Photos

	Sen. Jack Hatch summarizes Iowa's 2008 Health care reforms during the first meeting of the Iowa Choice Advisory Council on Aug. 11. Iowa Choice will develop a plan for making sure all Iowans have access to health care. On hand for the meeting were former Iowa Governors Tom Vilsack and Terry Branstad, as well as members of the Commission on Affordable Health Care.
	Des Moines residents spend July 12 helping with flood recovery cleanup efforts in Cedar Rapids. An Americorps volunteer coordinator instructs the Des Moines volunteers on how to wear the protective breathing mask. The contaminates in the air, water and soil are still too strong not to be careful, we were told. Working six hours, swinging crowbars while wearing a mask is not easy, but there were no complaints from our inner-city neighborhoods.
	Des Moines volunteers helping in Cedar Rapids included Kimberly Hansen, director of the Des Moines Neighbors, Jack Porter, the state’s preservation officer, Marie Steenleg, the state’s neighborhood specialist, John Holstrom, president of Sherman Hill Neighborhood, Donna Holstrom, Ryan Galloway, Matt Coen, Larry and Lisa Marie Vavroch, Charles and Leah Pope, Karen and Clayton Kennedy, Jay and Isaiah Ewart, Pam Rees, Katie Kisling, Kevin Blocher, Sue Ellsworth, Larry and Rowena Schweizer, my daughter Caslon and myself.
	On May 13, Governor Culver signed life-changing legislation that will allow 53,000 more Iowa kids to go to a doctor when they’re sick, maybe for the first time in their lives. Making health insurance available to all kids is helping to make Iowa a national leader in health care reform. In years to come, further reform efforts will focus on helping low-income adults get the coverage they need, developing health care initiatives for Iowa’s thousands of small businesses, reducing costs and increasing the quality of health care for all.
	Senators Amanda Ragan, Joe Bolkcom, and Jack Hatch are joined by Kris Bell, senior health policy advisor, to celebrate the approval of a health care reform bill. The group spent last summer and fall developing recommendations for the Health Care Commission that led to this session's legislation, House File 2539. This initiative makes Iowa the first state in the country to deliver on the promise to cover all kids. From left: Bell, Hatch, Ragan and Bolkcom.
	World Indoor 60m Hurdler Champion LoLo Jones and world class sprinter Kim Carson joined Sen. Jack Hatch and his daughter, Caslon, at the Statehouse on April 24, prior to the Drake Relays. Both LoLo and Kim are graduates of Roosevelt High School in Des Moines. Kim returned to Iowa to establish a child obesity program and was recently appointed to the Hawk-I Board. Caslon will join them as a Roosevelt graduate in three weeks. From left: Jones, Sen. Hatch, Caslon Hatch and Carson.
	Sen. Jack Hatch and Rep. Wayne Ford recognized Drake Professor Dr. Dean Wright in the Senate Chamber on April 22. Dr. Wright was honored with Senate Resolution 132 for his lifelong efforts to address poverty, homelessness, and crime. Pictured, from left: Hatch, Wright and Ford.
	On April 15, Governor Chet Culver signed Iowa's Smoke-free Air Act into law. This statewide ban on smoking in public places will reduce exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke, which kills more than 400 Iowans annually and makes thousands ill. The initiative should also reduce the $300 million in taxpayer money that goes to treat smoking-related illnesses each year. The ban will apply to most workplaces, public places and certain outdoor areas.
	On April 14, the Iowa Senate honored the talented young men and women who make up the 2007-2008 Drake University men's and women's basketball teams. Congratulations to the athletes and coaches, Keno Davis and Amy Stephens, on an incredible season. Their efforts have elevated the Bulldogs to rank among the best teams in the nation.
	During the event, my daughter Caslon and I talked with Bulldog guard Adam Emmenecker, the Larry Bird-Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year.
	Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal of Council Bluffs (left) watched April 3 as Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines (right) describes the broad outline of a health care reform agreement that will result in health care insurance for all Iowa kids. Democrats have agreed to spend $25 million over the next three years to expand coverage to almost 40,000 Iowa children who currently do not have health insurance.
