“We need to invest in workforce training and help more Iowans get the skills they need for 21^st century jobs.  Iowa is known for our quality education and highly-skilled workforce, but we can’t afford to move backwards when the jobs of tomorrow require more training than ever,” said State Representative Phyllis Thede of Bettendorf.

According to the Iowa Department of Education, tuition at Iowa’s community colleges is 60% higher than the national average.  Under Governor Branstad’s proposed budget, community colleges would be cut by a total of $6 million from last year.  Reductions proposed by the Governor in worker training efforts include a $2 million reduction in the Workforce Training Fund and a $5 million reduction to the Accelerated Careers Education (ACE).

“With over 100,000 Iowans enrolled across Iowa, community colleges play a key role in training our workforce statewide.  If businesses are going to expand or locate in Iowa, we must have a skilled workforce that can meet their needs.  Middle class Iowa families depend on affordable community college tuition to get the additional training that helps them land good-paying jobs,” said Sen. Mary Jo Wilhelm of Cresco.

“As we begin to put together the budget, we’re going to work together with our Republican colleagues to grow our skilled workforce and bring more jobs to Iowa,” added Thede.

The Legislators also encouraged Iowans to sign an on-line petition in support of Iowa’s community colleges and students at www.iowahouse.org/communitycollege.

Here is the latest from the Cedar Rapids Gazzette-

As the challenges of the past 10 years – including its largest deployment since World War II — new challenges are emerging for the Iowa National Guard on the home front.

With the exception of 90 members of the Guard and Air Guard, for the first time since 2001 the Iowa Guard has no units currently deployed overseas, Major General Timothy Orr, the commander of the Iowa National Guard told the Legislature Wednesdya.

More than 7,000 Iowa Guard soldiers and airmen have served in support of U.S. military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan valiantly and without faltering, Orr said.

“They carried out their duties day-in and day-out, many on multiple deployments, to ensure mission success,” Orr said in his annual Condition of the Guard address.

Their service came with a price – nearly two dozen Guardsmen died and hundreds suffered wounds and injuries, Orr reminded the lawmakers.

Now that the citizen-soldiers have returned, they face an unemployment rate of 10 percent and those returning to college have lost as much as $1,300 a semester in tuition assistance, Orr said.

A record number of applicants for education assistance combined with flat state funding and rising tuition caused the Guard to reduce the award amounts to ensure all qualified applicants get some financial support, according to a Guard spokesman.

Lawmakers are taking swift action Wednesday to remedy the latter problem. The Senate plans to take Senate File 2007 to make a $1.3 million supplemental appropriation to cover those tuitions costs. It will increase the tuition assistance from $3,186,233 to $4,486,233 to pick up the tuition costs for Guard members enrolled in college this semester.

Orr said that each year approximately 1,100 to 1,200 Guard members attend Iowa universities and colleges through the tuition assistance program.

The program is vital to recruitment and retention of members in the Guard and in Iowa, Orr said.

“Without it we couldn’t have mustered the necessary personnel to meet our overseas and in-state mobilization requirem3ents over the last 15 years,” he said.

It also keeps those men and women in Iowa, he added, “and through their service in the Iowa National Guard helps deepen their Iowa roots.”

Overcoming the unemployment challenge may not be as easy.

Most Guard members return from deployment to pickup where they left off, Orr said.

“They return to work, go back to the farm, enroll in school or pursue new opportunities,” he said. “However, some find the transition difficult.”

The Guard is working with the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve as well as Iowa Workforce Development to help Guard members and their spouses find employment.

Orr also spoke of the Guard’s other missions, to Kosovo, for example, as well as their involvement in flood relief in western Iowa that “demonstrate the performance and promise of your hometown military.

“Regardless of the challenge, we will remain ‘Always Ready and Always There’” for Iowans and the country, Orr said.

The Manufacturing and Logistics National Report which is prepared by Ball State University grades the U.S.’s 50 states in several areas of the economy that  are successful in manufacturing.

