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As the weather cools, you can feel three things in air:
State Fair, football and the start of another school year.
Five of my eight grandkids will be in school this
year. At Roland-Story, Thomas is a
junior, Cortney a sophomore, and Alyson and Cole
are in eighth grade. Sam will be starting kindergarten in Hudson, and his brother, Drew, will attend
preschool.
I’m proud of the Legislature’s efforts to improve our local
schools so that my grandchildren—and all Iowa kids—can receive a first-class
education.
Our recent efforts are improving student achievement by
keeping the best teachers in Iowa
classrooms, increasing accountability, making quality preschool accessible to
all Iowa
kids, and helping to keep college tuition rates in check.
I’m looking forward to seeing some of 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 515-733-2427
or e-mail me at rich@norsemenrealty.com.
On Aug. 8, Gov. Culver held his annual Lifesaving Awards
Ceremony at the Iowa State Fair. Among
those honored was Joe Husack of Cambridge, who received a Meritorious Award
for aiding a woman after her vehicle slid off an icy road on Dec. 14,
2007.
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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