Senate Journal: Page 81: Friday, January 17, 2003
It’s a life, I’ve come to realize, that is bound tightly to the rich land that God
handed to us and to the strong values our ancestors bred in us. From the beginning,
Iowa’s success has been rooted in its rich soil and natural bounty. That is still true
today, and it will be tomorrow if we have the vision to seize the opportunities of the
future. A parent can give a child only a few things of real worth-love, values,
knowledge, and an education. And those are the things our ancestors have passed onto
us. A great capacity to love this land and the people on it, the strong values of hard
work and honesty and sharing, a knowledge of our land and ourselves, and one of the
best educational systems in the world.
A sense of pride, and a sense of community.
All of that, we have in abundance. Those are the strengths we must build on.
Our values, our land, our schools, and, most of all, our people. Those are the
resources we must marshal to build the New Iowa. For, ladies and gentlemen, we must
build a new Iowa. We must build a New Iowa that encourages entrepreneurship from
within and attracts development from afar. We must build a New Iowa that
guarantees the best education for all, from preschool through college and beyond. We
must build a New Iowa that has the resources, and the will, to take care of the needy
and the ill-the physically ill and the mentally ill-as well as our natural resources-the
land, air, and water. We must build a New Iowa so rich in opportunities to succeed and
so varied in resources to enjoy that our sons and daughters will want to settle here and
sons and daughters from elsewhere will want to move here-even if they aren’t pursuing
a pretty girl from Mount Pleasant.
But wishing won’t make it true.
We must act.
We must change.
Whether or not we act, we will, of course, change. But without bold actions, the
change that comes will be change for the worse. For if we do not manage change,
change will manage us. We have already begun to act. Through the partnerships
forged by Vision Iowa-partnerships involving cities and counties and schools and
private interests-through those partnerships, we are committing upwards of $2 billion
to make Iowa a better place for those of us lucky enough to live here and a more
attractive place for those seeking to move here. From the spectacular new waterfront
in Dubuque to Music Man Square in Mason City to the canals and windmills of Pella,
we are putting Iowa on the tourism map, the economic development map, and the let’s-
just-have-some-fun map. We are building trails and libraries and skate parks and
community centers-as well as the wondrous new downtown in Des Moines and
riverfronts in Davenport, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Waterloo, and Clinton, along with
Dubuque.
This is part of the New Iowa.
And it is just a start.
It shows, though, what we can do in this great state. It shows how we can build
spectacularly on our values and our resources to provide good jobs and clean fun. It
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
sjourn@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Tue Jan 21 15:50:00 CST 2003
URL: /DOCS/GA/80GA/Session.1/SJournal/00000/00081.html
jhf