Iowa House of Representatives

The state’s Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission met yesterday and will continue today to complete work on the initial 45 day report due to the Legislature and Governor Culver by September 2nd.  The commission is reviewing reports completed by nine recovery task forces which have been meeting since July.

Recommendations from the task forces are are available at www.rio.iowa.gov or by clicking here.

Terry Hertle, District 39

Terry Hertle, a lifelong resident of Benton County, has lived in only one place – his family’s century farm north of Newhall. His ambition was always to be a farmer. After a lifetime of farming, he has decided to retire.

Two years after graduating from Newhall High School, Terry married Judith Sindt, and from that union came two children, Kevin and Denise. They now have two granddaughters, Felicia and Alexandria. Terry’s family belongs to St. John Lutheran Church in Newhall, where Terry has served several times as president of the Friendship Club and six years as trustee. More →

State officials announced today that the Microsoft Corporation will build a $550 million data center in West Des Moines that will create between 50-100 new jobs at an average wage of $70,000.  Microsoft officials said Iowa landed the center, in part, due to state tax incentives approved during the 2008 legislative session in House File 2233. 

In 2007, the Legislature approved a similar package of incentives (House File 912) and landed a $600 million Google data center in Council Bluffs that will create 200 jobs with an average salary of $50,000.

Gretchen Lawyer, District 36

Gretchen grew up on a family farm outside of Macomb, Illinois, with her parents and two brothers. The family ran a large hog operation in addition to farming corn and soybeans.

Gretchen graduated from Macomb Senior High School, where she was a member of the National Honor Society. She then attended Western Illinois University and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in bilingual/bicultural education in 1996. During college, she was president of the bilingual education student organization, ran on the cross country and track teams and received academic awards, including the Outstanding Pre-Service Teaching Award. She earned admittance to the professional organizations of Phi Kappa Phi, Delta Kappa Pi and Alpha Upsilon Alpha. More →

Mike Robinson, District 35

Mike Robinson, 44, has been a resident of Linn County for 10 years and has lived in Central City for the past seven years. He works at St. Luke’s Hospital in Cedar Rapids as a registered nurse on an inpatient rehabilitation unit.

Mike graduated from Black Hawk College in Moline, Ill., in 1992 with an associate degree in nursing. He achieved certification as a rehabilitation registered nurse in 2005. He graduated from Winola High School in Viola, Ill., in 1981. More →

The Iowa Department of Public Health has scheduled a series of public hearings on the implementation of Iowa’s Smokefree Air Act on August 20, 21 and 22 at sites across Iowa (click here for the full listing). 

Iowa’s public smoking ban took effect on July 1, 2008 but was implemented with an expedited rules process.   The formal rules process is now underway and Iowans are encouraged to participate in the public hearings or provide written comments at www.IowaSmokefreeAir.gov.  The public comment period ends on September 30.

Last month, Governor Chet Culver created the Rebuild Iowa Office (RIO) to coordinate Iowa’s recovery efforts from the 2008 storms and help the Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission compete their work. The RIO has launched a web page for Iowans who need assistance and also want to track Iowa’s recovery efforts. Log on to www.rio.iowa.gov.

Tom Avenarius, District 32

Tom Avenarius, the second of five children, was born July 8, 1950, to Norman (Hank) and Ella Mae (Morgan) Avenarius in Dubuque. He was educated in Dubuque, graduating from St. Mary’s Grade School in 1964, and then graduating from Dubuque Senior High School in 1968.

After graduating high school, Tom enlisted in the United States Army in 1968. He attended basic training in Fort Bliss, Texas, and went on to advanced training in the U.S. Army Engineering School, AIT. He worked as a mechanic in Fort Belvoir, Va. Tom was then stationed in Germany from January 1969 to March 1970. His tour continued to Vietnam from April 19, 1970, to March 26, 1971. Upon completion of his requirements, Tom was discharged from the military March 27, 1971, as a specialist 4th class. More →

Iowa native and West Des Moines teenager Shawn Johnson has brought home a gold medal in the balance beam at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Congratulations to Shawn and you can find stories in the New York Times and Des Moines Register.

Nate Willems, District 29

Nate Willems was born and raised in Anamosa, Iowa, and graduated from Anamosa High School in 1997. He received his B.S.F.S. in international politics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in 2001.

Nate worked on a variety of Democratic campaigns in Iowa both during and after college. He was a field organizer for Leonard Boswell’s re-election in 1998 and managed two Iowa House races for the House Truman Fund in 2000. In 2001, Nate returned to Iowa to work on the campaigns of John Norris and Dr. Julie Thomas; he also served as legislative clerk for Rep. Ro Foege. Nate was a regional director for Howard Dean’s campaign in the Iowa caucuses. More →