(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and Iowa Student Loan leaders recognized today 20 Iowa high school seniors who each won a $1,500 college scholarship through participation in the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, administered by Iowa Student Loan. The high school seniors from across the state were recognized in a special award ceremony at the Iowa Capitol.

This was the first year Iowa Student Loan offered the Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship, which provided Iowa high school seniors the chance to win $1,500 for college while learning important financial literacy skills.

Between December 2013 and February 2014, registered high school seniors were asked to complete two online financial literacy tutorials ? Student Loan Game Plan and the ROCI Reality Check ? which Iowa Student Loan developed to help students understand the consequences of college borrowing and discover how to maximize their return on college investment, or ROCI. In addition, scholarship contenders were required to take an online financial literacy assessment test created by Ednalysis, an Iowa educational research company. Scholarship winners were determined from those who earned top scores on the assessment test.

At today's award ceremony, Branstad congratulated the students and thanked them for seeing the value in furthering their education and learning financial responsibility.

"College should be an exciting time, but in recent years, it's become increasingly stressful for Iowans. I understand that today, more than ever, students and families need help managing the increasing costs of college," Branstad said. "Thanks to Iowa Student Loan and its programs, we are educating more students on how to make wise financial decisions when paying for college."

The Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship was created to provide an additional funding source for college-bound seniors, as well as educate them on ways to minimize their borrowing for college and reach the financial potential of a college degree, said Christine Hensley, Iowa Student Loan board chair.

"We witness firsthand the pressures Iowa students and families are facing to finance higher education," Hensley said. "We wanted to offer a scholarship opportunity for which all Iowa high school seniors could qualify because we feel it's important every student understand the true investment and cost of college."

This past legislative session, Branstad and Reynolds stressed that more must be done to ease students' college debt burden. Branstad told the scholarship winners and their families that he and Reynolds worked to again freeze tuition for Iowa students at the Regent institutions and boost the Iowa Tuition Grant for students attending Iowa's private colleges and universities.

"Encouraging students to earn a college degree or other postsecondary credential is essential, but so is managing the cost," said Reynolds. "To truly address the high debt levels of our state's college students, it's going to take the efforts of everyone ? government, schools, nonprofit organizations, the private sector and families. We're pleased to have been able to freeze tuition in consecutive years for the first time in 35 years, but  we know we must continue our work to ensure out Iowa students understand the implications of student debt."

More than 60 people attended Monday's award ceremony, including 16 of the 20 scholarship winners and their families. Branstad presented each winner with an award certificate; the $1,500 scholarship money can be used at the college or university of the winner's choice in fall 2014. After the presentation, the students and their families were hosted for lunch at the State Historical Museum.

Hensley had the following congratulatory words for the scholarship winners. "All of you are sitting here today because you proved your financial literacy knowledge. On behalf of Iowa Student Loan, I thank you for taking your college education seriously, and because you do, I know your futures are bright," she said.

Winners of Iowa Student Loan's 2014 Iowa Financial Know-How Challenge: Senior Scholarship are:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today announced that the House and Senate conference committee on the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRDA) authorizes $88,120,300 for Iowa projects.  The conference committee has reached agreement on a bill that will now go back to both chambers, where it is expected to pass this week.

WRDA plays a critical role in authorizing water-related projects across the country.  For Iowa, the conference report includes federal support for two major flood control projects?for the Cedar River in Cedar Rapids, and along the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers in Des Moines.  The bill establishes a five-year pilot program to allow the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to provide direct loans or loan guarantees to support creative financing tools for investment in water infrastructure.  The bill also calls for accelerated project delivery by requiring concurrent federal agency project reviews and completion of feasibility studies within three years.

"This WRDA conference report includes much-needed flood protection assistance for Iowa?assistance I am proud to have secured to both protect residents and our infrastructure," said Harkin.  "The flood recovery and protection is especially crucial in Iowa today as we experience more frequent and severe flooding from heavy precipitation events.  I now look forward to this conference report passing both chambers of Congress so that Cedar Rapids and Des Moines will have the resources they need to keep residences and businesses safe from future flooding."

Details of the funding for Iowa include :

 

Cedar River, Cedar Rapids?the conference report authorizes $73,130,000 for a project to construct a floodwall and levee system to reduce the existing and future flood risk and damages to public and private infrastructure on the east bank of the City of Cedar Rapids.

 

Des Moines River and Raccoon River Project?the conference report authorizes $14,990,300 for a cost increase for a flood control project on the Des Moines and Raccoon Rivers to allow the project to proceed.

Des Moines Recreational River and Greenbelt, Iowa Project Modifications? the conference report makes a technical change to the boundaries of an ecosystem restoration and recreation project in Fort Dodge.

