House Journal: Page 53: Tuesday, January 14, 1997

The committee waited upon Governor Terry E. Branstad and
escorted him to the Speaker's station.
President Kramer presented Governor Terry E. Branstad who
delivered the following condition of the state and budget
message:
President Kramer, Speaker Corbett, Lieutenant Governor Corning,
Congressman Ganske, Chief Justice McGiverin, Justices and
Judges, State Officials, Senators and Representatives, Ladies
and Gentlemen.
Nineteen ninety-six was a year to remember in Iowa.  Iowans
young and old, in city and in town, on farm and in factory,
joined in a salute to our state's 150th birthday.  As Chuck
Offenburger might say _ "What a year!"
Never before have so many Iowans in so many ways commemorated
our heritage.  In statewide festivals, community celebrations,
and neighborhood get-togethers we gained a new appreciation of
who we are and where we came from.  And always, always, we were
left with the two essentials of Iowa:  the land and the people.
The land.  The richest and most productive on earth.  Early Iowa
immigrants, coming as they did from clay or rock-filled soils of
the East or Europe, stood in awe of the endless acres of lush
loam.  They sank their roots into that good earth and it brought
forth good crops and good people.
The people.  What is Iowa without its people?  We are a state of
immigrants _ hardy pioneers who braved nature's cruelest
elements to build homes and farms, and raise families.  Those of
us who have had to do chores on the bitter cold Iowa January
days can only marvel at the toughness and resilience of our
parents and grandparents who faced the sting of those northwest
winter winds, and never turned back.
These hardiest of souls, unfettered by excessive government
restrictions, built communities, schools, and churches. 
Education was always first with them so that their children
would have a better life.  Anyone willing to work hard had a
chance to do well.  Justice was based on personal responsibility
and common sense.  And life revolved around work, family, and
faith.
Hard work, education, personal responsibility, common sense,
family, faith in God _ those are the gifts that we have been
given by our forebears.
Nineteen ninety-seven is a new beginning for Iowa.  Filled with
all the good granted to us by our ancestors and our creator, we
are faced with new challenges, and new barriers to progress. 
But we do so with our cupboards full and our state stronger than
ever.
Consider, for a moment:
"/w"	More people are working in Iowa than ever before.
"/w"	Incomes of our families are rising faster than other American
families.
"/w"	We remain a good place to live and raise a family.  In 1996,
we were rated the "Most Livable State," the "Healthiest State,"
and the "Best State for Families and Marriage."
"/w"	Landmark legislation last year makes Iowa the nation's leader
in school technology.
"/w"	Iowa land values continue to climb _ up 16 percent in just the
last year.

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 1)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

Comments? hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.

Last update: Wed Jan 15 15:40:03 CST 1997
URL: /DOCS/GA/77GA/Session.1/HJournal/00000/00053.html
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