SPRINGFIELD, IL (08/10/2015)(readMedia)-- Friends, family, and colleagues gathered at the Illinois Military Academy's auditorium on Camp Lincoln to celebrate the career of Maj. Gen. Daniel M. Krumrei August 7, 2015.

During the ceremony, Krumrei was presented with his retirement papers and the Illinois Distinguished Service Medal. He also presented flowers and gifts to his wife, his daughter, and to his support staff.

When Krumrei began his career in the military, he had no intentions of turning it into a 38-year journey.

"When I enlisted as a young telecommunications specialist in 1977, I had no intention of staying for so long," said Krumrei. "Back then I had an 'attitude problem'. It wasn't until an assignment in the supply section that changed my perspective and my career."

Krumrei said that assignment was with a chief warrant officer that was a highly decorated special forces Soldier that had seen combat in Viet Nam.

"When I walked in, I said, 'yo, I guess I'm supposed be in supply'," said Krumrei. "A very large CW3 in his Class Bs stood up from behind the desk. He had Native American features and was huge. He slowly turned and put his jacket on, it was then that I noticed his awards and decorations. My posture immediately went from slouching to standing straight up."

Krumrei said that the warrant officer unceremoniously welcomed him to supply and gave him some advice.

"Once he had welcomed me he said 'I'll treat you with respect, and you'll treat me with respect'," he said. "'If you don't, I'll break your legs' and I believed him."

Krumrei was later directly appointed as a chaplain candidate with the Oklahoma National Guard and received his appointment as a chaplain in the Iowa National Guard. As a chaplain, Krumrei touched the lives of the soldiers around him. In 2005 he was appointed as the Illinois command staff chaplain, where he continued to influence the Soldiers around him.

"He grabbed me up back when I was still a chaplain candidate and kind of pulled me through my career," said Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Steven H. Cooper of Rockford, Illinois' command staff chaplain. "Sometimes his guidance was gentle, other times, not so gentle, but it was all appreciated and I owe much of my career progression to him and his influence."

Brig. Gen. Richard J. Hayes, Jr. of Chatham, Illinois, Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, said Krumrei leaves a legacy of interaction with the field that is unrivaled.

"He served many years as a chaplain in the Illinois National Guard," said Hayes. "He had a huge impact working directly with people and supporting them. He coupled that with an innate ability to take very complex issues and pare them down so that everyone could understand them and work through them."

Krumrei retires with an accomplished career, finishing as the 38th Adjutant General of Illinois and the only Adjutant General in history to also have been a chaplain.

Krumrei said he is ready for retirement and there is nothing he fears or worries about.

"I think every day is an adventure, and I've always thought that," said Krumrei. "I'll do something."

Krumrei went on to say that he looks forward to being able to exercise a little bit more free will during his retirement too.

Krumrei said what he will miss the most about the military was also his favorite part of the job.

"Taking care of Soldiers and Airmen was the best part of the job," he said. "It was great knowing that no matter where I went, I represented them and was able to fight on their behalf."

During his retirement speech, Krumrei left the Soldiers and Airmen in attendance with a lesson that he learned throughout his career.

"At the end of the day, it's about people," said Krumrei. "The Soldiers and Airmen that you serve and that serve you are people, and their families are people, don't forget that. People are the most important part of this job."

DES MOINES, IA (08/10/2015)(readMedia)-- The Iowa State Fair hosts the largest food department of any state fair and continues to grow with 34 new food contests at the Elwell Family Food Center. "Fair Tour" 2015 embarks August 13-23.

Several notable contests will be making an appearance at this year's Fair including Billion Dollar Cookie Contest, Gluten Free Appetizers, My Favorite Tone's Recipe, Pajama Party Goodies, Best Wing Sauce and Allrecipes Holy Donuts.

The Billion Dollar Cookie Contest, which takes place Saturday, August 22 at 10 a.m. in the Elwell Family Food Center, is sponsored by H & R Block. The contest winner will receive a free $200 tax return from H & R Block. .

The Best Wing Sauce contest is sponsored by Jethro's and will be held on Friday, August 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Elwell Family Food Center. The winning sauce will be highlighted as Jetho's special "Sauce of the Month" for September.

Food sampling will be on August 23 at 1 p.m. in the Elwell Family Food Center.

Over 10,600 entries have been submitted to the Iowa State Fair Food Department for judging. They are divided into 228 divisions and 850 classes. More than $76,000 worth of premiums will be given out in this department during the Fair. There will also be 682 exhibitors featured in the food department.

With just six months until the Iowa caucuses, businessman Donald Trump (17 percent) leads the field of Republicans among likely GOP caucus voters, according to a poll from Suffolk University.

