(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds joined Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Department of Natural Resources Director Chuck Gipp today for the launch of www.CleanWaterIowa.org, a new website that will serve as a resource to help Iowans protect and improve water quality.

"Iowans can take steps to help improve Iowa's water quality and this site serves as a one-stop-shop for conservation practices we can all use, whether it is on the farm, at a business or by a homeowner," said Branstad.

The site has "Farm," "Residential & Urban," and "City & Industry" sections that provide information about science-based practices that can be implemented to improve water quality. The site includes descriptions of water quality practices that can be utilized, benefits of the practices, and links to additional information.

"This site is one of the resources available to help Iowans achieve the goals outlined in the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy," said Reynolds. "Working together and everyone doing their part will help us continue to make significant water quality improvements."

Success stories, information on upcoming events and education materials will also be available on the site. Iowans are also invited to share their water quality success stories as well.

"It is an exciting time and we are seeing a tremendous amount of interest in water quality practices from Iowans across the state," said Northey. "Farmers are engaged and we are in a scaling up phase as we get these science-based practices on more and more acres."

In addition to the website, Iowans can follow @CleanWaterIowa on Twitter or "like" the page on Facebook to receive updates and other information about the ongoing Iowa water quality initiative.

Davenport hotel one of just 180 honored by meeting professionals

DAVENPORT, IA - Hotel Blackhawk announces it has received a 2013 Smart Meetings Platinum Choice Award. This is the third consecutive time it has received recognition and one of just 180 in this hemisphere so honored.

Celebrating 10 years in 2013, the awards are presented by Smart Meetings magazine (www.smartmeetings.com), the hospitality industry's premier resource for meeting professionals.

Results are decided during a two-month vote by readers with additional input from editors and industry experts. The awards recognize excellence in service and amenities among meeting facilities in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

"To be recognized three years in a row by the professionals in the industry is high praise," said Tim Heim, VP - Marketing, Innkeeper Hospitality Services, corporate parent of Hotel Blackhawk. "It also reinforces the Quad Cities and Davenport, Iowa as a destination leader with a level of service that meeting planners demand and only select properties can say they deliver."

Hotel Blackhawk celebrated its re-opening December 15th, 2010. The hotel retains its 98-year-old historic character while featuring modern conveniences throughout the 130 guestrooms and extended-stay suites, six meeting rooms and up to 300-person banquet capacity in the signature Gold Room.

Other features include wireless internet, a fitness center, business center, swimming pool, hot tub, Spa Luce (lu-CHAY), Milan Flower Shop, the Bix Bistro restaurant, the Beignet (been-YAY) Done That coffee shop and Blackhawk Bowl & Martini Lounge. The hotel is an AAA Four Diamond Hotel and is part of the Autograph Collection (www.autographhotels.com) and the Historic Hotels of America network (www.historichotels.org). For more, visit www.hotelblackhawk.com or find us on www.facebook.com (Search: Hotel Blackhawk).

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When people ask me what is wrong with our modern day economy, I respond that it is frenzied and out of balance.

In my book, Return to Order, I coined the term "frenetic intemperance" to describe a restless and reckless spirit inside modern economy that foments a drive to throw off legitimate restraints and gratify disordered passions. This frenetic intemperance, I explain, is where we went wrong.

But frenetic intemperance is an abstract concept. It is not immediately apparent as to what I mean. I am always on the lookout for examples or expressions that help to clarify the concept and make it more understandable to the man in the street.

I recently found such an example that goes a long way in explaining frenetic intemperance. It involved an article that described television viewing habits. It said that the average American adult spends 4 hours, 31 minutes watching television each day. That might seem like a lot of viewing but it only tells half the story.

The television screen represents yesterday's entertainment. People today also look at other screens and monitors. And so, the article notes, in addition to the television viewing time, the average American adult spends yet another 5 hours, 16 minutes looking at other computer and phone screens each day.

The total of 9 hours, 47 minutes is an impressive amount of time before any screen. It indicates a certain lack of restraint that is characteristic of frenetic intemperance. There are missing priorities in these habits where the person gives in to the temptation to be constantly checking his devices. An economy that supports this kind of obsessive behavior is a clarifying example of what is meant by frenetic intemperance.

However, the article ended with an even more dramatic example of frenetic intemperance. It told the story of a man with three very young children who were fully hooked up to their screens. Two of the three could not even read yet they all had wi-fi-enabled mobile devices and could stream videos to them.

The father gloried in the fact that, "They expect to be able to see whatever they want, whenever they want, wherever they want."

