Democrat Wants Extension to Park Home Evictions

(Des Moines, IA) The top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee is calling for extensions on the eviction notices sent to employees who live in state-owned housing in 23 state parks. Representative Timi Brown-Powers of Waterloo says some of these parks are in remote areas and it’s a safety issue to have them on-site. The D-N-R estimates it would cost one million dollars to fix code violations and deferred maintenance — so park rangers, managers, and other staff who live in the homes have been told to move out by November 30th. A spokeswoman says the D-N-R’s decision was not taken lightly and officials took into consideration the condition of the houses as well as the future of the State Park system as a whole.