Boswell wants his constituents to know he's working for them

by: desmoinesdem

Fri Feb 01, 2008 at 00:14:35 AM CST

As we've discussed here at Bleeding Heartland, a recent survey of Windsor Heights residents showed that 99 percent are satisfied with the quality of life in Windsor Heights, and 89 percent described the city services and quality of life as "above average."

Apparently the most frequent complaint city officials hear from residents is the lack of a unique zip code. Windsor Heights has three different zip codes; two mostly cover neighborhoods in Des Moines, and one mostly covers parts of Urbandale.

According to the Register on Wednesday,

Confusion between the ZIP codes and city boundaries has caused mail to be undelivered or returned to senders, has caused difficulty in tracking sex offenders, and has created problems for businesses.

Despite pleas from Windsor Heights city officials, U.S. postal officials have remained adamant that the suburb will not get its own ZIP code. Postal officials say the town has too few residents and doesn't have a stand-alone post office. The city receives its mail from three post offices in Des Moines and Urbandale.

The article goes on to note that more than 100 Iowa cities and towns with smaller populations than Windsor Heights have unique zip codes, but that's not the point of this post.

I personally know Windsor Heights residents who asked Boswell's office years ago to help us get a zip code.

He just introduced a bill on the subject this week.

It's too early to know whether Boswell's proposed legislation has any chance of passing, or even getting out of the House Government Oversight and Reform subcommittee.

"We hope it will go forward, and the congressman will work hard with his colleagues in the House to get it moving," Boswell spokeswoman McAvoy said.

Looks to me like this is another reason to thank Ed Fallon for challenging Boswell in the primary to represent Iowa's third Congressional district.