THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2025 • VOLUME N0. 124 • ISSUE NO. 29 • 1 SECTION • 8 PAGES
Serving Colfax • Mingo • Baxter • Western Jasper County
Holding on with hope By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune Spring City Pharmacy in Colfax is facing an uncertain future. The community staple is looking to local state legislators to pass legislation that will greatly benefit not only Spring City Pharmacy but all other pharmacies across Iowa. “Our biggest struggle is that a large portion of the prescriptions we (or any pharmacy) fill, the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) pay us less than it costs us to buy the drugs,” Spring City Pharmacy owner Brad Magg said. “So it’s not uncommon to lose anywhere from $1-$200
filling a patient’s prescription before we even pay for overhead like lights, staff, labels and packaging.” In just the three years Magg and fellow owners Brittney Van Howeling and Brenda Tjaden have been in charge of the pharmacy, they have lost $105,884.57 just filling 9,790 prescriptions. Magg points to PBMs as middlemen or subcontractors that have minimal regulations or oversight managing the prescription drug portion of health insurance for insurance companies. “For instance, Canada does not have PBMs, and their wholesale drug prices are 30 percent less on average than America’s,”
Magg said. “Think of how much different healthcare would be if 30 percent of all of the prescription drug sales in America were split between pharmacies so they could be paid for the work they do, health insurance companies to reduce premiums and out-ofpocket prices for patients lowered.” Two bills are moving through the statehouse: Senate File 383 and House File 852. According to Magg, the legislation would require PBM’s and insurance companies to pay pharmacies what the drug actually costs and bans them from charging the PHARMACY | 3
Spring City Pharmacy looking at bleak future if state legislature doesn’t address middleman with prescription drugs
Jamee A. Pierson/Jasper County Tribune Spring City Pharmacy in Colfax is urging community members to talk to local state legislators about passing files related to pharmacy benefit managers, a “middleman” that is costing the pharmacy thousands of dollars.
Students shine in honor band performance Musicians from every Jasper County school participate in 2025 honor band By Jamee A. Pierson Jasper County Tribune Almost 100 kids filled the Berg Middle School stage for the 2025 Jasper County Honor Band. Showing off their skills on musical instruments, the kids put on a show-stopping performance, no fooling, on April 1. The band was led by guest director Lynnville-Sully Middle School Band Director Brenna Hamborg. Students from all six county schools participated in the 51st edition of the honor band. “The students were awesome to work
Jamee A. Pierson/Jasper County Tribune Almost 100 middle school students participated at the 51st Jasper County Honor Band April 1 at Berg Middle School in Newton.
with. I had such a fun time working with all of them,” Hamborg said. “They all worked really hard to get this music down. I could not be prouder of the group here tonight.” The students arrived at Berg Middle
Jasper County’s property tax levy hearing highlights confusion of tax system Officials stress they have no control over school district and city levies
lot of our kids have not had experience listening down to our tubas way in the back.” After hours of work, the kids got a BAND | 3
Farmers could see another bailout if U.S. tariffs cause economic fallout in agriculture U.S. Sec. of Agriculture also assures Trump administration will be opening up markets and expanding trade to other countries
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Before any more complaints about school district levies and assessments could be lobbed at Jasper County during a public hearing discussing its proposed tax rate, supervisors set the record straight and said they have no control over the schools or cities and that they lower their levies when assessments soar. Taxpayers expressed their frustrations with tax rates published in a controversial mailer that has proven to only confuse and irritate those who have received it. They also argued against the reasons the proposed property tax rate exceeds the current property tax rate. Again, much of it dealt with the school and cities. Others tried comparing their home budgets to government budgets. Coupled with inflation
School in Newton early in the morning to start rehearsals. A couple of the songs they had a chance to practice ahead of the event but not all of them. “We worked a lot on balance,” Hamborg said. “We have a really big group. A
By Christopher Braunschweig Jasper County Tribune Farmers should be noticing a pattern by now. When the Trump administration imposed tariffs amidst trade wars with China in 2018, farmers were compensated with a round
of bailouts. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said if farmers’ pockets are hurt again by the tariffs, they can expect the same outcome. Rollins appeared alongside Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and other state TARIFFS | 3
Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune Supervisor Brandon Talsma shows off the thick binder which contains the 2025-26 budget for Jasper County. Residents this past week had a chance to share their frustrations regarding property taxes and the confusing mailers sent out prior to the public hearings.
and other economic factors, they now have to budget themselves less because property taxes continue to take up more and more of their income. They also criticized CONTACT US
the way some cities and schools keep the levy rate the same. When assessments increase and levy rates stay TAXES | 3
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Christopher Braunschweig/Jasper County Tribune U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins answers questions from press on March 31 at Beck’s Hybrids in Colfax.
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