	Melissa Dohrn of Clinton tells Sen. Hatch how "Iowa at Work" has helped her train to become a math teacher. Dohrn was at the Statehouse March 11 with the Association of Iowa Workforce Partners.
	Senator Jack Hatch watches debate on the Senate floor February 27 when a statewide ban on smoking in public places passed on a bipartisan 29-21 vote.
	Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines shares a laugh with the Senate pages during debate on a statewide ban on smoking in public places on February 27. The legislation passed on a bipartisan 29-21 vote.
	On Feb. 23, Senator Jack Hatch and other local legislators hosted a roundtable discussion with constituents on healthcare concerns. About 40 central Iowans met to talk about a proposal to insure every child in the state. Hatch, co-chair of the Legislative Commission on Affordable Health Care, fielded questions about costs and the potential to move toward universal health care.
	On Feb. 5, leaders from the Iowa House and Senate introduced legislation that could make Iowa the first state in the nation to make sure all children have health insurance. At the podium, Tina Hull, a mother who is unable to afford health insurance for her daughter. From left: Rep. Ro Foege (Mount Vernon), Sen. Jack Hatch (Des Moines), Rep. Mark Smith (Marshalltown), Sen. Amanda Ragan (Mason City), and Sen. Staci Appel (Ackworth).
	I talked with members of the Polk County Medical Society at the Iowa Statehouse on January 30, including Executive Director Kathie Lyman. We discussed ideas for recruiting new physicians to Iowa, as well as ways to increase the affordability and access to high-quality health care here in Iowa.
	Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines talks with Lyle Schwery, Homeless Programs coordinator for the State of Iowa. Members of the Iowa Council on Homelessness were at the Statehouse Jan. 22 to raise awareness about homelessness in Iowa. Pictured from left: Hatch, his daughter Caslon Hatch, who is a Senate Page, and Schwery. (photo credit: Christjahn Beck)
	On Jan. 8, the Commission on Affordable Health Care met to make its final recommendations for health care reform to the Legislature. State Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines, co-chair of the Commission, said that his top priority is to make sure every Iowa child has quality, affordable health care coverage. Pictured, from left, are Commission members Julie Kuhle of the Iowa Foundation for Medical Care, Dr. David Carlyle of McFarland Clinic in Ames, Hatch (at podium), John Aschenbrenner of the Principal Financial Group, and Rep. Ro Foege of Mount Vernon. Hear Commission members’ remarks about their proposals at www.iowasenatedemocrats.org\media.
	State Senator Jack Hatch of Des Moines met with Governor Chet Culver at the Iowa Statehouse on Monday to discuss the best ways to stand up for middle-class families and to continue responsible, prudent budget-making. Hatch and other legislators from across Iowa were at the Capitol to discuss priorities for the 2008, which convenes January 14. Last year’s budget left the state in better financial condition than the year before, and Hatch and other legislators pledged to repeat that accomplishment. Pictured from left: Senator Wally Horn of Cedar Rapids, Hatch and Culver. (12/3/2007)
All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship helps students be all they can be, Hatch says I am pleased that 179 Iowa young people now have the chance to further their education at our Regents’ Universities, community colleges, and private colleges. This is thanks to the new, state-funded All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, a needs-based scholarship created during the 2007 session of the Legislature. These young scholars have proven themselves through hard work during high school, and we want to make sure their efforts are rewarded with a top-notch college education that they might not be able to afford otherwise. I’m glad the state of Iowa is doing the right thing by helping them become all they can be, and I hope they will choose to make a life and start a family in Iowa after they graduate. To be eligible for an All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, students must show financial need and have a GPA of at least 2.5. More than 1,200 Iowa students applied for the scholarship this year; 179 were awarded scholarships. The average award is $5,275. For more details about the All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship, go to the Iowa College Student Aid Commission Web site, www.IowaCollegeAid.gov, or call 1-800-383-4222. Pictured: All Iowa Opportunity Scholarship winners Whitney Conley of Boone, a student at DMACC's Ankeny campus (left), and Shayla Dameron of West Des Moines, a student at DMACC's West and Urban campuses (right); Sen. Jack Hatch of Des Moines (second from left); Christine Davis, Dameron's mother (center); DMACC President Robert Denson (second from right). (11/19/07)