Photos

	On April 25, the Senate passed a resolution honoring Code Talkers from all tribes, including Iowa’s Meskwaki tribe. Code Talkers were valiant soldiers during both World Wars I and II. Among those on hand for the tribute were Rob and Diana Roberts of Montour.
	Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth talks with Eryn Utterback about her Crouse Creek Quail business. She developed her business plan as part of the eSigourney Entrepreneurial Academy for Leadership program. eSEAL offers Sigourney’s junior and senior high school students the chance to learn entrepreneurial skills, write a business plan and ultimately open their own business. eSEAL students and educators were at the Statehouse April 17 to talk with legislators about how they’re learning to succeed in business and helping spur economic growth in their local community.
	Another eSEAL student, Michael Mclaughin, displayed his business plan for a product he designed and builds, Fold 'n Go Tailgate Ramps.
	On April 14, the Iowa Senate honored the talented young men and women who make up the 2007-2008 Drake University men's and women's basketball teams. Congratulations to the athletes and coaches, Keno Davis and Amy Stephens, on an incredible season. Their efforts have elevated the Bulldogs to rank among the best teams in the nation.
	On April 1, the Senate passed a resolution honoring Iowa's 9 Olympic athletes, who will head to Beijing this summer as principal competitors or as alternates. Sen. Tom Hancock of Epworth congratulated wrestler Sara McMann of Iowa City, skeet shooter Haley Dunn of Eddyville, track & field competitor Joey Woody of Iowa City, and wrestlers Joe Williams of Iowa City and Tolly Thompson of Janesville.
	On April 1, Gov. Chet Culver signed Senate File 2347 into law, providing $4.6 million to create a statewide system of optical scan voting machines before the November elections. This new law will give Iowans a verified paper record of the ballot they cast and will guarantee that voters with disabilities have the same opportunity to use a protected voting system.
	Terry Boettcher of Indianola and his wife, Connie, visited the Iowa Senate on March 26 to witness the approval of legislation that expands Iowa's Gold Star license plate bill to include veterans who “died as a result of injuries sustained,” as well as those killed in action. Boettcher’s father died as the result of injuries he suffered during World War II. While at the Statehouse, Boettcher talked with State Senators who supported the legislation. From left: Sen. Bill Heckroth, Sen. Becky Schmitz, Sen. Tom Rielly, Connie Boettcher, Terry Boettcher, Sen. Rich Olive, Sen. Staci Appel, Sen. Frank Wood, Sen. Brian Schoenjahn, Sen. Tom Hancock, Sen. Daryl Beall, and Bob Holliday from the Gold Star Museum.
	Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth met with members of the Lake Delhi Recreation Association at the Statehouse on March 18. The group was at the Capitol to discuss the importance of Lake Delhi to the surrounding community and to ask for support with its restoration. From left: Buzz Graham, Roger Schnittjer, Bob Galiher, Hancock, Jim Willey, and Tyler Willey.
	State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth met with Jones County Farm Bureau representatives who were at the Capitol on March 19. From left: Dan Rickels, Ralph Andersen, Mike Miller and Hancock
	State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth spoke with advocates for the statewide Water Trails program when they visited the Statehouse on March 17. Larry Gullett and John Wenck talked with legislators about the potential benefits that Water Trails could bring to Iowa, including economic opportunities related to tourism. Gullett is a Jones County conservation officer, who serves on an advisory panel to the DNR. Wenck is vice president of the Iowa Whitewater Coalition. From left: Gullett, Wenck and Hancock.
	Members of the Iowa Fireman's Association visited the Capitol March 12, where they met with Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth, a volunteer firefighter, in the Senate Chamber. IFA President Brian Seymour and Vice-president Mike McKinnon discussed support for Iowa's public safety employees. From left: Brian Hoffman, Cliff Renslow, Jack Runge, Hancock, Ellen Hagen, Joe Specht, McKinnon and Seymour.
	With Sherrill firefighters, from left: Joe Specht, Dale Puls, Gary Hefel, Bob Spoerre, Hancock, Ellen Hagen, Brian Hoffman and Alvin Nemmers.
