Building World-Class Schools for Iowa: A Legislative Brief, January 14, 2013

The Iowa Department of Education has joined the Office of the Governor to prepare a set of legislative proposals that will bring Iowa closer to its goal of providing a world-class education to all children, no mater where they live. This legislative brief serves as an overview of the legislation, which I encourage you to read and discuss in greater detail. the goals behind these policies are straightforward: Comprehensive and systematically raise and support the teaching profession while expanding efforts to customize instruction to every student's passion and talents. Iowa's children deserve the best education can provide so they leave our schools with the knowledge and skills necessary for successful and rewarding lives. Iowa has many good schools with hard-working, talented educators who deserves our respect and appreciation. While we honor the past work of generations of Iowans who built a strong foundation, it is our responsibility - and our turn - to make a focused, dedicated effort to improve Iowa's schools. We stand at a pivotal moment in Iowa storied education history, in which we have the opportunity and will as community to make the transition from being "good" to being "great".

An Examination of Iowa's School Liaison Program, 2001

In the early 1990’s the Chief Juvenile Court Officers (JCOs) and other key players desired to provide services, such as school support, family support, and community support to both juvenile court and at-risk youths within the school setting. With strong support from both Iowa’s Attorney General and Governor the Iowa State Legislature first appropriated funds for school liaisons in 1994. The liaison program is currently funded with 75 percent state dollars appropriated to the Department of Human Services and a minimum of 25 percent match from the local school districts. In some cases the schools do not actually match funds with “school money,” rather they may utilize community money from other sources, such as the local decategorization process. In 1994, the state legislature funded this effort at $400,000. Since that time the amount has grown to more than $3,000,000. In the early years there were just a handful of liaisons working in a few school districts, but by the beginning of the 2000-2001 school year there were 304 schools served by 147 liaisons. The cost per liaison, including salary and benefits, was estimated at approximately $34,324 including both the DHS and school contributions. It was a desire of the Chief JCOs to place the liaisons under the school districts and thus allow them to be independent of the juvenile court. Agreements were developed between the schools and juvenile court regarding employee status, funding, information sharing, and other such issues.

Iowa Statewide Waste Characterization Study, February 2006

This report was prepared with the support of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) Contract Number 06-G550-02. It has been prepared for use by the IDNR for the specific purposes identified in the report. Use of the report and its contents for other purposes is prohibited without prior approval from the IDNR. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IDNR. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) commissioned the completion of a statewide waste characterization study in 2005.

Business Sphere, Vol. 19, no.4

We keep in touch with insurance leaders throughout the nation, as well as in our state, to promote Iowa as one of the most competitive locations for insurance operations. These ongoing efforts have produced strong growth that is the envy of other states. The insurance industry in the state of Iowa is expanding for all the right reasons. With the support of the State of Iowa, domestic insurers and the insurance division, the environment is favorable for companies looking for a competitive location in the U.S. insurance market.

Reclaimed Fly Ash as Select Fill Under PCC Pavement, November 1999

With the support of the Iowa Fly Ash Affiliates, research on reclaimed fly ash for use as a construction material has been ongoing since 1991. The material exhibits engineering properties similar to those of soft limestone or sandstone and a lightweight aggregate. It is unique in that it is rich in calcium, silica, and aluminum and exhibits pozzolanic properties (i.e. gains strength over time) when used untreated or when a calcium activator is added. Reclaimed Class C fly ashes have been successfully used as a base material on a variety of construction projects in southern and western Iowa. A pavement design guide has been developed with the support of the Iowa Fly Ash Affiliates. Soils in Iowa generally rate fair to poor as subgrade soils for paving projects. This is especially true in the southern quarter of the state and for many areas of eastern and western Iowa. Many of the soil types encountered for highway projects are unsuitable soils under the current Iowa DOT specifications. The bulk of the remaining soils are Class 10 soils. Select soils for use directly under the pavement are often difficult to find on a project, and in many instances are economically unavailable. This was the case for a 4.43-mile grading (STP-S- 90(22)-SE-90) and paving project in Wapello County. The project begins at the Alliant Utilities generating station in Chillicothe, Iowa, and runs west to the Monroe-Wapello county line. This road carries a significant amount of truck traffic hauling coal from the generating station to the Cargill corn processing plant in Eddyville, Iowa. The proposed 10-inch Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) pavement was for construction directly on a Class 10 soil subgrade, which is not a desirable condition if other alternatives are available. Wapello County Engineer Wendell Folkerts supported the use of reclaimed fly ash for a portion of the project. Construction of about three miles of the project was accomplished using 10 inches of reclaimed fly ash as a select fill beneath the PCC slab. The remaining mile was constructed according to the original design to be used as a control section for performance monitoring. The project was graded during the summers of 1998 and 1999. Paving was completed in the fall of 1999. This report presents the results of design considerations and laboratory and field testing results during construction. Recommendations for use of reclaimed fly ash as a select fill are also presented.

Halfway Back Works, Data Download, Iowa Department of Corrections, May 2011

In an effort to reduce the strain on limited prison beds, the Board of Parole – with the support of the Department of Corrections – instituted the Halfway Back revocation option. This option allows for selected parolees to be revoked to work release rather than to prison.

Evaluation of Recycled Rubber in Asphalt Concrete - Black Hawk County, HR-330D, 1992

The disposal of discarded tires has become a major problem. Different methods of recycling have been researched. Currently, Iowa is researching the use of ground recycled crumb rubber from discarded tires in asphalt rubber cement. Six projects have been completed in Iowa using asphalt rubber cement. This project is located on IA 947 (University Avenue) in Cedar Falls/Waterloo. The project contains one section with asphalt rubber cement used in both the binder and surface courses and one section using asphalt rubber cement in the surface course with a conventional binder. There are two control sections where conventional asphalt pavement was placed.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, May 1999, Vol. 2, no. 1

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Spring 2000, Vol. 3, no. 1

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Summer 1999, Vol. 2, no. 1

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Fall 2001, Vol. 4, no. 3

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Fall 2002, Vol. 5, no. 3

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Fall 2003, Vol. 6, no. 3

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Fall 2004, Vol. 7, no. 3

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management, Fall 2005, Vol. 8, no. 3

Iowa Manure Matters: Odor and Nutrient Management is published by Iowa State University Extension, with funding support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service.