By Shane Goodman shane@dmcityview.com

Lights, camera, Iowa!

Let’s face facts. Iowa has not been known as a destination point for film producers. Sure, we have had a few big name pictures like “Field of Dreams” and “The Bridges of Madison County.” But why haven’t there been more?

The answer is one you hear to most questions — money. In this specific case, we are talking about money (or tax incentives, to be exact) that neighboring states have provided, and we haven’t.

House File 892 will change that. Once signed by Gov. Chet Culver, this tax incentive will certainly attract more producers to our state, and that’s good for all of us. Reporter Andrew Brink takes us inside our state’s history in film production and explains what this change means to all of us here in the Heartland.

A few changes

We have added a new weekly column entitled Politics Watch, which will prove to expand our political coverage during the caucus season and beyond. Reporter Sean Miller will provide news and insight you won’t find anywhere else.

We are saying goodbye to The List. This column has been a staple for alternative newsweeklies across the nation, summarizing major events from the previous week. With access to current news in so many ways, this news had become stale and out of mind by the time the ink hit the paper.

Our popular Rap Sheet page will continue, but without the 911 calls, thanks to recently implemented fees from the Polk County Sheriff’s office. In its place, we will now run a couple of local service journalism pieces, alternating text and photos of missing persons and Metro’s Most Wanted.

As always, let us know what you think.

Thanks for reading.

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