seventh Avenue. It also allows Marion to utilize resources from The National Trust, which has designers and …
Friday, November 4, 2011
Marion is up for designation as a main street through the Main Street Iowa program, which can offer a whole host of benefits to reworking the Marion uptown district.
When you Google search "Center City Iowa," the page devoted to the city's main street is five results higher than the city's website. That's because the revitalization of the once dead Central City downtown district — as illustrated on the website — may be the biggest thing to happen to this small town. Central City benefited from a Main Street Iowa designation, a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation — one that City of Marion is currently seeking. "(Downtown) was pretty dead," said Central City City Administrator LaNeil McFadden. "We had nothing down there. Now businesspeople are complaining about having not enough parking." Jill Ackerman, president of the Marion Chamber of Commerce, said it is best to think of the …
Alison Gowans
9:47 pm on Thursday, January 26, 2012
We don't have toll roads, which are how a lot of other states fund their road projects. They're both forms of "user fees." I don't think toll roads are under consideration in Iowa, but if people had to choose, I wonder what they would pick? more ›