Recycling in Ames and other city projects took the spotlight at the Student Government’s semesterly meeting with the Ames City Council. 

Starting in July, a program for curbside recycling will be implemented for Ames residents living in units hosting four families or fewer. The program will not be voluntary and will add $7.75 monthly to their bills. 

This curbside recycling is part of a bigger plan to restructure how Ames deals with its trash, no longer using the Resource Recovery System they’ve utilized for the past 50 years, burning trash. 

“We were spending millions of dollars a year just keeping this beast running … a lot of hard work went into creating this new facility out in East Ames,” Ward 2 Rep. Tim Gartin said. “And so a lot of the work is already done designing the project, and so we’ll be constructing it very, very soon.”

Instead of burning the trash, Mayor John Haila explained, Ames will be increasing its recycling, such as through the curbside program and waste will be taken to a landfill. 

“We’re also going to be planning a new thermal energy plant, or power plant, where we’re going to have a series of small boilers that are natural gas-fired, or they call them engines, essentially,” Haila said. “That will be built on a site just to the north of the resource recovery plant.”

While many students do not live in units that house four families or fewer, Ex-Officio Emily Boland, a senior majoring in political science, explained that Ames is attempting to increase recycling opportunities in the form of drop-off locations throughout the city for apartment dwellers. 

Haila noted, however, that allowing recycling for large groups of people includes risking trash mingling within the recycling. 

“It can’t become a dumpster,” Haila said. “It has to be recyclable because once you dump that into a recycling truck, it contaminates everything and that basically has to go to a landfill. And so my understanding is that the recycling company will have cameras able to monitor, and if they see stuff that all of a sudden is not supposed to be in a container, it will document where it’s at, and then basically that resident will be cited.” 

The conversation is still ongoing for expanding the program for apartment complexes. 

The Council also spoke on various road and pedestrian improvements that will be implemented within two years for the Campustown area. This information can be accessed on the City of Ames website, specifically the “2026-2031 Capital Improvement Plan – DRAFT.” 

The Senate conducted its normal weekly meeting following the joint meeting. 

Open forum 

Michael Briesemester, a senior majoring in genetics, gave a passionate speech in front of the Senate during open forum. 

Briesemester, a member of the Supreme Court, gave the first part of his speech as a justice, and the second, in his words, “as Michael.” 

His first request was that when Senators are interested in filing articles of impeachment, they consult the Supreme Court before debating them to make sure the language is correct. 

“Unfortunately, when these motions are filed quickly and without proper review, we find that the charges levied cannot be upheld, or, in recent cases, even brought to trial. Different wording of these documents could have at least allowed us to hear the case,” Briesemester said. 

Speaking on behalf of himself, Briesemester directly referenced a scanned pamphlet of the Campus Victory Project (CVP), a non-profit interest group funded by conservative organization Turning Point USA, which has been accused of influencing student government elections across the country, including ISU.

The pamphlet, on page 20, mentions pro-American, pro-Israel and free market beliefs. While Breisemester has no qualms with being pro-America or free markets, he does have problems with the pro-Israel rhetoric. 

“I want you to tell me how we are supposed to look anyone from Palestine or any neighboring nation in the eye when the man in the Office of the President supports an organization which supports a country that has and continues to commit the most heinous crime known to man Mr. Brandt, you have destroyed, dare I say, annihilated the credibility of this institution,” Briesemester said. “Your actions have directly damaged the student body’s trust in us.”

Along with his opinion on matters in the Middle East, Briesemester also believes this rhetoric disrupts the nonpartisan nature of the Student Body President. 

“It is an expectation of this body that we remain apolitical to better serve our fellow students,” Breismester said. “Yet you drag future members of this government into external political organizations that directly seek to influence our policies. Your refusal to answer the sentence questions at the last meeting indicates contempt for your colleagues.” 

The following external matters were passed with a vote of 25-0-0

• Funding $5,000 to establish the Miller Grant for Open and Affordable Educational Content Innovation 
• More Green for the Green Initiative, totaling $16,000 
• Funding $975 for Pre-Veterinary Club Event 
• Funding $1212.95 to the 180 Degree Consulting Club 
• Entering a contract with the Business Pop-Up Shop for funding of $87,800 over four years 
• Malaysian Student Association Debt Contract 

The following Internal matters were passed without opposition 

• Seating Joey Romare, a sophomore majoring in political science, as a fraternity senator 
• Seating Srishti Nandal, a junior majoring in data science, to the academic affairs committee 
• Seating Samantha Jones, a senior majoring in elementary education, to the academic affairs committee
• Seating Grace Gaarde, a senior majoring in political science, to the academic affairs committee 

The following bill was read for the first time and will be discussed and voted on in a later meeting. 

• Funding the African Students Association 

The next Senate meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Memorial Union.