Iowa LICA

1310 8th Ave. N.E.

Independence, Iowa 50644

319-334-9884

Cell: 319-240-2420

ialica@indytel.com

www.ialica.com

Iowa LICA News March/April 2015

Contents Page 2 LICA Agency Meeting

Page 3 Year of the Pond

Page 4/5 Tips on Effective

Working with

Congress

Page 6 Highlights of State

Technical Committee

Meeting

Page 7 Upcoming Events

Page 8 More Antiques for the

Farm

Page 10 Army Corp

Page 11 LICA Members at the

Capitol

Page 12 Equipment Needed

Page 13 Dial 811 Before You

Dig

Page 15 Workers Comp Fraud

Iowa LICA at the Capitol

2015 Iowa Conservation Partnership Day

Pictured are Paul Keppler,

Iowa Secretary Northey, Tim

Recker. and Russ Peters.

On January 29, LICA mem-

bers partnered with members

of your local Conservation

Districts of Iowa and State

Soil Conservation Committee

to showcase the conservation

practices that are implement-

ed across Iowa to preserve and protect our soil and water. LICA members

also met with several state representatives and senators.

.

Iowa LICA State Board Members Meet with Legislators

On March 4, Iowa members met

with legislators and asked them

to allow Iowa LICA representa-

tives to be a part of any changes

that may be proposed on mov-

ing permits. Earlier in the ses-

sion many of the permitting fees

were raised. These fees were in

the same bill as the increase in

gas tax. Thanks to the hard

work of State Representative

Dave Maxwell, he was able to

cut the proposed fee increase by

50%. I can tell you for a fact

that if it wasn't for the tenacity

of Representative Maxwell, the

fees would have increased by almost 500%.

LICA members Tim Recker, Mark Erpelding, and Norm Rozendaal went to

the Capitol before the bill passed in order to support Representative

Maxwell’s stand on these increases.

Above: Scott Bohle, Dan Rasmussen,

Dave Flewelling, Maretta Grattan,

Worthan Grattan, Representative Maxwell,

Mark Erpelding, Victor Gingerich, and

Tim Recker

2

Iowa LICA Agency Meeting

Every year Iowa LICA members meet

with several of the state and federal

agencies we work with. This year we

met with the Iowa Department of Ag

Land Stewardship (IDALS), Natural

Resourse Conservation Service

(NRCS), Department of Natural Re-

sources (DNR), and for the first time

Army Corp of Engineers. It is always

a great meeting and this year was no

exception. (more on page 10)

3

Year of the Pond

Iowa LICA Board of Directors have voted to accept the bids for materials for the pond construction.

The Board of Directors have awarded the bid to Agri Drain Corp for the control structure. All the metal

pipes will be provided by Northern Iowa Construction Products. We want to thank Contech Engineered

Solutions and Metal Culverts, Inc. for their very competitive bids.

If all goes well, the contractors will start the pond project 10 days to 2 weeks before the field day. They

will install all the pipe and get the core trench installed. It is our plan to document on film the entire

process so it can be shown to others. The pond probably won’t be completely finished this year. We

will need one more field day in 2017 in order to get the entire project done.

The contractors who have volunteered their time and expertise are: Mark Erpelding, Doug Egeland,

Gene Blazek, Dan Vorwald, Dave Flewelling, and Scott Bohle.

Make sure you get these dates on your calendar. This should be the best show yet. The farm is really

taking shape. You can be proud of what you have been able to accomplish on this farm.

4

Tips on Effective Working with Congress (Lobbying?) By John Peterson, LICA Director of Government Relations

Introduction: In the almost 30 years I have been pr ivileged to work on Capitol Hill in Washington,

DC with Members of Congress, Congressional staffs, cabinet agencies, and professional lobbyists, I have

been compiling helpful tips picked up from a number of sources. Those sources are as varied as the

American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Portland Cement Association (PCA), and the American

Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). With IECA now more involved with government relations, these tips

are worth sharing. They are important not only for IECA’s Government Relations Committee members,

but also for individual IECA members who may have reason to contact legislators at any level, federal,

state, or local. While they are specific to the U.S. Congress, they are probably just as useful with govern-

ments throughout the world.