This is a perfect expression to describe frenetic intemperance. It is an economy that throws off restraint and encourages a regime in which you seek out whatever you want, whenever you want and wherever you want.

This whatever-whenever-wherever economy is what is throwing everything out of balance. People must have everything now, regardless of the consequence. If it cannot be had immediately, there are always credit options to make it happen. If that does not work, there is always big government to turn things once considered privileges or luxuries into entitlements.

When society is not virtuous, a whatever-whenever-wherever economy leads to an economy that is run by the disordered whims and passions. Reason is no longer in control and consequently markets frequently crash. Self-interest alone comes to rule in accordance with personal preferences. Such a conception of life calls to mind the ideas of Scottish philosopher Dave Hume who famously wrote, "Reason is, and ought only to be the slave of the passions, and can never pretend to any other office than to serve and obey them."

The problem is that the passions can be true tyrants that do not respect reality. Real economy should be run by reason and temperance. It should lead men to virtue. This requires restraint, foresight and effort. It does not exclude the orderly passions and preferences that are part of the lives of men. However, these very human and necessary elements are secondary and cannot dominate.

Our problem today is our whatever-whenever-wherever economy is taking us to our ruin. It is filling us with frenetic intemperance. What we need is a return to order.

About John Horvat II: John Horvat II is a scholar, researcher, educator, international speaker and author "Return to Order: From a Frenzied Economy to an Organic Christian Society - Where We've Been, How We Got Here and Where We Need to Go," (www.returntoorder.org). For more than two decades he has been researching and writing about the socio-economic crisis in the United States.

As Veteran's Day approaches, this is a good time to remind our active duty service members and veterans and their families of the many educational assistance benefits available to them, both during and after service. In this Practical Money Matters piece, Mr. Alderman discusses several of the more popular government-provided education benefits for military families.

By Jason Alderman

As Veteran's Day approaches, this is a good time to remind our active duty service members and veterans about the many education assistance benefits available to them through the G.I. Bill and other government programs.

Here's a rundown of a few of the more commonly used programs:

The Post 9/11 GI Bill is more flexible and generally offers more generous benefits than earlier GI Bills. It provides up to 36 months of support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of active duty after September 11, 2001, or those with a service-connected disability after 30 days. An honorable discharge is required.

Approved training includes undergraduate and graduate degrees, and vocational/technical/on-the-job training, among others. You will be eligible for benefits for 15 years from your last period of active duty of at least 90 consecutive days.

This program covers 100 percent of tuition and fees for in-state students at public institutions, paid directly to the school. For those attending private or foreign schools, it will pay up to $19,198.31 per academic year (sometimes more in certain states).

If you attend a costlier private school - or a public school as a non-resident - you also may be eligible for the Yellow Ribbon Program, where schools voluntarily fund tuition expenses exceeding the highest public in-state undergraduate rate. The institution can contribute up to 50 percent of those expenses and the Veteran's Administration will match the amount.

The 9/11 GI Bill also will pay a books and supplies stipend of up to $1,000 per year, and a monthly housing allowance generally comparable to the military Basic Allowance for Housing for a military pay grade E-5 with dependents, based on the ZIP code for your school.

Another advantage of this newer GI Bill: Armed Forces members with at least six years' service can transfer some or all of their benefits to their spouse and/or children. Here are the basic rules:

• You must agree to four additional years of service. (Special rules apply if standard policy precludes you from serving four more years or you're eligible for retirement).
• Because the clock starts ticking from the date you elect to participate - and you can't enroll additional beneficiaries after leaving the military - it's best to sign up all family members right away. You can always go back and change allocation percentages or remove beneficiaries at any time until the benefits are used.
• Spouses may begin using transferred benefits right away; however children must wait until you've served the full 10 years.
• You and your spouse must use the benefits within 15 years of your leaving the military; children must use them by age 26.

Montgomery GI Bill. This older version of the GI Bill may still be available if you didn't already opt for the Post 9/11 GI Bill. You're eligible if you started active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985, served continuously for three years, are honorably discharged and had your pay reduced by $100 a month for the first 12 months. (There's a separate plan for reservists.)

For most people, this program is less generous than the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Benefits typically expire 10 years after military separation and are not transferrable to family members; plus, you pay tuition and fees upfront and are later reimbursed. The VA website has a tool to compare benefits under the two GI Bills.

To learn more about the GI Bill, visit www.gibill.va.gov. Other VA-sponsored educational financial aid programs can be found at www.gibill.va.gov/benefits/other_programs/index.html.