JCR Blog

About a dozen Johnson County Republicans gathered at the home of Dorree Eckhoff to participate in Jim Nussle's statewide night of 99 ideas. We had some delicious treats and enjoyed conversation before opening things up with the welcome DVD. Then we joined in the statewide conference call with Jim and Karen Nussle and Bob and Darla Vander Plaats -- each at a different location around the state.

After the call, we spent about an hour going around the room to share our ideas. We had some interesting thought-provoking conversations. Some of the ideas shared included:

* Put Health Savings Accounts better into practice within the state
* Reduce the number of counties in the state
* Improve the educational curriculum to focus on "getting back to the basics"
* Help smaller cities (10-20k) revitalize with new businesses
* Develop better mass-transit within the state, including rail service from Omaha to Chicago and better air transportation, especially in eastern Iowa airports
* Reduce regulation and legal expenses for doctors so that they can practice medicine with the interests of the patient, instead of fear in mind
* Focus on selling family-friendly attractions instead of Casinos

We were also visited by a reporter from the Cedar Rapids Gazette (where was the local Press Citizen?) -- so stay tuned for any press coverage.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the Gazette Story.

If you don't want to listen to it, you can read more about the conference call on Krusty. Thanks to everyone who came out, and if you missed out, be sure to submit your ideas online.

# posted by Unknown @ 11:05 PM