August 6, 2010
Wet Dog Days Arrive!
Local innovative energy project receives funding
Economic development awards goes to Iowa City
Local projects awarded historic preservation grants
Kids, kids, kids
Preparing kids to learn and succeed
More Iowa children benefit from quality preschool
Iowa is a leader in health care for kids
Supporting good nutrition: good for health, good for the economy
News you can use
Wet Dog Days Arrive!
My garden is soaked. The tomatoes are hanging in there. I have to pick them before they burst. It has been a great year for flowers though.
It has been a very busy summer. I spent almost two weeks in early June participating in the Green Bike Tour in Slovenia. You can see photos and my daily blog at Green Bike Tour. The tour provided a great opportunity to learn about Slovenia’s effort to address climate change by developing more renewable energy, especially residential and business distributed solar power systems. It also provided an opportunity to share our Iowa renewable energy success story.
I also traveled to Washington, DC in early July to participate in the Working Group of State Legislators meeting at the White House. The meeting provided an opportunity for state health care leaders to discuss state health care reform implementation strategies with key administration officials. In addition, I attended the board meeting of Progressive States Network. I serve on their national board. We worked on plans for our winter meetings and our 2011 national legislative agenda.
I am returning to the Minneapolis later this month to participate in the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. I will join the Annie-Mama Team to continue the fight to end breast cancer. I will join my sisters Annie (our leader and breast cancer survivor), Mary and Liz and several friends in this three-day, 60-mile walk! It will be great. I would like to thank everyone who financially contributed to this effort. Our team has raised more than $30,000 so far this year! The team has raised more than $100,000 over the past three years.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any issues, ideas or concerns.
Tomato and butternut squash merge.Local innovative energy project receives funding
The University of Iowa’s Medical Research Facility has been awarded $205,000 to replace a standard air make-up ventilation air handling unit with a new system that incorporates energy recovery wheels to reduce energy consumption. To fund the project, the Iowa Office of energy Independence will use money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
Economic development awards goes to Iowa City
Iowa’s Economic Development Board recently approved an award for Responsible Transportation of Iowa City. The startup company has been awarded $25,000 for technical assistance to conduct a feasibility study, plan for plant development, perform export analysis, engineering building design and Web site design for their new company. The company intends to become the first pound for unwanted horses serving the Midwest. Meat from animals that are euthanized will be processed for animal consumption.
The Iowa Department of Economic Development also recently announced an award for CET Cellular Engineering Technologies in Iowa City. CET is Iowa's only regenerative medicine company and is a leading supplier of commercial adult stem cells and tissue culture media that both expand and differentiate stem cells into specialized progenitor cells.
The Iowa Economic Development Board approved $100,000 to support the technology project designed to develop a more efficient, cost effective and rapid method to manufacture certain stem cells. The goal is to develop a more efficient way creating human iPS cell.
Local projects awarded historic preservation grants
The State Historical Society of Iowa has awarded a $13,923 grant to the Old Brick Foundation for their “Repair of Old Brick’s Stained Glass Windows” project. The money will be use to rehabilitate the four-panel stained glass window above Old Brick’s front entrance.
In addition, the University of Iowa’s Office of the State Archaeologist has been awarded $28,464 for the “Archaeological Study of Iowaville, a 1765-1820s Ioway Village” project. Archaeological methods will assess the extent of an historic Ioway Indian village known as “Iowaville.” Site boundaries will be refined, integrity assessed and a site management plan will be created.
Funding for these projects comes from the successful Resource Enhancement and Protection Act (REAP), which the Legislature established in 1989.
Kids, kids, kids
This week, my newsletter focuses on Iowa’s kids and what we’re doing to help ensure every child gets a smart, healthy start that will allow them to succeed in school and throughout life.
Here are the lead stories:
** “Preparing kids to learn and succeed” looks at our early childhood efforts here in Iowa.
** “More Iowa children benefit from quality preschool” highlights our statewide preschool program.
** “Iowa is a leader in health care for kids” shows how and why Iowa ranks high nationally.
** “Supporting good nutrition: good for health, good for the economy” looks at efforts to help struggling Iowa families put food on the table.
As always, I look forward to your feedback. Please contact me with your thoughts and ideas.
Preparing kids to learn and succeed
According to scientists at the National Research Council, 85 percent of brain growth occurs in the first six years of life. No wonder early brain development is so important to a child’s future abilities.
We can help Iowa kids live up to their full potential through quality early childcare, which prepares kids to succeed in school and throughout their lives.
Here in Iowa, quality childcare is especially important because our state ranks high among those where both parents work to support their families.
Over the last decade, we’ve tackled this challenge by expanding preschool opportunities, most notably with Iowa’s Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. In fact, our state now offers publicly supported preschool for almost two-thirds of all 4-year-olds.
Other proposals I’ve supported that are helping hard-working Iowa families and their children succeed include:
** Strengthening our state’s early childhood system and expanding access to high-quality early childhood education.
** Creating a state-level childcare tax credit to help working parents afford the quality care they need for their kids.
** Increasing funding and access for Hawk-I, our state’s health insurance program for children from lower-income families.
** Increasing reimbursement rates to childcare centers.
** Expanding the use of a Quality Rating System for child care facilities so that parents can know their kids are getting top-notch care.
I’m proud that our state is serious about our children’s growth, development and success, and I’m committed to continuing our efforts. To learn more about programs for Iowa’s young children and their families, go to www.state.ia.us/earlychildhood/Iowa_Early_Childhood_Initiatives/index.html.
