Photos

	On March 19, the Senate honored Iowa gymnast Shawn Johnson. She placed first in the team competition in the 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships held in Stuttgart, Germany, and individually placed first in the all-around and the floor competition. Shawn is a remarkable young athlete whose dedication, skill, poise, and grace have taken her to the world stage and will take her farther still in the future.
	Katie Walker and her three daughters were at the Capitol on Feb. 13 with NICHE, the Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators. The Walker family and others discussed their passion for home schooling and thanked legislators for preserving the parents' right to educate their own children here in Iowa. With the Walker family are Senate President Jack Kibbie of Emmetsburg and Senator Dennis Black of Newton.
	Stan DeHaan, an Abraham Lincoln impersonator from Orange City, was at the Statehouse Feb. 11 to help us celebrate the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth and the important achievements of his life and presidency.
	The proven benefits of doing more with less energy was a hot topic this week at the Iowa Statehouse. I talked with Bill McAnally, chair of Industrial Technology at Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, and Simon Lindner, a 2007 graduate of his carpentry program. The two were in Des Moines to testify before a Senate committee about how modern building techniques result in new homes that use 65% less energy than older homes. We talked about how saving energy is creating jobs and improving the budgets of businesses and families across Iowa. If you'd like to know more, contact Bill at McAnally@iowacentral.edu. From left: Lindner, McAnally, and I.
On Dec. 13 Senator Dennis Black of Newton joined other elected officials and dignitaries at the Iowa Statehouse for the signing of a "Memorandum of Understanding" to strengthen research ties between Iowa and India. Lt. Governor Patty Judge and Republic of India Science and Technology Secretary Thirumalachari Ramasami signed a three-year pact to strengthen cooperation through research and development partnerships in the fields of science, engineering and technology. As part of the pact, Iowa and Indian researchers will exchange information on scientific meetings and help implement joint educational and scientific programs; conduct joint research projects; make available the use of libraries, documentation centers, archives, museums and other facilities of scientific and educational institutions; encourage participation of scientists in seminars, conferences and symposia; expand cooperation in specialized technology training and exchange scientific, academic and technical personnel; and work through academia, the private sector, and other organizations to create linkages and opportunities in both countries. Pictured, from left, India's Secretary of Science & Technology T. Ramasami, State Senator Dennis Black of Newton, and Kamal Kant Dwivedi, counselor for the Indian Embassy in Washington, DC.