Don’t underestimate legislators. With very rare exceptions, they are honest, intelligent, and want to

do the right thing. Your role is to inform them on what you think is right. Be understanding. Put yourself in the legislators place. Try to understand their constituent’s posi-

tions, their outlooks, and their goals. Then you are more likely to persuade them to adopt your position. Be practical. Recognize that each legislator has commitments. Don’t unduly chastise a legislator if

they happen to vote against one of your issues. This does not mean they have deserted your whole pro-

gram. Give legislators the benefit of the doubt. They will appreciate and remember that you did. Be informed. Never meet with legislators to advocate a position without fir st master ing all the facts

on it, and the arguments for and against. Be a good opponent. Fight issues, not persons. Be ready with alternatives and solutions as well as

with criticisms. This is constructive opposition. Don’t run down the opposition. Name calling or derogatory remarks don’t win fr iends and influ-

ence legislation. Don’t assume each legislator is a walking encyclopedia on every pending issue. Each session of Con-

gress or your State Legislature sees thousands of bills introduced and passed. In my Commonwealth of

Virginia in 2004, 3,006 different bills and resolutions were introduced, and 1,715 passed by the General

Assembly. That’s a lot of legislation to read and remember. It’s impossible for every legislator to know

every bill, chapter, and verse. Don’t talk without the facts. Smoke and mir ror s won’t do the job in winning a legislator over . You

must demonstrate, through tangible evidence supported by facts, that a particular action is both desirable

and justified. Couch your arguments in long term investments. Discuss cost effectiveness and efficiency. Don’t forget there is always another side to the issue. Each VA State Representative has an average

of 71,000 constituents, and each Federal Representative about 700,000. It’s even more for Senators. You

can be sure that there is at least one of their constituents who have a different position on your issue, and

like you expect to have their voice heard. Don’t expect commitment on the spot. Most legislators are thoughtful and deliberate, who make a

point of seeking all sides of an issue before taking a position. This does not mean that you fail to ensure

they know what you would like them to do, be specific. Good politicians check the depth of the water be-

fore diving in. Be reasonable. Recognize that legitimate differences of opinion exist. Never indulge in threats. Re-

member that friends come and go, but enemies accumulate. Never break a promise. This is a cardinal rule of politics. If you tell a legislator you will do some-

thing, then do it. No excuses. Keep your word. Keep all commitments and promises in a timely manner. Learn to evaluate and weigh issues. Many bills which are introduced “by request” are never intend-

ed to become law. So don’t criticize legislators for bills introduced, and don’t call out the “troops” until

you are sure a bill you oppose is serious.

5

Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream. Never leave legislators out on a limb suppor ting

your issue, and then change your position after they have publicly supported a position you asked them to

take. Be realistic. Remember that controversial legislation or regulations usually result in compromise. It

has always been so and will always be in our Constitutional Republic. Like it or not, compromise is the

language of politics. Don’t burn your bridges when you don’t win. Working with legislators is an investment that may

not pay off immediately. Don’t burn your bridges if the results you want are not immediately forthcoming. Be thoughtful. Commend the things your legislators do that you suppor t. They may not even be

your main issues. That is the way you would like to be treated. Lawmakers will tell you they get dozens of

letters asking them to do something, but very few thanking them for what they have done. Be friendly. Don’t contact legislators only when you want their help. Invite them to attend your or-

ganization’s meeting when they are back in their district to say “thank you” and discuss issues. Take pains

to stay in touch with them throughout the year – every year. Don’t fail to say “thank you.” Even though meeting with constituents comes with the ter r itory for

legislators, it is still an act that should be acknowledged. A thank you is always in order and appreciated. Don’t leave never to be heard from again. One phone call or visit is not enough. Stay on top of de-

velopments relating to your issue so that when new and relevant information becomes available, you can

pass it along.

One final thought – be sure of what you ask for. You might just get it! There is another old adage that is

appropriate for IECA, “Your influence counts – but only if you exercise it.”