More Iowa children benefit from quality preschool
All children can benefit from preschool education, but for far too long our state lacked a comprehensive approach to ensuring all Iowa families had access to high-quality preschool.
When studies began to show our kids were entering kindergarten without the language and literacy skills they needed to be successful in school, we responded by establishing a Voluntary Statewide Preschool Program that has made high-quality preschool available to families throughout Iowa.
Because of our efforts, more than 21,000 Iowa preschoolers in 326 school districts are expected to benefit from at least 10 hours per week of high-quality instruction by this fall.
Before the Statewide Preschool Program was created, only 19 percent of 3- and 4-year-old children in Iowa had access to quality preschools. That has jumped to 60 percent today. And thousands of additional children attend Head Start, Early Childhood Special Education and other programs that prepare them for a strong start in school.
In spite of tough economic times, I’m committed to maintaining the Voluntary Statewide Preschool Program and other early learning opportunities for our children. The benefits are obvious when kids start kindergarten and continue through graduation.
Not only that, strong preschools are good for the economy in our local communities. Business leaders and employers all across Iowa say access to high-quality childcare and preschool make it easier to attract and retain good employees and businesses.
Thank you to all who’ve taken part in making this important effort a reality, including parents and grandparents, local schools, community and business leaders, and especially the caregivers and preschool teachers who work hard every day to make sure our kids are getting the skills they need.
By getting our next generation of Iowa leaders off to great start, we are helping to ensure a successful future them, for ourselves and for our state.
Iowa is a leader in health care for kids
This year, the Legislature took the final step in extending health insurance to 30,000 Iowa children who’d been uninsured when we began our health care for kids initiative three years ago.
The state’s Hawk-I program and the federal Medicaid program are key to our efforts. These programs provide critical health care coverage for children from Iowa’s low- and moderate-income families.
Making full use of what these programs have to offer is a smart investment in the health of Iowans. In the end, everyone’s health bills are lower when families aren’t forced to rely on expensive ER visits for their medical care.
Because of our children’s healthcare initiative, Iowa now has one of the highest percentages of insured kids in the nation. According to a report by the Commonwealth Fund, Iowa ranks No. 1 overall in health care for children. The Commonwealth Fund also praised our state for children's access to care, quality of care, family insurance programs, and the potential for Iowa children to lead long, healthy, productive lives.
This is something we should all be proud of. Research has shown that access to health care coverage increases a child’s school performance by almost 70 percent. It also improves a child’s readiness to learn, their ability to pay attention in class and leads to better school attendance.
To learn more about health care options available for children from low- and moderate-income Iowa families, go to www.hawk-i.org/en_US/index.html.
To read the full report from the Commonwealth Fund, visit www.commonwealthfund.org/publications and click on “U.S. Variations in Child Health System Performance: A State Scorecard.”
Supporting good nutrition: good for health, good for the economy
This year, I supported efforts to help struggling families feed themselves by expanding the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to as many as 12,000 more Iowa households.
SNAP, a U.S. Department of Agriculture program, plays a vital role in improving nutrition in Iowa and all across America, particularly among low-income families and those struggling through tough economic times.
Under the guidelines passed this year, a family of four earning up to $35,280 will be eligible for the program. That means hard-working families hit by the lingering national recession will get some much-needed assistance with their food bills.
In addition, expanding SNAP is expected to be good for Iowa’s economy. It increases food sales at grocery stores and promotes job growth in the state. It also allows eligible households to have more income to spend on non-food items, which stimulates other parts of the economy and increases sales and tax revenue.
The Food and Nutrition Service estimates that every $5 in food assistance generates $9.20 in local and state economic activity. Our state will receive $17.9 million in federal assistance, which is expected to generate $33.3 million in economic activity throughout Iowa. To learn more, go to www.fns.usda.gov/snap/.
If you or someone you know may qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, get more information and apply online at https://secureapp.dhs.state.ia.us/oasis/.
News you can use
Back-to-school tax holiday.
Believe it or not, it’s almost time for back-to-school shopping!
You can save some money on back-to-school wear by taking advantage of Iowa’s annual sales tax holiday. On Friday, August 6th and Saturday, August 7th, there’s no tax on clothing or footwear items that cost less than $100. This applies to any store open on that Friday or Saturday.
So mark your calendars for the first Friday and Saturday of August and save a few bucks on the kids’ school clothes this year!
Register for 2010 Workforce Conference.
Iowa Workforce Development is hosting the 2010 Workforce Conference on September 15-16. The event will focus on the major issues many employers face as Iowa moves through economic recovery.
The conference will be held at the Polk County Convention Complex in Des Moines. To register or to get more information, please visit www.iowaworkforce.org/conference.
How to Contact Me
Joe Bolkcom
728 2nd Avenue
Iowa City, IA 52245
319.337.6280
joe.bolkcom@legis.state.ia.us
joe@joebolkcom.org
www.joebolkcom.org
www.senate.iowa.gov/bolkcom
www.legis.state.ia.us
About The Networker
The Networker provides brief summaries of some of the things that I am working on, the work of the General Assembly, and political perspectives on issues. I also use it to announce meetings and how to find useful information about state government.
Additional information
Senator Joe Bolkcom is an Assistant Majority Leader and chair of the Ways & Means Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Commerce, Environment & Energy Independence, Human Resources, and Natural Resources committees.