CARTER LAKE, Iowa (KMTV) — Neighbors in Carter Lake were tired of having different laws governing their docksdepending on what side of the state line they were one. In some cases, houses and docks are in Iowa but sitting on Nebraska water. Plus, Iowa was the only state in the country that required soft canopies on private docks sitting on state lakes.
- Eric Armstrong made 25 trips to Des Moines to talk to state lawmakers about bringing Iowa's regulations in line with neighboring states.
- “This is important because it gives people in Iowa a choice in how they want to protect their boats and their watercraft,” Armstrong said.
- Armstrong’s wife, Hillary Parker, says they got creative: “We made several hundred cookies and we brought them in with our bill number on them. And we enticed legislators as they were running through doing their thing to grab one.”
- State Rep. Josh Turek “This is a bill that is doing away with unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.”
WATCH KATRINA'S STORY HERE
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Sometimes grassroots political efforts can pay off. I'm Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter Katrina Markel. And for neighbors in Carter Lake, repeated visits to the state Capitol got results, bringing Iowa dock regulations in line with their literal neighbors in Nebraska.
Carter Lake resident Eric Armstrong made two dozen trips to the Capitol, working to change restrictions for Iowa dock owners on public lakes. Unlike every other state, they were limited to only soft dock canopies.
“This is important because it gives people in Iowa a choice in how they want to protect their boats and their watercraft,” Armstrong said.
In windy weather dock owners can lose the expensive canopies, which often end up at the bottom of the lake.
He explained to lawmakers it's especially confusing in a place like Carter Lake.
“We have a neighbor who, clearly, that one side of their property is in the Iowa state waters and the other side of their property is in Nebraska state waters. So technically, they could have a hard cover in the Nebraska area and not be allowed to have a hard cover in the Iowa area,” said Armstrong.
Josh Turek represents Carter Lake in the Iowa House and worked across the aisle to get the bill to the governor’s desk: “I think this is a great example of what the legislative process should be and what grassroots advocacy is.”
Armstrong’s wife, Hillary Parker, says they got creative: “We made several hundred cookies and we brought them in with our bill number on them. And we enticed legislators as they were running through, doing their thing to grab one.”
"It is important that you're nudging things forward all the time and getting visibility," said Armstrong.
Turek “This is a bill that is doing away with unnecessary bureaucracy and regulation.”
Parker: “And it was really nice to see people come together and go, ‘This is a commonsense change. Why don’t we just do it.’”
Governor Reynolds signed the bill into law this week.