Other areas were graded including manufacturing and logistics health, human capital, the cost of benefits, the global reach and diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation, the tax climate, and venture capital activities.

To read more go to: http://cber.iweb.bsu.edu/research/conexus11/

The redistricting process that was completed this Spring created a new house district in the area where Stutsman lives. The house district includes the towns of Tiffin, North Liberty, Oxford and Lone Tree plus Freemont, Lincoln, Pleasant Valley, Liberty (excluding the town of Hills), Sharon,  Washington, West Lucas, Union, Hardin, Clear Creek, Oxford, Madison, Jefferson and Monroe Townships.

Stutsman has completed four terms as a Johnson County Supervisor and began her fifth term on the Board in January. She is the immediate past chair of the Board.

View video from last night’s MSNBC here.

If you haven’t watched Zach’s speech watch it here.

 “Having a strong foundation in the principles of scientific inquiry is a marketable workforce strength,” said Jason Glass, director of the Iowa Department of Education. “Our quality in science education supports the effort to bring much needed jobs to Iowa.”

 Iowa fourth grade students had an average score of 157 in science; the national average was 149. Iowa eighth grade students had an average score of 156 in science; the average national score was 149.

 “One of the reasons I am excited about the future of education in Iowa is because we have such a strong foundation from which to help every student succeed,” said Jason Glass, director of the Iowa Department of Education. “The people of Iowa have invested in an education system that is making a positive difference for so many children. We are in a good position to move forward with innovations that will help prepare every student for their next step in life.”

 In Iowa, approximately 2,800 fourth grade students and 2,700 eighth grade students took the NAEP science test in 2009.

 NAEP, more commonly known as the Nation’s Report Card, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics with the U.S. Department of Education. It is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what students know and can do in subjects such as mathematics and reading.

“Unlike our political institutions, courts serve the law, not the interests of constituents. Courts serve the law, not the demands of special interest groups. Courts serve the law, not the electorate’s reaction to a particular decision. By serving the rule of law, courts protect the civil, political, economic, and social rights of all citizens. Chief Justice William Rehnquist called the independence that allows judges to serve the law “the crown jewel of our system of justice.”

Read full text of Chief Justice Cady’s address here.

Pictured is Representative Dan Kelley of Newton with Chief Justice Cady before the State of Judiciary

Last year legislation was passed by the Iowa House of Representatives to hold insurance companies accountable and provide more transparency for consumers on health insurance plans and premiums, and rate
“Iowa families and small businesses deserve to know the specific reasons why their insurance rates are rising so dramatically every year,” said Steckman. “After years of double digit rate increases, small businesses deserve more warning and an opportunity to voice their concerns before rate increases take effect.”

The public hearing in Mason City will be via video conference over the state’s ICN network. Last November, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield filed requests for increases in base premium rates for individual health insurance policies. If approved, the increases will take effect for policies purchased or renewed on or after April 1, 2011. This will not affect group health insurance policies.

“I encourage you to participate in the hearing to voice your concerns. If you are unable to attend the hearing in Mason City, you can log on to www.insuranceca.wordpress.com and leave your testimony on-line for Wellmark,” said Steckman.

Under the Wellmark proposal, base rates will go up 10.8% for almost 46,000 individual policyholders under age 65 (it does not apply to Medicare policies). Base rates will increase 11.3% for about 3,000 individual basic and standard policyholders. In addition, base rates will increase 15% for about 2,500 Blue Transitions policyholders, which is a policy for those who transition from an employer group to individual coverage.
For more information, contact the Iowa Insurance Commissioner at 515-281-5705 or toll free 877-955-1212.

Today’s report, released by the Department of Management, shows that revenues continue to perform higher than expected from the Revenue Estimating Committee’s projections, in which that group had forecast a 3.3 growth rate. Instead, gross receipts are coming 4.1 percent above last year’s figures after adjusting for the accounting treatment of gambling receipts for an accurate year-to-year comparison.