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Speaking with a constituent during Waverly's Heritage
Days parade in July.
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I've had lots of great help passing out 2008 State of Iowa transportation
maps at this summer's parades and community celebrations.
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Greeting parade-goers at the Tripoli Fun Days on Aug. 2.
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Congratulations to Sgt. 1st Class Steve Holding of Janesville, who was
named an Iowa National Guard “Hometown Hero” during the Iowa State Fair. Holding, who serves in Clinton, is Hometown Hero of the Day for
Aug. 14. An employee of Waverly Light
and Power, he is an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran and has assisted with
recovery after several natural disasters in Iowa and around the country.
On Aug. 8, Gov. Culver held his annual Lifesaving Awards
Ceremony at the Iowa State Fair. Among
those honored was Jennifer Bright of Allison, who received a Meritorious
Award for rescuing two toddlers from an over-turned van on April 21,
2007.
Also recognized were Greene residents Calley
Steere, who received a Meritorious Award, and Beau,
Meg and Corrine Thompson, who received Lifesaving awards, for coming to the
rescue of a man who’d fallen through the ice on a pond and was submerged in
cold water on April 18 of this year.
It’s that time of year again when kids of all ages head
back to school. It seems strange not
having any of our three sons heading off to Waverly-Shell Rock, but that
certainly doesn't mean they are not going “back to school.”
Our oldest son, Thomas, is officially out of school, but
like many of us, continues to learn while he works for Sen. Tom Harkin out in
Washington, D.C.
This learning opportunity will get a real boost the first week of
September when he travels to Bangkok,
Thailand, as
a guest of our U.S. Embassy there. What
a GREAT experience for a 24 year old!
Our middle son, Andrew, will be a senior at the University of Iowa this year. I can hardly believe it. He spent the summer helping people clean up
from the floods, and in July he worked odd jobs in San Diego while he visited a friend from
high school. He’ll graduate in the
spring with a double major in business and psychology—not a bad
combination. He hopes to get a job
with a marketing firm upon graduation.
And our youngest son, Patrick, will be a sophomore at UNI
in Cedar Falls. He’s really ready to get back to school
after staying busy this summer working two jobs, sometimes putting in 65 to
70 hours per week. He’s looking
forward to track season under the new UNI track coach. It seems like no matter how many years our
kids are in school, each year is one of excitement and anticipation.
Good luck to all of our local students. I know the steps we’ve taken in the
Legislature will provide even more educational opportunities for them. Our recent efforts are improving student
achievement by keeping the best teachers in Iowa
classrooms, increasing accountability, and making quality preschool
accessible to all Iowa
kids.
I’m looking forward to seeing these successes firsthand
when I visit local classrooms as part of America's Legislators Back to
School Program.
This national effort, sponsored by the nonpartisan National
Conference of State Legislatures, teaches young people what it's like to be a
legislator. Every year, more than 1,400 state
lawmakers visit an estimated 320,000 students in their classrooms, bringing
civics to life for our young Americans and encouraging them to play an active
role in their government.
It also gives me the opportunity to meet personally with
young constituents, answer questions, share ideas and listen to concerns.
I am setting up my visits for the upcoming school year and
am interested in visiting any elementary, junior high and high school
classroom that would have me. If you’d
like me to come to your school at any time throughout the year, call me at 319-352-5149
or e-mail me at WHeckroth@aol.com.
The Iowa Arts Council has received a $100,000 grant from
the National Endowment for the Arts for Iowa artists and arts organizations
recovering from storm damage.
Some of the dollars will go to the 2008 Emergency Arts
Relief program, which provides up to $500 for immediate recovery needs.
Others will be used for larger grants and stipends generally ranging from
$3,000 - $6,000.
Disaster-affected Iowa
artists and Iowa
arts organizations that are nonprofit, federally tax-exempt, and located in a
state- or federally-declared disaster area are eligible to apply. Complete information and applications are available
at www.iowaartscouncil.org.
Working with Iowa
young people can be a great win-win opportunity for local businesses. The Iowa Student Internship Program is now
accepting applications from local businesses interested in providing
internships to Iowa
college students.
Companies are eligible to apply for up to three internships,
which are worth $3,100 each. The program is available to Iowa-based companies
that:
Have fewer than 500 employees, with a significant portion
employed within Iowa
in biosciences, advanced manufacturing or information technology.
Offer internships to students of Iowa community colleges, private colleges,
or regent institutions within two years of graduation.
Create a substantive working experience for interns in research
and development, engineering, process management and production, product
experimentation and analysis, product development, market research, business
planning and administration.
For more information, visit www.iowalifechanging.com/business/innov&comm.html
The Iowa Utilities Board is coordinating a community-based
initiative to weatherize homes for Iowans in need before the winter heating
season.
A community grant of up to $5,000 is available for
communities with a population of 10,000 or less to educate residents on
weatherization and energy efficiency.
The Utilities Board is also offering matching grants of up
to $500 to organizations throughout Iowa.
These grants are to be used to weatherize homes and provide educational
materials for Iowa’s
low-income families, elderly or disabled individuals.
More information is available at www.state.ia.us/iub.
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