The latest local news, weather and high school sports from the Heartland

FAIRFIELD, IOWA -- On Saturday, the Fairfield Chamber of Commerce hosted its second of three legislative breakfast forums for the current session.

The forum focused on taxes, both commercial and property, as well as the proposed changes to Iowa’s mental health system.

However, one of the most inquisitive questions came from a participant, asking about the funding for Iowa’s judicial system, which includes the Iowa State Patrol.

Governor Terry Branstad has promised more funding for the department, which is in desperate need of the extra money.

“We are trying to fund the public safety and judicial system at the governor’s request. Hopefully, we can get a bit more money involved in that if the senate would cooperate with us,” said State Representative Curt Hanson of Fairfield.

Hanson added that the state patrol is in desperate need of the extra funds.

“I am sure that those budgets drastically need extra funding; because the state patrol is in such critical shape for dash cameras that they were cannibalizing old units to repair them because there were no parts available for their units because they were so sadly out of date,” Hanson said.

Hanson added that the house and senate need to work together on this issue, being that public safety and education should always be Iowa’s top priorities.