Ask Mr. Answer Person: "Is the Decorah Workforce office possibly going to be closed?"

A decorahnews.com reader writes: "I have been reading in the Cedar Rapids and Des Moines newspapers that a funding cut to Iowa Workforce Development is likely and that more Workforce offices might be closed.  Last year several Workforce offices in Northeast Iowa were closed.  Is the Decorah Workforce office possibly going to be closed?  Who should concerned citizens contact about this?"

Mr. Answer Person says: It's possible the Decorah Iowa Workforce Development office could be closed--although the odds are probably still against that happening.

The budget for all of the offices in the state, which provide help to unemployed Iowans, has been a bit of a political football this year, with Republican Governor Terry Branstad vetoing the funding, only to have the Iowa Supreme Court rule that the governor couldn't do that.

But the squabbling hasn't ended with the court ruling.  Republicans, Democrats and the Governor all seem to have different ideas on how much money to spend--and how to spend it.

The new state budget begins July 1st, so the clock is certainly ticking on a decision.  That means the best people to contact are local legislators such as Mary Jo Wilhelm, Roger Thomas and Bob Hager.  It certainly wouldn't hurt to express your opinion to the Governor's Office, either.