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Branstad: More Money Needed to Attract Military Families

Photo by John Pemble
Governor Terry Branstad and Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds

Governor Branstad is asking the legislature for money to market Iowa’s Home Base Iowa program that provides incentives to attract retired military personnel to the state.      But budget-writers at the statehouse say in a tight budget year the new appropriation will be a heavy lift.   

At a statehouse news conference, Branstad announced that six more Iowa communities and schools have joined the program.

“Iowa has been named a top military state by the Military Officers Association of America,” Branstad says.   “Last week we got another award from American Legion for its Home Base Iowa efforts,” Branstad adds.   

Branstad says the program has attracted 12-hundred former military personnel to the state. 

He wants a half-million dollars to supplement a million dollars in private donations to get the word out to more military families.     

Branstad says the program has put Iowa on the national radar.

“It's clear that Iowa and Home Base Iowa are rapidly become a national model for the way veterans should be treated,”   Branstad says.

Republican House Speaker Kraig Paulsen says the Iowa Economic Development Authority can come up with the extra half-million without lawmakers appropriating more money.