6

Bruce Barnhart, Iowa LICA’s representative,on the State Technical Committee, and others met on

February 27 in Des Moines.

The following are some of the highlights of the meeting.

The funding for animal waste storage facilities is now ranked at the district level

not county level. The feeling is to have the applications judged there amongst a

broader area so that a poor quality application that might get approved at a county

where there might not be any competition might not get funded at the district level.

Conservation Security Program contracts that expire are reapplying at much lower

levels. The renewal process mandates that you can’t change your practices from the first application, you

have to continue to do that practice and add another practice to renew. It appears many people think that

is too restrictive and are not applying.

There was a report on updating the functional assessment for wetland mitigation and this would possibly

relate to future wetland banks. They are trying to use other states existing criteria where they fit rather

than develop brand new stuff just for Iowa. The staff feels that we can pick from different state models

for different geographic conditions and those models will work well.

The biggest change in that wetland discussion is that in the past there has been talk about 1½ or 2 acres to

mitigate 1 acre. Staff says nowhere in the law or rules is that a requirement and that they are going to pro-

pose following a 1 to 1 ratio for mitigation.

Conservation Innovative Grants (CIG) Categories for the State CIG () are: Soil Health/Quality, Iowa

Nutrient Management Strategy, Grassland Management, Marketing of Grass Fed Beef, Drought/Flood

Management, Technology related to Establishing Cover Crops, and Woodland Health. Applications are

due by noon on May 15, 2015. There is $800,000 set aside with a maximum of $75,000 per project. If

this money is not used, it goes back into the cost share funding to be allocated on traditional projects.

7

Iowa LICA 2nd Annual Golf Scholarship Tournament in June

Iowa LICA Summer Board will be held at the LICA Farm at 5 PM on Tuesday, July 28.

Midwest Construction Expo and Field Day July 29 & 30

Iowa LICA Membership Meeting and Convention on January 10, 11, 12, 2016.

Northwest District Southwest District Northeast District Southeast District

February 25 March 8 March 15 March 14

June 6 – Joint June 6 – Joint June 14 June 13

September 12 September 13 September 20 September 19

December 5 December 6 December 13 December 12

Meetings for 2015

8

New Antique Donation to LICA

Construction Museum

Leo Rieken, LICA member from SW Iowa,

donatated a “poor man’s” tiling machine.

Leo says this “plug” was pulled through the

clay soils to create a path for water to follow

and would drain some hard-to-drain soils.

Wayne Towers said this machine was used to

“bore” under railroads. You could drive a

pipe through the crossing and hook a chain

or cable to the “plug” and pull it through.

He said he has seen them as big as 12 inch.

9

10

Several Iowa LICA

members met with Dan

Hayes of the Army Corp

of Engineers in Des Moines on March 4

to discuss rules and regulations. Mr. Hayes

told us to call him if we

had any questions about a project and he

would do his best to answer them.

His number is: 309-794-5372

11

LICA Members at the Capitol. Paul Keppler, Bruce Barnhart, Russ Peters, Scott Bohle,

State Representative Dave Maxwell, Dave Flewelling, Jim Meadows, and Tim Recker

12

The Midwest Construction Expo

and Field Day will be here before we know it.

There will be a lot of work to do this year. As stated

before in this newsletter, we will begin work on the

dam for the LICA pond which will be finished at the

2017 Midwest Construction Expo and Field Day.

To work on the dam, contractors will be needing doz-

ers, excavators, haul trucks, and scrapers. There will

be more than enough room to run the drainage

machines too. We will also find work for backhoes

and mini-excavators.

This will be the biggest field day LICA has ever been a part of.

Associates Make sure you are watching your mail for registration forms for booth

spaces and tent space. Info should be in your mail by the middle of

April. You don’t want to miss this one.

13

14

Make Sure You Dial 811 Before You Dig

Want to avoid spending a day in the dark? Or being without heat for your home? What about not being

able to connect to the internet, email or social media? Preventing these issues may be as simple as 8-1-1.