Meanwhile, a subset of voters who watched the Aug. 6 Republican debate said that Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Dr. Ben Carson were the most impressive candidates.

The Suffolk University Iowa poll showed Gov. Scott Walker of neighboring Wisconsin second at 12 percent; Rubio, 10 percent; retired neurosurgeon Carson, 9 percent; and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and businesswoman Carly Fiorina tied at 7 percent.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush polled at 5 percent, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich (3 percent), while former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were tied at 2 percent. Six other candidates received 1 percent or less, while 20 percent of voters were undecided.

"It appears that Donald Trump's lead is strong so long as the number of active opponents remains above a dozen," said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center in Boston. "If the Republican field were winnowed down to five or six candidates, Trump's 17 percent probably wouldn't be enough to win in Iowa, as polling indicates that his further growth has limitations. The long-shot candidates staying in the race help keep Trump on top?at least for now."

Debate Impact

The race was closer among viewers of last Thursday's debate: Trump and Walker were tied at 14 percent, with Rubio (11 percent), Carson and Fiorina (tied at 10 percent), and Cruz (9 percent) close behind. However, among likely caucus voters who skipped watching the FOX NEWS debate, Trump (21 percent) led Carson (10 percent) by a wider margin, with Rubio and Walker tied at 8 percent.

"In the absence of a debate, Trump's lead widens because he swallows up the political oxygen, but when that oxygen is spread out more evenly in a debate, it breathes life into the other candidates, and the race gets closer," said Paleologos.

When viewers were asked about Trump after seeing him debate, 55 percent said they were less comfortable with him as a candidate for president, and 23 percent said they were more comfortable. Forty-one percent said the debate moderators targeted Trump unfairly, while 54 percent disagreed.

Debate performance

Both Rubio and Carson benefited from strong debate performances and are within striking distance of the leaders. When debate viewers were asked which candidate was most impressive, Rubio led with 23 percent, followed by Carson with 22 percent. Carson and Rubio also topped the field at 12 percent each as viewers' second choice?an indicator of future growth potential. When viewers shared in their own words which debate moment they remembered most, Carson dominated, with 25 percent mentioning his closing remarks, brain surgery comments, or providing other positive feedback.

Though she did not appear on the evening debate stage, Fiorina made her mark among afternoon debate viewers, 82 percent of whom said Fiorina was the most impressive of the seven candidates in the earlier debate. Among viewers of either debate, 93 percent said Fiorina should be invited to debate the top tier of Republican candidates in the future.

History of Suffolk Research in Iowa

In the most recent Iowa Republican primary for U.S. Senate, the April 2014 Suffolk University poll was the first to show then-State Sen. Joni Ernst overtaking front-runner Mark Jacobs. In May, Suffolk polled three bellwether counties?Black Hawk, Boone, and Washington?all of which indicated a landslide win for Ernst. She went on to defeat her four Republican opponents with a 38-point margin.

Methodology

The statewide survey of 500 likely Iowa presidential caucus voters was conducted Aug. 7-10, 2015, using live telephone interviews of Republican primary voter households where respondents indicated they were very or somewhat likely to attend their local caucuses for president in six months. The margin of error is +/-4.4 percent at a 95 percent level of confidence. Marginals and full cross-tabulation data are posted on the Suffolk University Political Research Center website. For more information, contact David Paleologos at 781-290-9310, dpaleologos@suffolk.edu.

"We reached out to Friendly Sons of St. Patrick to determine how we could help make these two great events complement each other," says Greg Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and Des Moines Area Sports Commission. "We wanted to find a way for the parade to leverage the additional visitors who will be here, while also ensuring that locals still have an enjoyable experience."

The Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Central Iowa organizes and executes the parade. In partnership with the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau and the City of Des Moines, the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick saw an opportunity to attract more attendees, offer unique performances and alleviate traffic and congestion for locals and visitors coming in to downtown.

"The change in date allows us to showcase our parade to thousands of out-of-town visitors," said Mike O'Connell, President of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Central Iowa. "We are also hoping to attract NCAA pep bands, spirit squads and teams to participate in our parade, which would provide a really unique entertainment enhancement for those who attend."

The parade will begin at Noon and will run the same route as previous years. "Our local organizing committee will be reaching out to NCAA to ensure that fans and teams receive proper communication about how they can experience and get involved with this event," adds Edwards.

For more information on the parade visit, friendlysonsiowa.com/parade.htm.

For more information on the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship first and second rounds in Greater Des Moines, visit catchdesmoines.com/sports/ncaa-basketball.