An independent student newspaper serving Iowa State since 1890
11.13.2018 Vol. 219 No. 062
TUESDAY
TOP: COURTESY OF HEATHER MATSON Democrat Heather Matson was seated to the Iowa House in District 38.
267 women ran for office this year, 118 were seated. A record year for women in politics
BY MADELYN.OSTENDORF @iowastatedaily.com With the House and Senate divided between parties, this midterm election was not a win for Democrats or Republicans, but for the women who were chosen to represent their constituents. 2018 was a groundbreaking year for women in politics. Nationally, 267 women were candidates for seats of power: 16 for governors, 23 for senators and 237 for representatives. 118 are slated to hold seats for the next term. Women also won two-thirds of the seats that the Democrats flipped from previous Republican control. Zoey Shipley, the president of Iowa State’s Vote Everywhere club, cites this record breaking year to be an inspiration to women of all ages, even if they aren’t interested in politics. “It just shows to any woman, any little girl, that anything you put your mind to you can do,” Shipley said. “Women
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LOWER LEFT: KENNEDY DERAEDT/ ISD Kim Reynolds celebrates being the first elected female governer on Nov. 6. Reynolds, Republican candidate for Iowa governor hosted an “Iowa GOP Victory Party” at the Hilton in Des Moines.
MIDDLE: CHRIS JORGENSEN/ ISD Cindy Axne, Democratic representative-elect in Iowa’s third district, addresses the crown at the Embassy Suites in downtown Des Moines.
City council to tackle parking issues BY DEVYN.LEESON @iowastatedaily.com The Ames City Council directed staff to explore and create options relating to parking in downtown Ames at their Oct. 16 meeting. These options included looking into the costs associated with a comprehensive parking study, considering the different wants and needs of employee parking and evaluating parking rates. As a result, city staff created three options based on research, community feedback and previous discussions at city council meetings. The first of these options is to start a comprehensive parking study to look at parking supply and demand, parking alternatives, a report on area developments and community outreach. “It will be important to have an outreach plan that focuses on Downtown business and property owners regarding existing and future needs,” according
to city council documents. “While staff expects to leverage as many digital communication/outreach tools as practicable, it does not feel the study requires expansive public meetings or workshops” The project is projected to cost $70,000 and would not be funded through the city’s parking fund, but rather through a combination of the general fund and the unobligated Road Use Tax Fund. The second option would give immediate relief to alleviate issues relating to employee parking in the downtown area. Currently, employees parking in the 4-hour parking spaces have to move their car and leave their area of work periodically to pay at the meters. Employees and business owners in the downtown area have complained that there is a measurable amount of productivity lost with the current set of parking options. Option two would allow for employees to buy a “hang-tag”
for five dollars to have unlimited parking in the 4-hour parking stalls. Night parking restrictions would still apply. Staff has concerns with making sure parking passes are only being given to legitimate employees, and there are general concerns that this could lower the circulation of cars in the downtown area, reducing the amount of money businesses receive, according to city council documents. The third option would implement the revamping of all current meters in the downtown area to accept credit cards, which would reduce the loss in employee productivity from “feeding the meters.” The cost of this option would reach nearly $197,340, meaning council would also have to consider increased rates to cover the transition costs. Staff recommends option one, as it
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IOWA STATE DAILY Need a place to park but don’t have a permit? Parking meters are located in various lots around campus. These meters can be used at any time, but be sure to check the signs for time limits.