Senate Journal: Page 40: Tuesday, January 13, 1998

  Dealing with diversity, international competition, the information
  explosion, and
  new stresses on the family all stare squarely at us.

  How do we deal with them?

  Our old ways of doing things won't always work in this modern world.  We can
  be
  Iowa stubborn, lock our heels and build walls around our state.  Or we can
  recognize
  change, manage it and master our future.

  That is our choice.

  I am of the firm belief that those storm clouds on our horizon will bring
  replenishing rains that will cause our economy to grow and our state to
  flourish -
   if   we prepare the ground.

  We are on the verge of historic change in our state.  Since the invention of
  the plow
  centuries ago, our population has been weighted down by the need for fewer
  hands on
  the farm.  Those Malthusians, who predict the future only by looking at the
  past, say
  the same is in store for us in the future.

  They're wrong.

  Our economy is crying for more hands to man the tiller of our economic
  growth.  We
  are in the same position as we were when our state was first settled.  Back
  then we
  needed Dutch pioneers to till the rich, black soil of Sioux County; and the
  Jewish
  families to market goods in Burlington; and the German missionaries to open
  the doors
  of learning at Wartburg College in Waverly.

  Today, we need the Latinos, Asians, Bosnians and Kurds - all immigrants of
  the
  21st century, eager to find new opportunities for a new life here in the
  Heartland of
  America.  Each new people - each new culture - has helped to enrich our Iowa
  character and values.  And today is no exception.

  Our sons and daughters will find good jobs here at home.  And families from
  other
  states will migrate here for a good life and good jobs.

  They will be the engine of our growth for the next century as Iowa enters
  this new
  era of growth and opportunity -  if   we prepare the ground.

  We should start, as always, with our kids.

  At no time has it been more evident just how much our state cares about
  children
  than a couple of months ago, with the birth of the McCaughey septuplets.
  The
  outpouring of love and support that family is receiving from their church,
  community
  and the entire state is testimony to the caring nature of Iowa's people.

  We must now make sure that the McCaughey's children - and all children in
  Iowa
  - get the best education in the world.  Our schools are good, but not good
  enough.

  Our schools are structured on a model suited for a time that is past - not
  one
  prepared to meet the challenges of the future.  No other public institution
  has been
  more resistant to change; no public institution needs it more.

Iowa General Assembly

Index: Senate Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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