(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad today appointed Christopher L. McDonald to the Iowa Court of Appeals. McDonald was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Iowa Court of Appeals Chief Judge Larry J. Eisenhauer.

McDonald, 38, of Des Moines, currently serves as a district court judge in Iowa Judicial District 5C. Previously he served as senior counsel to Aviva USA and was in private practice. McDonald received his bachelor's degree from Grand View University in 1997, and his law degree from the University of Iowa in 2001.

The governor thanked the judicial nominating commission, complimenting them on three excellent nominees for the position.

"The three individuals sent to me for consideration by the judicial nominating commission were outstanding, and all could serve as great judges, making this a very difficult decision," said Branstad. "Christopher McDonald has a keen legal mind, extraordinary work ethic and has been an innovative problem solver."

Branstad noted the priority McDonald has given to cases impacting children, resolving them in a matter of days instead of weeks or months as had been the case previously. His collaboration skills are well-suited for the Court of Appeals.

"Not only is Christopher McDonald a legal scholar and innovator, he has shown leadership outside the courtroom and within his community," said Branstad.

McDonald has served as the director and chair of the Iowa Asian Alliance, was named to the Top 100 Lawyers of Color in 2007, has been involved in the Iowa State Bar Association and United Way, and has volunteered his time to a number of educational and civic organizations.

McDonald begins his tenure on the Iowa Court of Appeals in October.

(TOKYO) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad, on a media conference call during an international trade mission in Tokyo, today issued the following statement regarding the International Olympic Committee's decision to keep wrestling as an Olympic sport:

"Also, another great news (announcement) that came out of the International Olympic Committee was the decision to keep wresting. As you know, we've been working on this - LetsKeepWrestling.com - we launched that last winter. We've gotten a tremendous response: over 25,000 people joined in our efforts. I recruited other governors to join. We had 30-some other governors that wrote to the International Olympic Committee in support of wrestling. And so, these two decisions made in Buenos Aires, are great for Tokyo and certainly great for the state of Iowa and the future of the Olympics, so we are very excited about that."

The governor also commented on Tokyo being chosen as host for the 2020 Olympic Games:

"The big news that happened while we've been here is the decision by the International Olympic Committee to have the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. This is huge news all over the world, but obviously here in Tokyo, it's tremendous.

"They're very excited. This is great news for Japan. We're proud to be here with them for this big announcement. It was tremendously well-received by everybody."

Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds made the following statement in Des Moines:

"Iowans have a special bond with wrestling. High school gyms across the state fill up every Saturday in the winter, with fans cheering passionately and loudly as athletes compete on the mat. The governor and I took very seriously our role in promoting wrestling to the International Olympic Committee, and knew it would take a significant effort in what was perceived as an uphill battle. Undaunted, Iowans joined with us and thankfully, we prevailed in keeping wrestling as an Olympic sport. We want to thank the International Olympic Committee for this decision, and we thank the tens of thousands of Iowans who participated in this important effort."

STEM Committee charged with developing legislative recommendations, strategic plan

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today unveiled their new "Connect Every Iowan" initiative to increase the access, adoption, and use of broadband technology.

The governor and lt. governor have asked the existing STEM Advisory Council's Broadband Committee to develop legislative recommendations to encourage broadband build-out throughout Iowa, particularly in unserved or underserved areas.  The committee's first meeting will be Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at the ICN Conference Room on the 2^nd floor of the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

Its recommendations are expected to be delivered by December 1, 2013.

The committee has also been asked to develop a long-term strategic plan for broadband by January 1, 2015, and to identify and pursue any possible federal funding opportunities or public private partnerships.

"We want to make Iowa the most connected state in the Midwest," said Branstad.

Currently Iowa ranks 11^th out of 12 Midwestern states on the TechNet State Broadband Index, behind neighboring states such as Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Illinois. The index is compiled from three measures: The household adoption rate of broadband, network speeds of available broadband infrastructure, and the amount of jobs in information and communication technology industries that benefit from broadband technology.

"I'm confident Iowans all across the state will benefit from the initiative - most importantly, more broadband access means more jobs for Iowans," said Branstad.

According to a study conducted by the Brookings Institute, for every one percentage point increase in broadband technology penetration into a state, employment is projected to increase by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year.

"We need to make sure rural Iowa has the tools to stay connected, because connectivity is the great equalizer," said Reynolds. "Connectivity will allow us to preserve rural Iowa, while keeping us competitive with other states for economic development projects. We believe every Iowan - from students, to small business owners, to rural health care providers, to public safety officers - can benefit from this initiative to increase the access, adoption, and use of broadband technology."

The STEM Advisory Council's Broadband Committee will be co-chaired by John Carver, Superintendent of Howard-Winneshiek Community School District, and Robert von Wolffradt, the State Chief Information Officer.  Administrative support and technical expertise will be provided by Amy Kuhlers of Connect Iowa, a non-profit organization which is working in partnership with the Iowa Economic Development Authority to ensure that all can experience the benefits of broadband.t

Members of the STEM Advisory Council's Broadband Committee:

Co-Chair John Carver, Superintendent, Howard-Winneshiek Community School District

Co-Chair Robert von Wolffradt, Chief Information Officer, State of Iowa

Amy Kuhlers, Program Manager, Connect Iowa

Robert Denson, President, Des Moines Area Community College

Dave Duncan, President, Iowa Telecommunication Association

Philip Groner, Iowa Communication Network

Karl Hehr, Director of Technology Services, Ames Community Schools District

Galen Howsare, Chief Financial Officer, Iowa Association of School Boards

Karen Randall, Keystone Area Education Association

Michael Sadler, Assistant VP for Public Policy & Government Relations

Larry Siegel, Iowa School Finance and Information System Services

Jeff Weld, Executive Director, Governor's STEM Advisory Council

Josh Byrnes, State Representative, District 14

For more information:

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today sent a letter to President Obama and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, accompanying the Iowa Health and Wellness Plan waivers for federal approval.

The letter highlighted the bipartisan efforts in Iowa to design and implement the new Iowa Health and Wellness Plan, which is an Iowa-based solution for health care. The Iowa Health and Wellness Plan is an opportunity for the administration to demonstrate state flexibility in implementing health care reform.

In the letter, Branstad and Reynolds state:

Our plan passed with bi-partisan support and is designed to increase access, drive personal health ownership, and reform our health care delivery system to pay for quality, not quantity of health care delivered.

...

The successful implementation of the IHWP is now in your hands. We want to be innovative and implement a program that improves the health of Iowans. We have been encouraged by our success in working with HHS, but our current Iowa Care waiver expires at the end of this year. Replacing the expiring Iowa Care program with the modern Iowa Health and Wellness Plan is of paramount importance to our state and our citizens. Any delays in approval may severely disrupt the coverage of many Iowans. We hope that you and your team will grant an expedited approval of our waiver requests so we can move forward on our bipartisan plan to improve health outcomes in a way that works for the State of Iowa.

The pair also extended an opportunity to meet on the waiver when they are in Washington, D.C., next month.

The letter is found HERE.

The Iowa Health and Wellness Plan waiver request will be posted HERE.

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