A Bit Unsettled In the Capitol Today

A Bit Unsettled In the Capitol Today

Jay Villwock and I marched up the hill to the beautiful gold domed Iowa State Capitol building (yer left, yer left, yer left-right-left) and after Jay shed his bracelets and assorted other jewelry we were passed through the security screeners at one of the entrances. It was early, before eight in the morning, but we timed it that way to get closer parking and a good selection of free goodies, such as breakfast sandwiches and yogurt with fruit on top.

And while we milled around nibbling on these morsels we bumped into several legislators, such as Senator Jack Hatch and Representative Dan Kelley. Both of these legislators are solidly behind us with our hope to get the Iowa Film Office sufficiently funded and to return Wendol Jarvis to run that office once more.

Todd Schulz, the governor's legislative liaison, spoke with us and made suggestions to us as to which key legislative committee members would be most important to meet with. We also said hello to Des Moines Register political reporter, Jason Clayworth. We chatted about the current status of filmmaking in Iowa.

Our most unsettling experience was when we met with Senator Bill Dotzler, Jr., in the Senate lounge. He said the senate leadership could possibly be hesitant in approving the full sum recommended by the governor, $400,000, to run the Iowa Film Office. Because of this, I think it's vital for anyone who is interested in getting back to work in the movie industry here to contact all Iowa legislators. This can take the form of an e-mail and I have previously cited links listing their individual e-mail addresses, but that information can be found by doing a basic Google search.

It would also be a good idea to contact Governor Terry Branstad and let him know how you feel about the film industry, such as how it may have positively impacted your own lives.