(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry Branstad today announced he will sign House File 215, the education reform bill, Monday, June 3, 2013 at 9 a.m. The bill signing will take place at North High School in Des Moines.

Media outlets may arrive for setup beginning at 7:30 a.m. Media is asked to enter through the main doors and check-in as a guest in the main office prior to entering the auditorium. Due to technological restraints, a live stream of the press conference and bill signing will not be available.

The following events are open to the media:

Monday, June 3, 2013

9 a.m. Gov. Branstad signs education reform into law

Des Moines North High School

Auditorium

501 Holcomb Avenue

Des Moines, IA

9:20 a.m. Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Reynolds hold weekly media availability

Des Moines North High School

Auditorium

501 Holcomb Avenue

Des Moines, IA

House File 215: An Act relating to and providing for education reform involving student, teacher, and administrator programs and activities under the purview of the department of education, the state board of education, the college student aid commission, school districts, and accredited nonpublic schools; providing for independent private instruction for students; providing for private instruction for students; concerning driver education by a teaching parent; making appropriations and providing for the establishment and retention of certain fees; and including effective date provisions.

Boston.  Sandy Hook.  Aurora.  Columbine.  The list goes on and on.  As the country focuses on gun-control, psychiatrist Gary L. Malone, MD, goes to the heart of the matter.

"As the horror of the Sandy Hook massacre and the Boston Marathon bombings begin to fade, the country and politicians are debating what they feel are the 'real' issues behind this tragedy. Lip service has been given to the lack of mental-health funding, weak mental-health-commitment laws, and battles between liberals and conservatives over gun control vs. second-amendment rights.  Meanwhile, the fixable causes are ignored," says Malone, a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association, and coauthor with his sister Susan Mary Malone of What's Wrong with My Family? And How to Live Your Best Life Anyway (www.whatswrongwithmyfamily.com).

"All the gunmen in the recent shootings had active and untreated psychiatric disorders at the time they committed the acts. Lack of mental-health funding (conservatives) and weak commitment laws (liberals) prevent adequate care. I prematurely released two psychotic, paranoid patients with access to weapons recently for this reason. I could, tragically, do nothing else. It is common sense that some of these people will commit violent crimes. Three decades ago, this would never have happened," Malone says. 
Malone identifies 4 ways to deal with the societal risks:

• Stop the Guns vs. Mental Health Debate. One does not negate the other. Over 300 million firearms exist in the United States alone today, many in the hands of gang bangers, professional criminals and drug cartels. Assault weapons have been sold since the 1960s. It's a fool's errand to think you are going to control them now. This debate is a waste of time and resources.

• Take Charge of Your Family. The best predictor of violence is past violence except in young adult males with a serious psychotic illness. Newtown, Aurora and Arizona all involved such cases. Their families and mental-health professionals all knew of the risks. If your child has such an illness, make sure you educate yourself about it and that he receives adequate care. None of these shooters could have bought guns without family financial support. Learn the mental-health laws in your area and be willing to use them. You have a responsibility to your teenage and adult child and your community to do all you can. (The Malones offer more guidance on this in, What's Wrong with My Family?  And How to Live Your Best Life Anyway.)

• Identify Those at Risk. Sociopaths and hard drug users are traditional criminals and not hard to identify. Psychiatric patients present no greater risks to the general population, with the exception of young adult males with a paranoid psychotic illness. And often, teachers, friends, and neighbors identified these kids as "odd."  These individuals must be assessed by a trained person, preferably a psychiatrist, to determine dangerousness. Of course, access to care and commitment laws are the impediment.

• Restore Funding to Treat Psychiatric Patients. Treating psychiatric patients is utilitarian in saving money now spent on police work and prisons, as well as being the decent path. It would likely prevent some, if not most, of these tragedies. Perhaps it is time to put aside stigma and follow the known science in this field. Let's hope the next White House summit will be on mental health! In the meantime, we can all wait for the next event.