Excavations can damage the underground utilities we all rely on every day. Avoid excavation related

utility damages by calling 811 from anywhere in the country. Any type of digging requires a call to 811 a

few days prior to your digging project whether it is a large or small project. Your call to 811 will be

routed to your local One Call center. The center’s customer service representative will take down vital

information about your project such as where you're planning to dig and what type of work you will be

doing. Then they will notify the local underground utility operators to come mark their facilities. Within a

few days a locate representative will have marked the approximate location of the underground lines,

pipes and cables so you'll know what's below and you will be able to dig safely. The call and the service

are FREE!

Besides normal farming operations, farmers and ranchers are not exempt in making notifications to the

One Call center while conducting a variety of farm related excavations. Farmers and their contractors are

required to call 811 prior to digging projects, examples include: installing drain tile, building terraces,

chisel plowing, sub-soiling, deep ripping, building waterways, drilling wells, building holding ponds and

installing fence posts to name a few.

In fact, several states have laws that require notifying the One Call center whenever the digging project

goes deeper than a specified number of inches. Be sure you know the requirements of your state law.

Okay… so now you have called 811 before digging, by now locate representatives, possibly from

multiple companies, have been to your dig site to mark the approximate location of the underground

utility lines. Check the area before proceeding with your project. If an underground utility operator has

not responded or if underground facilities are clearly present and not marked, call your state One Call

center again to have the area marked properly.

When digging, make sure to always carefully hand dig around the marks. Some utility lines may be buried

at a shallow depth and even a misplaced shovel thrust can bring you right back to square one - facing

potentially dangerous and/or costly consequences. For those bigger projects around large pipelines, make

sure you have a pipeline representative present while you dig.

Don't forget that erosion, land movement, root structure growth or other factors may affect the amount of

dirt surrounding the underground utility. So remember to call each time you are planning a digging job.

Safe digging is no accident.

Now that you've made the smart call to 811 and protected yourself, your family and community, make

sure to spread the word about 811.

15

15 Warning Signs of Workers’ Compensation Fraud

The WC (workers' compensation) insurance system is a no-fault method of paying workers for medical

expenses and wage losses due to on-the-job injuries. While the majority of WC claims are truthful, the

National Insurance Crime Bureau reports that billions of dollars of false claims are submitted each

year. To help you detect possible WC fraud, experience shows a claim may be fraudulent if two or more

of the following factors are present:

1. Monday Morning: The alleged injury occurs either “fir st thing Monday morning,” or late on

a Friday afternoon but not reported until Monday.

2. Employment Change: The repor ted accident occurs immediately before or after a str ike, a

layoff, the end of a big project or at the conclusion of seasonal work.

3. Job Termination: If an employee files a post-termination claim:

Was the alleged injury reported by the employee prior to termination?

Did the employee exhaust his/her unemployment benefits prior to claiming workers’ compensation

benefits?

4. History of Changes: The claimant has a history of frequently changing physicians, addresses

and places of employment.

5. Medical History: The employee has a pre-existing medical condition that is similar to the alleged

work injury.

6. No Witnesses: The accident has no witnesses, and the employee's own descr iption does not

logically support the cause of injury.

7. Conflicting Descriptions: The employee's descr iption of the accident conflicts with the medical

history or First Report of Injury.

8. History of Claims: The claimant has a history of numerous suspicious or litigated claims.

9. Treatment is Refused: The claimant refuses a diagnostic procedure to confirm the nature or

extent of an injury.

10. Late Reporting: The employee delays r epor ting the claim without a reasonable explanation.

11. Hard to Reach: You have difficulty contacting a claimant at home, when he/she is allegedly

disabled.

12. Moonlighting: Does the employee have another paying job or do volunteer work?

13. Unusual Coincidence: There is an unusual coincidence between the employee’s alleged date

of injury and his/her need for personal time off.

14. Financial Problems: The employee has tr ied to borrow money from co-workers or the

company, or requested pay advances.

15. Hobbies: The employee has a hobby that could cause an injury similar to the alleged work

injury.

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Iowa Land Improvement Contractors’ Association

1310 8th Ave. NE

Independence, Iowa 50644 Return Services Requested