Veterans from around the state came to the Iowa Statehouse March 11 when Governor Chet Culver signed HF2359 into law. The bill, which passed the Senate the previous day, creates a regular source of funding for the Veterans Trust Fund. The Legislature established the fund in 2003 to help Iowa’s veterans with expenses such as education and unemployment assistance. The problem is that there are only $5 million in a fund intended to contain $50 million. That will change now that we’ll have four new Iowa Lottery games, which are expected to pump an estimated $3.3 million a year into the Veterans Trust Fund.
	From left: Rep. Ray Zirkelbach, Sen. Tom Hancock, Culver, and Ron Healy of Dubuque, who serves on the Veterans Committee of the UAW.
	From left: Culver, Hancock and George Goebel of Dubuque, who was at the bill signing on behalf of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
	Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth met with cosmetologists, who were visiting the Statehouse on March 10 in support of funding for cosmetology arts and sciences. Pictured from left: Stephanie Perry of Dubuque, Ashley Coyle of Epworth, Hancock, Angela Sausar of Dyersvile, and Lexi Curole of Bernard.
	Senator Tom Hancock, Senator Mike Connolly and his clerk, Martha Connolly, welcome David Roberts' political science class at Divine Word College in Epworth to the Senate Chamber on March 3.
	Ray Noonan, owner of Cascade Lumber, talked with Senators Tom Hancock of Epworth and Roger Stewart of Preston about quality construction materials when he was at the Capitol Feb. 26 with the Iowa Truss Manufacturers Association.
	Governor Chet Culver signed a bill increasing the state's contribution to local schools by 4 percent on Feb. 12. The appropriation, which passed the Legislature last week, provides our K12 schools with an additional $222 per student. The money is used for textbooks, heating bills, technology and other necessities that help make students, teachers and schools successful. From left: Sen. Tom Hancock of Epworth, Sen. Roger Stewart of Preston, and Culver.
	Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth met with students from West Delaware High School in Manchester when they visited the Statehouse Feb. 13. The students are members of JEL, which stands for Just Eliminate Lies, the State of Iowa's youth-run tobacco-control program.
	A bipartisan effort to clean up Iowa’s rivers and lakes was launched Feb. 4 at the Iowa Statehouse. The Surface Water Protection Act is the product of a two-year planning effort by many groups that care about our environment and quality of life here in Iowa. Cleaning up our waterways will greatly expand recreational opportunities, including boating, fishing, swimming and canoeing. From left: Rep. Steve Olson (R-DeWitt), Deb Ryun of the Conservation Districts of Iowa, and Sen. Tom Hancock (D-Epworth).
	Hawkeye Community College student senate members traveled to Des Moines on Jan. 31 to meet legislators, including Senators Tom Hancock of Epworth, Jeff Danielson of Cedar Falls, and Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington. Iowa’s community colleges provide the training Iowans need to move up in life and the skilled workers the state’s economy needs to grow. All state legislators are proud to support our community colleges.
	On January 31, State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth spoke with someone likely to play a big role in area transportation decisions. Mike Blouin of Dubuque, former director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, has been appointed by Governor Chet Culver to represent northeast Iowa on the powerful Iowa Transportation Commission. Blouin and Hancock, a member of the Senate Transportation Committee, discussed the importance of a solid network of roads and bridges to economic growth in Iowa.
	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 discussed how saving energy is creating jobs and improving the budgets of businesses and families across Iowa. To learn more, contact Bill at McAnally@iowacentral.edu. Pictured, from left: Lindner, McAnally, and I.
	Local education leaders traveled to the Iowa Statehouse on January 22 to support increased educational opportunity for Iowa students. While there, they met with State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth and State Rep. Ray Zirkelbach of rural Strawberry Point. Pictured in the House Chambers, from left: Hancock, Monticello schools Superintendent Chris Anderson, Monticello School Board President Lee Hein, and Zirkelbach.