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Iowa has a larger proportion of seniors than nearly any other state in the nation?and for generations they've been improving our state in ways big and small. Unfortunately, our seniors?citizens that have worked hard in our fields and factories, started businesses, and been the lynchpin of our families, are being targeted by scam-artists, many of them operating outside the United States.

Last month I met with seniors all across Iowa on a tour to speak about senior fraud prevention. The Iowans I met shared their pictures of growing up and stories of raising families in Iowa and I was touched by their candor. We spoke about the wide-range of issues important to Iowa seniors?including fraud and how seniors can protect themselves against it.

Recently, pathetic con-artists have increasingly turned to scams that specifically target Iowa's seniors over the phone and internet, and to help protect Iowa seniors against this type of fraud, I've supported multiple pieces of legislation to crack down on these types of predatory scams.

One of those, the Anti-Spoofing Act, protects unsuspecting seniors from fraudulent practices that abuse technology to target unsuspecting seniors, and the Protecting Seniors from Health Care Fraud Act of 2013 would create a list of the top 10 most prevalent health care fraud schemes targeted at seniors with recommendations on what can be done to stop them. The top 10 list would be updated and mailed quarterly to seniors, keeping them up to date on which scams are most prevalent.

It's important to me that seniors are informed of the types of scams that fraudsters are attempting and that those perpetrators are punished for abusing technology to prey on unsuspecting seniors. I'm working hard to ensure those two objectives are passed into law.

In addition to working on legislation, my district offices are here to help. I would encourage any Iowa senior or loved one who believes they have been the victim or target of a scam to contact my office or the office of the Iowa Attorney General so that these cases can be properly and thoroughly investigated.

Iowa's seniors are a critically important part of Iowa communities and our state's economy. Protecting the generations of Iowans that have worked hard and made Iowa the great state it is remains one of my top priorities.

Whether it's con-artists trying to scam our seniors, or politicians trying to privatize their social security and transform Medicare, our I plan to stand up for Iowa's seniors just like they have stood up for us.

Community stakeholders and cultural arts professionals to meet June 6

(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds were joined by cultural arts leaders at their weekly press conference today to preview the upcoming Iowa Arts Summit on Friday, June 6, 2014. The Summit will bring together community stakeholders, cultural organizations and arts professionals from across the state for a day-long discussion about arts and culture in Iowa.

"The cultural arts continue to transform our communities by elevating our quality of life, generating economic growth and creating job opportunities not only for Iowans directly involved in the arts, but also for the skilled trades and the hospitality industry," said Branstad. "This Summit will be a terrific opportunity for Iowans to learn and share ideas about the arts and the economy and discuss the best options for investing in rural and community development through the arts."

"This important day will foster a greater sense of connectivity across Iowa's cultural landscape and remind us that we all have a stake in ensuring the vitality of Iowa's quality of life," said Reynolds. "We invite and encourage Iowans from all across the state to participate in this important discussion by attending the Iowa Arts Summit on June 6 in Des Moines."

The schedule features dynamic learning sessions with local, regional and national presenters; panel discussions; and presentation of the Governor's Arts Awards. Discussion topics will include the intersection of arts and economy, building public support for the arts, and arts-based rural development as well as contemporary audience marketing strategies, building organizational capacity, and encouraging successful community collaborations. Professional development and networking opportunities will be available as well as featured performances by Iowa City's Working Group Theatre, Ballet Quad Cities and Parranderos Latin Combo of Des Moines.

"We're very excited to bring arts professionals, community leaders and advocates together to discuss arts and culture and the impact they have on Iowa," Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs Director Mary Cownie said. "Iowa has an incredible arts story to tell and we want to empower Iowans with the tools they need to better tell that story."

The Iowa Arts Summit will be 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Friday, June 6, 2014, at the Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, part of the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines. Registration is open now through May 23, 2014 for $45 per person at www.iowaartssummit.com. Discounted rates for students and a limited number of registration scholarships are available.

The Iowa Arts Summit is presented by the Iowa Arts Council with support from the National Endowment for the Arts. IAC is a division of the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. Visit www.iowaartscouncil.org or call 515-281-5111 for more information.

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The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs is responsible for developing the state's interest in the areas of the arts, history and other cultural matters with the advice and assistance from its three divisions: the State Historical Society of Iowa; the Iowa Arts Council; and Produce Iowa, the film, television and digital media office that supports media production in Iowa. DCA preserves, researches, interprets and promotes an awareness and understanding of local, state and regional history and stimulates and encourages the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts and public interest and participation in them. It implements tourism-related art and history projects as directed by the General Assembly and designs a comprehensive, statewide, long-range plan with the assistance of the Iowa Arts Council to develop the arts in Iowa. More information about DCA is available at www.culturalaffairs.org.

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