WASHINGTON - After attending the swearing-in ceremony of the Iowa legislature this morning in Des Moines, Senator Chuck Grassley will meet this week with Iowans in nine Northeast Iowa communities, including Parkersburg, New Hampton, Delhi, Dubuque, Maquoketa, DeWitt, Davenport, Muscatine, and Cedar Rapids.

"I look forward to these events and meetings to listen to comments, respond to questions, and keep in touch," Grassley said.  "Representative government is a two-way street, and it's strengthened by dialogue between elected officials and the people we represent."

During a Friday meeting with employees at Kent Corporation in Muscatine, Grassley will be presented the National Association of Manufacturers Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence by Gage Kent, Chairman and CEO of Kent Corporation.  Kent serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, which is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.

Grassley has held at least one meeting with Iowans in every one of the state's 99 counties since 1980, when he was first elected to serve in the U.S. Senate.

The Senate is not meeting in Washington until Inauguration Day on January 21.

Immediately below is more information about the meeting schedule.

Tuesday, January 15

11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Q&A with students

Aplington-Parkersburg High School

610 North Johnson Street in Parkersburg

3:30-4:30 p.m.

Chickasaw County Town Meeting

New Hampton Public Library

20 West Spring Street in New Hampton

*Grassley will be available until 4:45 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

Thursday, January 17

8:45-9:45 a.m.

Q&A with government students

Maquoketa Valley High School

107 South Street in Delhi

11 a.m.-12 noon

Q&A with students

Loras College Alumni Campus Center in the Mary Alexis Room

at the corner of Loras Boulevard and Loras Parkway in Dubuque

*Grassley will be available until 12:15 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

12:30-1:30 p.m.

Tour Facility and Q&A with Employees

IBM

700 Locust Street in Dubuque

2:15-3:15 p.m.

Q&A with senior-level students

Maquoketa High School

600 Washington Street in Maquoketa

*Grassley will be available until 3:30 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

4-5 p.m.

Q&A with employees

Wendling Quarries

2647 225^th Street in DeWitt

*Grassley will be available until 5:15 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

Friday, January 18

8-9 a.m.

Q&A with students

Davenport West High School

3505 West Locust Street in Davenport

*Grassley will be available until 9:15 a.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

10:30a.m.-12 noon

Q&A with employees of Kent Corporation

In addition, Grassley will be presented the National Association of Manufacturers Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence by Gage Kent, Chairman and CEO of Kent Corporation and a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers.

1600 Oregon Street in Muscatine

*Grassley will be available until 12:15 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

1:30-2:45 p.m.

Cedar Rapids Naturalization Ceremony

111 Seventh Avenue Southeast in Cedar Rapids

*Grassley will be available until 3 p.m. to answer questions from local reporters.

By Congressman Dave Loebsack 

Each January, we pause to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Best known for his work as a civil rights activist, Dr. King dedicated his life to improving the lives of those in his community and across the nation.  At the core of his beliefs was an unwavering dedication to helping others.  It is in the spirit of this commitment to serving that we mark each Martin Luther King, Jr. Day with a National Day of Service.

Here in Iowa, we have a longstanding tradition of not only helping our neighbors, but also those who we have not met.  In 2011, the Volunteering and Civic Life in America study found that nearly 40% of Iowa's residents volunteer, making us 3^rd in the nation.  All told, Iowans gave over 99 million hours of their time last year serving their communities.

I'm pleased that I was able to honor this tradition by introducing the Volunteer Generation Fund as a part of the bipartisan Serve America Act, which was signed into law in 2009.  This fund builds the capacity of state and local volunteer organizations to recruit, manage, and train volunteers.  Local organizations like the United Way of Wapello County, United Way of East Central Iowa, United Way of Johnson County, and Volunteer Center of Fairfield have already benefited from help to develop and expand their volunteer operations.

I know that as Iowans we will continue to give back and serve others, and this January 21st is a great opportunity to get out and do so.  The Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service is a part of United We Serve, a national call to service initiative.  On Monday the 21st, people across America will come together to celebrate Dr. King's life and contribution to our nation by serving their communities at soup kitchens, schools, community gardens, and even in their own neighborhoods.

I encourage you to find a way to get involved.  You can find local service opportunities or create your own events at www.mlkday.gov.  Here you will find toolkits to help you plan your projects and get inspiration from what others are planning across the country.  You can also register your own project and invite your friends, family and community to participate at www.serve.gov/recruit_mlkday.

