AMES, Iowa–The 2014 Stars Over Iowa Winners were announced at the 86th Leadership Conference at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, April 29, 2014. A Star Over Iowa was selected in each of four different areas: Agricultural Placement, Agriscience, Agribusiness, and Agricultural Production.

Kelly Puhrmann of the South O'Brien FFA Chapter at Paullina was selected as the Iowa Star in Placement. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Eric Kumm. Puhrmann has worked approximately 3,000 hours for Puhrmann Excavating. He helps manage their screening and crushing plant, operate excavators and dosers, and perform equipment repairs. Through his experiences with heavy equipment, Puhrmann has gained a greater understanding of how to operate a wide variety of equipment used in constructing waterways, laying drainage tile, as well as demolition and crushing. After graduation, Puhrmann plans to attend Iowa State University for Mechanical Engineering.

Drayce Webster of the Sigourney FFA Chapter was selected as the Iowa Star in Agribusiness. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Jerry Driscoll. Webster turned his passion for Animal Science and Horticulture into a Supervised Agricultural Experience business of raising meat rabbits, feeder pigs, and sweet potato slits, to sell at the farmer's markets. Webster relies on niche commodities and markets to obtain the highest return on his business. He started his rabbit business with four breeding does and has since increased to 30. He started his sweet potato slits in a small patch and has since increased production by building raised beds for them. After graduation he plans to expand his operation while attending Hawkeye Community College and majoring in Agricultural Business.

Alex Alliger of the Prairie Valley FFA Chapter at Gowrie was selected as the Iowa Star in Production. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Mr. Steve Kehoe. During the past four years, Alliger has developed skills with corn, soybeans, swine, and cattle production enterprises. Alliger began by recording his placement hours on his diversified family farming operation, and he also finished out 250 market hogs. Since that time, his SAE program has grown to finish over 1,000 market hogs, 50 beef animals, and keeping records of 40 acres of corn and 80 acres of soybeans. Alliger is currently a freshman at Des Moines Area Community
College and plans to earn a degree in the Agricultural Business program. His plan is to return home to his family farming operation to be involved with crop and livestock production.

Eric Koehlmoos of the South O'Brien FFA Chapter at Paullina was selected as the Iowa Star in Agriscience. His agricultural education instructor and FFA Advisor is Eric Kumm. For the last three years, he has conducted experiments on the cellulosic ethanol production of switch grass and prairie cord grass. Koehlmoos became interested in the subject after learning about research being done at South Dakota State University. He learned that production from switch grass and prairie cord grass yields more ethanol than corn and wheat straw; and when these grasses are pretreated with hydrated lime, the ethanol yield is also increased. His research has the potential to benefit people of marginal lands, like those in the CRP program because both grasses grow
best where corn does not. Because of his research, Koehlmoos was named the 2013 FFA Agriscience Fair National Champion. After graduation, Koehlmoos plans to double major in Ag Education and Animal Science with a minor in Genetics.

The National FFA Foundation sponsors cash awards for the four overall star winners. The Stars Over Iowa program is made possible through the Iowa FFA Foundation with support from DuPont Pioneer and SFP.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and
technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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3 Ways to Retrain Your Brain & Put the Adult in Charge

The human brain is a wonder of the universe, but our understanding of it can seem contradictory, says Steven Jay Fogel, author of the new book Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living.

"On the one hand, we're often told of those crucial years that our brain develops in childhood, when we're rapidly progressing in development of our language and other skills, and our preadolescent and teenage years, when our brains undergo a sort of second Big Bang of learning," says Fogel, (www.StevenJayFogel.com).

"But although it may seem that the brain is pretty much set by adulthood, it remains malleable throughout adulthood; it continues to change as we learn and adapt."

Most of us are unaware that elements of our inner child's development are constantly tugging atus, and we don't have a clue that it's happening, he says. In Jungian therapy there's a concept called the dark side, or shadow side, the place in our unconscious to which certain feelings and thoughts are banished because they don't support our image of ourselves, he says.

"That is our inner child responding to the emotional pain we experienced and interpreted with the limited understanding we had when we were very young. It continues to steer our reactions and behavior as adults, often in inappropriate ways," Fogel says.

Awareness creates an opportunity for change. Fogel reviews how our adult brain can take command of the inner child.

•  Recognize the elements of your self identity that keep you trapped. Our identity - how we want the world to see us - develops, in part, as a response to avoiding pain. Our identity may change from one situation to another (in the same way a chameleon changes its body color to match its surroundings) as we slip on the persona we believe is expected in a particular environment or social setting. This automatic behavior is the opposite of making mindful choices, and it robs us of the joy of living in the moment and inhibits spontaneity.

•  Be aware of when you're acting. Many of us live our lives as though we're playing parts in various movies, navigating different storylines every day. You may be the righteous Clint Eastwood manager at work and then shift into the town drunk during happy hour, and later the loving husband and father during brunch the following weekend morning. When you're playing these roles, you're not in the present.

•  Be skeptical of what the voice in your head may tell you. It's not easy to recognize and quiet the mental chatter associated with the different roles we play. We've become so accustomed to the voice in our head, that we don't realize its messages are programmed - and not necessarily the truth. Is your voice telling you to feel guilty? Ashamed? Angry? Is that rational? If not, it may be your inner child acting out of a childlike fear.

"Instead of simply responding to what we're hardwired to think and react, we can hear, in mindful repose, those promptings as simply chatter," Fogel says. "When you're mindful, the inner child's chatter can be seen for what it is, and you will be free to take a more mature directionin your day-to-day living."

About Steven Jay Fogel

Steven Jay Fogel is a longtime student of human behavior and development; he has studied with psychologists, educators, and rabbinical scholars. Your Mind Is What Your Brain Does for a Living, (Greenleaf Book Group Press, 2014), is his third book. He is also the author of My Mind Is Not Always My Friend: A Guide for How to Not Get in Your Own Way (Fresh River Press, 2010) and The Yes-I-Can Guide to Mastering Real Estate (Times Books-Random House). For decades he has been an active participant in the human potential movement, inspiring and mentoring others to seek their true selves. Fogel is a principal and cofounder of Westwood Financial Corp., one of the largest owner-operators of retail properties in the United States. He is a licensed real estate broker and past chairman of the California Arts Council.

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