"We can stop the violence now by attending to mental-health issues," Malone says.

About Dr. Gary Malone, M.D. & Susan Mary Malone

Dr. Gary Malone is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Texas Southwestern and a teaching analyst at the Dallas Psychoanalytic Institute. He is a distinguished fellow in the American Psychiatric Association with board certifications in general and addiction psychiatry. He has worked in hospitals and private practices for more than 30 years. Dr. Malone is director of Adult Chemical Dependency Services at Millwood Hospital in Arlington, Texas.

Award-winning writer and editor Susan Mary Malone is the author of the novel, "By the Book," and three nonfiction books, including "Five Keys for Understanding Men: A Women's Guide." More than 40 of the book projects she has edited were purchased by traditional publishing houses. She is Dr. Malone's sister.

Calling for a Change of Course at the Country's Largest Company,

Calls for Good, Safe Jobs at Walmart Stores and Suppliers and an End of the Attempts to Silence Associates Echoing Nationwide

IOWA - Today, striking workers from Davenport will be walking off the job and rallying with community supporters before getting on a bus to take their concerns to Walmart executives and shareholders in Bentonville, Arkansas. They will join workers who went on strike in California, Florida, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and Washington State earlier in the week. With community leaders rallying in support of workers at their stores and online, the strikers will join the nationwide "Ride for Respect" to Walmart's annual shareholders meeting.

In the spirit of the civil rights movement, the "Ride for Respect" is a weeklong, nationwide caravan during which workers and supporters will be voicing the direct impact that Walmart is having on their lives and our economy - on the road and online.

WHO: OUR Walmart Strikers, Community Supporters

WHAT: Rally and send-off event for striking Walmart workers

WHEN: Thursday, May 30 at Noon

WHERE: UFCW Local 431

1401 W. 3rd St.

Davenport, IA 52802

With community supporters echoing their calls nationally, the Organization United for Respect at Walmart (OUR Walmart), a national organization of Walmart employees speaking out for a stronger company and economy, has been calling on the country's largest employer to create better jobs. With more than $16 billion in annual profits and executives making 1,000 times more than the average Walmart employee, a growing number of associates and supporters nationwide are calling for the company to provide full-time work with a minimum salary of $25,000 a year so that workers at the country's largest employer don't have to rely on tax-payer funded programs to support their families.

Despite Walmart workers' struggle to support their families, plummeting customer service ratings, weak store sales due to understaffing, and preventable tragedies in the supply chain, Walmart has attempted to silence these voices through illegal retaliation, meritless lawsuits and even firing workers. Meanwhile, support for these calls for change has grown since the historic Black Friday strikes and protests at 1,000 Walmart stores last fall.

In a sign that Walmart is hearing these concerns, the company made an announcement on scheduling in April on the same day that hundreds of workers and supporters confronted store managers at locations nationwide. Still, even as the company spends millions of dollars on an ad campaign about jobs at the company and OUR Walmart members try to ensure newly proposed policies are implemented quickly and effectively, a new survey shows Walmart employees are largely unhappy with their employer and many longtime employees are not getting the hours they need. At the same time, Walmart's reactions to dangerous working conditions at warehouses and supplier factories in Bangladesh and across the globe have been met with empty promises that continue to put workers at risk.

Follow the caravan on Twitter at #WalmartStrikers.

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Washington, D.C.  - Congressman Dave Loebsack today announced that the Calamus Volunteer Fire Department will receive $67,678 in funding from the Department of Homeland Security's Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) Program.

"Our firefighters and first responders stand ready to serve us the moment disaster strikes," said Loebsack.  "This funding will ensure that they are able to secure the resources and training they need to respond quickly to emergencies and keep our families and communities safe."

The AFG program allows our first responders to purchase firefighting equipment, implement wellness programs that focus on health, and improve facilities. Funds can be used for a myriad of needs, including new protective equipment, health and safety modifications to stations and training for emergency personnel.