If you are unable to join in on January 21st, you can still get involved.  People in our communities need us now more than ever, and any bit of time you are able to give will make a difference.  As January is National Mentoring Month, you might consider becoming a mentor to someone in your neighborhood.  Through the work of organizations like the Iowa Mentoring Partnership, mentoring promotes positive choices and high self-esteem, and shows proven educational and behavioral results.

However you choose to mark this year's Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the National Day of Service, I hope you will pause to remember his legacy and the difference the time you donate can truly make.

Whether they realize it or not, residents of Colorado and Washington have traveled back in time - 80 years, to be exact.

The first two states to decriminalize recreational marijuana are sharing in the national experience of 1933: the end of Prohibition. And the similarities are uncanny, says Prohibition-era researcher and author Denise Frisino.

"As with Prohibition and the criminalization of alcohol production and sales, after marijuana possession was banned in 1937 there were many unintended negative consequences," maintains Frisino, author of "Whiskey Cove," (www.whiskeycovebook.com), a novel based on firsthand interviews with Prohibition-era bootleggers in the Pacific Northwest.

"The most obvious is the proliferation of corruption and organized gangs. After Prohibition became effective in 1920, America saw the rise of unprecedented crime."

And, as was true in the 1920s, increasing crime means a greater need for - and expenditures on - law enforcement and judicial services. Enforcing the Prohibition cost the federal government more than $300 million.

In the interest of learning from history, Frisino cites these additional parallels to Prohibition and our contemporary problems with criminalized marijuana:

• Public safety: During Prohibition, there was no regulatory oversight on the production of alcohol, which meant some illegally brewed and tampered with liquors were downright dangerous. "Bad booze actually killed people," Frisino says. On average, 1,000 people a year died from drinking tainted alcohol. Marijuana, too, can be dangerous when dealers lace their product with chemicals to make it seem more potent. One benefit of decriminalization is that the quality of substances can be monitored. In Colorado, the growing process is strictly monitored from seed to sale.

• Tax revenues: The federal and state governments lost $11 billion in tax revenues during Prohibition, which was especially painful for states like New York, where nearly 75 percent of revenue came from liquor sales. Today, with the country still reeling from the Great Recession, legalization of marijuana will provide some much-needed extra tax income for Washington and Colorado.

• Medical uses: Like marijuana, alcohol has medicinal uses. Physicians of the early 20th century prescribed it for a variety of ailments. During Prohibition pharmacies could sell medicinal liquor, which led to a spike in the numbers of pharmacies as bootleggers set up shop.

• Common criminals: As with marijuana, outlawing alcohol turned many average Americans into outlaws. During the 13 years of Prohibition, jobs were lost and families crumbled as breadwinners went to jail and became stigmatized as lawbreakers. The number of federal convicts increased 561 percent, according to Mark Thorton's, "Policy Analysis: Alcohol Prohibition Was a Failure." In 2004, more than 12 percent of the drug offenders in federal and state prisons were convicted of crimes involving marijuana, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. And that's just prisons - it doesn't include local jail populations.

The Prohibition era holds valuable lessons about the unforeseen outcome of criminalizing "vices," Frisino points out. Rather than reducing alcohol consumption, which was the goal, it actually increased from 1929 to 1933, she says. In addition, legitimate jobs and businesses were destroyed and even restaurants and other entertainment businesses suffered.

"History teaches us that going about change by criminalizing certain behaviors can have a very negative impact on society," Frisino says.

About Denise Frisino

Denise Frisino is an award-winning writer, actress and arts teacher. She has spent her summers playing and working in the numerous islands that define the Pacific Northwest, where her family spans four generations. Frisino and her husband spend time at Hood Canal and reside in Seattle. Her novel, "Whiskey Cove," is a nominee for the 2013 Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award.

SPRINGFIELD - January 9, 2013. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon today attended the inauguration ceremony for members of the Illinois House of Representatives and issued the following statement congratulating all new members of the Illinois General Assembly sworn in today.

"I would like to welcome and congratulate the men and women who today became members of the Illinois legislature. There are a number of extremely important issues facing our state that will be addressed by the 98th General Assembly, and I applaud their dedication to serving the public and tackling these issues.

"I would also like to congratulate Senate President John Cullerton, Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno, House Speaker Michael Madigan and House Minority Leader Tom Cross, who were selected to continue leading their caucuses. I appreciate their bipartisan work on behalf of the people of Illinois.

"I look forward to working with the 98th General Assembly as we find solutions that will enable us to pay our bills and bring our fiscal house in order, while continuing to fund priorities like education, health care and social services. We must also work together to restore faith in government by passing ethics reform legislation."

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