Des Moines, March 5, 2012 ? On Thursday, March 8, members of the Iowa Supreme Court will visit seven Council Bluffs area high schools and also classes at Iowa Western Community College to talk with students about the role of the courts. In Council Bluffs, the justices will visit with students at Jefferson, Lincoln, and St. Albert High Schools and the Iowa School for the Deaf. Justices will also visit Glenwood High School and Treynor High School.

In addition to the school visits, the court will hold a special session in Council Bluffs on the evening of Wednesday, March 7. The court will hear oral arguments in two cases at the Iowa Western Community College Arts Center. This session begins at 7 p.m. As always, oral arguments are open to the public. A public reception with the justices, sponsored by the Pottawattamie County Bar Association, will follow the oral arguments.

High school visit schedule March 8, 2012:

8:30 a.m.?Chief Justice Mark Cady will visit The Iowa School for the Deaf

8:30 a.m.?Justice Daryl Hecht will visit Council Bluffs Lincoln High School

8:40 a.m.?Justice Thomas Waterman will visit Council Bluffs Lewis Central High School

9:00 a.m.?Justice David Wiggins will visit Council Bluffs Jefferson High School

8:50 a.m.?Justice Edward Mansfield will visit Glenwood High School

9:30 a.m.?Justice Brent Appel will visit St. Albert High School

10:30 a.m.?Justices Wiggins and Waterman will visit Iowa Western Community College

1:00 p.m.?Justice Mansfield will visit Treynor High School

Special session:

Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m.

Iowa Western Community College Arts Center

2700 College Road

Council Bluffs, Iowa

The court will hear attorneys argue in two cases:

Mall Real Estate v. City of Hamburg

Plaintiff, Mall Real Estate, asked the Iowa District Court for Fremont County to declare that the City of Hamburg's "sexually-oriented business" ordinance either did not apply to plaintiff's business or that it was an unconstitutional regulation and could not be enforced against plaintiff's business. The district court found the ordinance did apply to plaintiff's business and that it was a constitutional regulation. Plaintiff appeals the district court determination.

The lawyers for Mall Real Estate are: Brian B. Vakulskas and Daniel P. Vakulskas, Sioux City, and W. Andrew McCullough, Utah. The lawyer for the City of Hamburg is Raymond R. Aranza, Cedar Rapids.

American Civil Liberties Union v. Atlantic School District

Petitioner, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), seeks additional information regarding discipline imposed on two school district employees after a "locker room strip search" of five female students. The Atlantic School District claims Iowa law does not require public disclosure of such job performance documents. The ACLU argues the Iowa Court of Appeals incorrectly interpreted a recent legislative amendment that should have permitted disclosure of the disciplinary action.

DES MOINES, IA (03/05/2012)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald met with the family of a lucky Grinnell Kindergartner on Friday to present a $200 College Savings Iowa account plus a Paul Rhodes autographed football. Nolan Andersen, age six, was chosen to receive the award after his grandfather, Don, entered him for the giveaway on the College Savings Iowa's website.

"With college tuition rates rising faster than inflation, saving for college is not an easy task these days," Fitzgerald said. "As the saying goes, your best defense is a good offense. And what better offense is there than saving early? It is one of the most significant things a family can do to help make college a reality for their child. It can reduce a parent's need to borrow to cover educational expenses, which can help them - and their child - get through college with less debt."

College Savings Iowa offers a convenient, affordable, tax-advantaged way for families to start saving for their children's education. It takes just $25 to open a College Savings Iowa account, and anyone - parents, grandparents, friends and relatives - can invest on behalf of a child. Participants who are Iowa taxpayers can deduct contributions up to $2,975 per beneficiary account from their adjusted gross income in 2012 and there are no income or residency restrictions.*

Investors do not need to be a state resident and can withdraw their investment federally tax-free to pay for qualified higher education expenses including tuition, books, supplies and certain room and board costs at any eligible college, university, community college or technical training school in the United States or abroad. To learn more about College Savings Iowa, go to www.collegesavingsiowa.com or call 1-888-672-9116.

*Adjusted annually for inflation if withdrawals are not qualified, the deductions must be added back to Iowa taxable income. The earnings portion of nonqualified withdrawals may be subject to federal income tax and a 10% federal penalty tax, as well as state and local income taxes. The availability of tax or other benefits may be contingent on meeting other requirements.

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Most Iowans take for granted their abilities to hear and speak clearly. But for those with hearing and speech disorders, negotiating our busy world can be challenging.

The Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders?part of the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts & Sciences?offers them a place to turn.

The department is one of the nation's premier centers offering treatment, conducting research, and teaching professionals in speech and hearing sciences. Its graduate programs in Speech-Language Pathology and in Audiology are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, by U.S. News & World Report.

The department's Wendell Johnson Speech and Hearing Clinic has served Iowans?adults and children?for more than 60 years. In 2011, almost 800 Iowans received care in the Department's clinics.

FYI

In addition to its clinics on the UI campus, the Department serves Iowans through innovative outreach programs, including summer camps for kids who stutter and a summer preschool program to promote spoken language skills in children with hearing loss.

DID YOU KNOW?

What's the good word?

Today's aspiring journalists must be more than just good news writers?they must be innovative strategic communicators, able to work across many technological platforms for diverse employers.

In Iowa, the demand for such skills is higher than ever, as news outlets, companies, and nonprofit organizations seek well-educated communicators to help them navigate the media landscape and be heard.

The School of Journalism and Mass Communication - a unit of the UI College of Liberal Arts & Sciences - is preparing Iowans of all ages to meet those demands and develop skills as communicators. For example:

* Elementary: The school offers free summer Iowa Journalism Academies to students from Des Moines and Davenport. More than 1,000 students have participated during the program's 13 years.

* High school: The school hosts the Iowa chapter of Quill and Scroll, the national high-school honor society for journalism; helping teachers in more than 300 Iowa high schools incorporate journalism instruction into the curriculum.

* College: Half of the school's undergraduate students are from Iowa.  During the 2010-2011 academic year, the school gave more than $87,000 in scholarships to students from Iowa. Its students regularly meet with, intern at, and work for hundreds of Iowa-based companies and organizations in cities and towns throughout Iowa.

* Continuing Education: The school offers graduate-level courses at Des Moines's John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center and online.  It hopes to offer an online master's program in strategic communications for working professionals.

DID YOU KNOW?

DES MOINES, IOWA - U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) today announced that his office is accepting applications for nominations to the United States' military academies for the class entering in the summer of 2013.  Senator Harkin will nominate up to ten Iowans for every opening at each academy, with final selection for admission made by the individual academy.  

"Each year, I look forward to recommending outstanding young Iowans to the service academies.  It is a genuine honor," Harkin said.

Our nation's military academies offer Iowans outstanding educational opportunities for young people interested in military service.  Students can specialize in a variety of fields at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs and the Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point.

Senator Harkin also enjoyed a successful military career, having joined the Navy and served as a jet pilot after graduating from Iowa State University in 1962.

High school guidance counselors across the state have information about the application procedures prospective candidates must follow.  Senator Harkin uses a competitive method to screen applicants, including the evaluation of ACT or SAT scores, high school grade point average, leadership abilities, and physical aptitude.  Harkin has also appointed an academy selection committee that conducts personal interviews with academy finalists.

Interested individuals should complete Senator Harkin's Service Academy Nomination application which can be found on his website, harkin.senate.gov.   Any additional questions should be directed to his Academy Nomination Coordinator, Tom Larkin, at 319-365-4504.