Emory Ray Fiz passed away on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at Glen Oaks Alzheimer’s Special Care Center at the age of 87 in Des Moines.
Emory Ray Fitz was born September 9, 1936, in Hampton, to Ray Foster and Mildred Marion (Heideman) Fitz. He was raised on their farm in Southwest Franklin County. Emory went to school in Dows, Iowa, graduating in 1955.

At the end of July, our national debt officially topped $35 trillion. This development comes just seven months after our country surpassed $34 trillion in debt and less than a year since our national debt eclipsed $33 trillion last September.

A couple weeks ago, I touched on how the county brings in revenues and discussed the different ways that money is brought into the County (other than property taxes). So, I thought this week I’d share some of the things that we have to expend money on that you might not expect.

Family farmers I know say we’ve been under the thumb of corporate ag bosses and the big meatpackers for too long.  Political affiliation doesn’t seem to matter -- they all agree something needs to be done to make our agriculture markets more open, fair and transparent.

The trades people I know still have trouble finding good help, and have plenty of work. Maybe that's about to change. Maybe not. Layoffs at John Deere due to a 20% drop in sales are high profile and most of us aren't affected. But Gates Company in Newton, who supplies Deere with hydraulic hoses is closing, costing 41 jobs. Our 12-year old loader tractor has a notice under the floor mat that says it was painted in Allison.

The right to vote forms the bedrock of our democratic republic and gives an important voice to the people — of which, by which, and for which our country was established, and President Lincoln so eloquently put during his Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863. Men and women in uniform have sacrificed their own lives to ensure that our nation could be free and that we all have the right to participate in our system of government.

Money….it’s always a controversial topic, don’t you think?! It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about how much someone should get paid, how much something costs, etc…you can find anyone with an opinion about it all. Well, unfortunately, Franklin County needs money to provide services to you, the residents and tax payers. What do you mean services?!

We are in Minnesota at the lake. I mentioned to my step-brother that the Iowa Utilities Commission has decided that Summit Carbon Solutions may use eminent domain to take land for a CO2 pipeline to North Dakota for sequestration. Peter said, “Why not let ChatAI write the article for you?” So I did. I looked at it for curiosity's sake.

As we went through school we all learned very important lessons like how to play Three Blind Mice on a recorder or what the square root of an obtuse angle is on a Tuesday. (Yes, I know that last one isn’t really a thing, but I think you get my point). What we didn’t get an education on is mundane things like balancing your checkbook, how to fill out a W4, or how property taxes are figured. So, I thought we’d touch on that last one this week.

Last month, I traveled to Israel to meet with government officials about the ongoing war. We walked the Kibbutzes where innocent Israelis were murdered, raped, beheaded, and tortured by Hamas terrorists and learned more of the horrifying details about the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.

We have a 14-year old John Deere tractor (5105M) with a front end loader. The handle that controls the loader is two pieces of plastic about 5” long. When new, the handle wiggled around on the post, but that got way worse, and the cable ties and duct tape were beneath my high standards. So I called the dealer and was quoted $876 for the part.

One of my many duties as Auditor is to be the tour guide of the Courthouse. It doesn’t happen often, but a couple times of year we either have visitors pop in and want a formal tour or we have a class from one of the schools in Franklin County come for a tour. Because of this duty, I’ve learned a lot about the history of the Courthouse and I thought it would be fun to share that with you today!

Darrell Speck, 79, of Waterloo, passed away on Sunday, June 23, 2024 at UnityPoint Health - Allen Hospital in Waterloo. Funeral services are pending with the Surls Funeral Home in Iowa Falls.

 After months of delay, the Farm Bill is finally moving in Congress. The House Agriculture Committee passed its draft of the 2024 Farm Bill on May 23, the first step in a process that will include a Senate draft followed by floor debates later this year.
 
Buckle up. We’ve got a long way to go and a short time to get there. The current Farm Bill expires September 30.
 

The Election is pretty much wrapped up in our office. The results were canvassed by the Board of Supervisors yesterday and results made official. We also held our post-election on Monday and are happy to report that the results reported on Election night match exactly as when the ballots were hand counted, so our machines worked the way they were supposed to!