	Members of the Monticello chapter of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) visited with their state senator, Tom Hancock of Epworth , at the Statehouse on January 28. Hancock gave the students a tour of the Senate Chambers and talked with them about the leading role Iowa agriculture is playing in the world-wide renewable fuels boom. From left to right: Eric Schmitt, Hancock, Kevin Paulson and Ben Hein.
	How to fund the repair of Iowa's roads and bridges continues to be hot issue facing the Legislature. Iowa Department of Transportation Director Nancy Richardson and her staff visited the Statehouse Jan. 24 to talk with members of the Senate Transportation Committee. Left to right: vice-chair Senator Jeff Danielson of Waterloo, Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth, chair Senator Tom Rielly of Oskaloosa, and Richardson.
	Senator Dave Mulder of Sioux Center and I talked with Sherry Flansburg about Iowa's Independent Living Centers at the Statehouse on January 24. Flansburg, a retired teacher and a volunteer at the Sioux City center, said the centers are "one-stop shops." They're community based, non-profit organizations that help disabled and elderly Iowans continue living at home. The services provided include education, housing, and assistive technology. Pictured, from left: me, Mulder, and Flansburg
	On Jan. 23, I had the chance to learn about an innovative foster care program centered in Dubuque. Director Brooke Sluiter told me about the Dubuque Foster Grandparent Program, which pairs area seniors with children in foster care through a mentoring program. This provides positive role models for the children and keeps seniors very active as well. My own grandmother was a foster grandparent for more than 10 years.
	I spoke with Senior Des Moines Police Officer Ted Stroope when he visited the Statehouse Jan. 23 on behalf of the Iowa Association of Chiefs of Police and Peace Officers. We talked about the unique challenges law enforcement officers face on the job every day and what the Legislature can do to help them keep the rest of us safe.
	On Jan. 22, I talked with Tim Coonan of the Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives. He was at the Capitol to discuss issues of concern to members of the Iowa Taxpayers Association.
	Hundreds of veterans visited the Iowa Statehouse Jan. 16 for Veterans Day on the Hill. Among them was Nick Lucy of Dubuque, legislative chairperson for the American Legion of Iowa's Second District. Lucy talked with State Senators Roger Stewart of Preston and Tom Hancock of Epworth about veterans' legislative priorities for 2008. Hancock said there is strong bipartisan support for veterans issues and that $20 million for renovation of the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown would likely move forward this session. From left: Stewart, Lucy, and Hancock.
	Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth opened the 2008 legislative session January 14 at the Iowa Statehouse with his clerk, Rachel Creswell of Cedar Falls. Hancock said his primary goal this year is to keep making progress on commitments made last session to improve teacher pay, expand access to quality child care, limit increases on college tuition, make health care more affordable, and boost the state's economy through the Iowa Power Fund initiative.
	State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth met with Governor Chet Culver at the Iowa Statehouse on Monday to discuss the best ways to stand up for middle-class families and to continue responsible, prudent budget-making during the 2008 legislative session. Hancock and other legislators from across Iowa were at the Capitol to discuss priorities for the upcoming session, which will convene on January 14. Last year’s budget left the state in better financial condition than the year before, and Hancock and other legislators pledged to repeat that accomplishment in the 2008 session. Pictured from left: Hancock and Culver. (12/3/2007)
	State Senator Tom Hancock of Epworth received a Governor’s Volunteer Award from First Lady Mari Culver during a special ceremony held Oct. 22 at Linn-Mar High School in Marion. Epworth Fire Chief Tom Berger nominated Hancock for the award for forty years of volunteering his time and energy to Iowa’s emergency services. “I have always said that I am blessed to have two families—my own and Iowa’s volunteer emergency responder,” Hancock said. “There are thousands of Iowa volunteer Fire and EMS responders, who provide professional care and perform to a level second to none on a daily basis. Their sacrifice and dedication is amazing. I am honored to have had the privilege of serving with these unpaid professionals for forty years.” The Governor’s Volunteer Award program was established in 1982 to honor and recognize volunteers for the commitment, service and time that they contribute to Iowa's government agencies and nonprofit organizations.