Some of the state’s voters made decisions on big-ticket financial projects and a controversial policy about who may be in Iowa City bars was upheld in Tuesday’s elections.
Polk County voters approved an $81-million bond referendum to renovate the 106-year-old county courthouse in Des Moines and convert two vacant buildings nearby into court facilities. Over 67 percent of voters backed the plan, exceeding the 60 percent super majority needed for passage.
In Iowa City, an overwhelming two-thirds majority of voters upheld the local ordinance which prohibits people under the legal drinking age of 21 from being in Iowa City bars after 10 p.m.
Voters in Taylor County approved a $3.8 million bond issue for construction of a new county jail. It passed with 61 percent of the vote.
Voters in Rock Rapids decided against raising local property taxes to support a municipal band.
A $3.5 million bond referendum in Emmetsburg that would have been used for a municipal communications utility to supply broadband service to the city’s residents fell six points short of the 60 percent super majority needed to pass.
Voters in Waterloo defeated a property tax levy that would have supported the Grout Museum.