Photos

	Sen. Frank Wood and Sen. Dave Mulder congratulate Vern DenHerder and his wife Diane in the Senate Chamber on April 17. Den Herder was honored for his impressive athletic career in Iowa and nationally with Senate Resolution 146. From left: Mulder, Diane DenHerder, Vern DenHerder and Wood.
	Sen. Frank Wood 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.
	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 in skeet shooting, wrestling, basketball, gymnastics and track & field. Sen. Frank Wood of Eldridge congratulated track & field competitor Joey Woody of Iowa City and wrestler 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.
	Kids from an after-school program in Clinton visited the Capitol on March 13.
	Members of AARP were at the Statehouse on March 11 to talk with legislators, including Sen. Frank Wood. The group discussed concerns of Iowa seniors and retirees, including financial literacy and the Consumer Fraud Protection bill currently making its way through the Legislature.
Senator Frank Wood visited the Reach Out and Read-Iowa site at Community Health Care in Davenport on Feb. 29. He toured the health care center, the dental clinic, and observed the Reach Out and Read-Iowa program. Senator Wood read aloud to children in the waiting room, and the book “Poems For Babies” was donated in his name to be placed in the literacy-rich waiting room. Reach Out and Read-Iowa promotes literacy as a standard part of pediatric care so that children grow up with books and a love of reading. Reach Out and Read -Iowa trains doctors and nurses to advise parents about the importance of reading aloud. The program also gives books to children at pediatric check-ups from six months to five years of age, with a special focus on families in poverty. By building on the unique relationship between parents and medical providers, Reach Out and Read-Iowa helps families and communities encourage early literacy skills, so children enter school prepared for success in reading. Reach Out and Read-Iowa is part of a national program with 44 Iowa clinic locations, where it serves more than 35,000 children annually and distributes more than 63,000 new books to Iowa children each year.
	Senator Frank Wood talks with Senate President Jack Kibbie during debate on the Senate floor Feb. 27 when a statewide ban on smoking in public places passed on a bipartisan 29-21 vote.
	Senators Dave Mulder (R-Sioux Center) and Frank Wood (D-Eldridge) discuss education priorities with Rep. Art Staed (D-Cedar Rapids) on Feb. 26. Wood chairs the Senate Education Budget, while Mulder is the ranking member. Staed serves on the House Education Committee.
	Students from Wartburg College were at the Capitol on February 20. Among them was Chelsea Anderson, a graduate of North Scott High School. Chelsea had a chance to visit with Senator Frank Wood of Eldridge, the Activities Director at North Scott High School.
	Senator Wood of Eldridge met with Jim Heckmann, state director of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers, at the Statehouse on Feb. 20. Heckmann's organization brings high-quality assistance to current and future businesses. Partnership programs and activities serving small business have significantly contributed to economic growth throughout the state.
	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.
	Clinton Community College students traveled to the Statehouse on January 31 to meet with Senator Frank Wood of Eldridge. 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. Wood, chair of the Education Budget, told the students that he will support increased funding for community colleges in order to keep tuition affordable. From left: Pantelis Korovilas, Bryant Gilbert, Julie Connell, Kathy Brown, Wood, and Mardell Munson.
	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 on 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. Left to right: Lindner, McAnally, and I.
	Helping Iowa children learn to read was much discussed at the Iowa Statehouse on January 24. I met with Salli Forbes, a reading recovery teacher trainer for AEA 9, and Carla Coleman, a Reading Recovery teacher for the Iowa City Community School District. The Reading Recovery program involves short-term one-to-one tutoring for low-achieving first graders. Reading Recovery focuses on developing a student's vocabulary and comprehension. Left to right: Forbes, Coleman, and I.
	Governor Chet Culver met Jan. 22 with the Legislature's leaders on education issues. Culver and lawmakers are committed to keeping promises made last year to help middle-class families by improving teacher pay, expanding access to high-quality child care, and holding the line on tuition costs. From left: Sen. Frank Wood of Eldridge, chair of the Education Budget Subcommittee, and Culver, and Sen. Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington, chair of the Senate Education Committee.
	State Senator Frank Wood of Eldridge escorts Governor Chet Culver to the Iowa House Chamber, where the Governor delivered his 2008 Condition of the State address January 15. Wood said the Governor outlined a bold agenda to improve the quality of life for all Iowans by building on last year’s successes in education, health care and jobs.
Senator Frank Wood of Eldridge and Representative Cindy Winckler of Davenport were presented with the Iowa Library Association's Library Advocacy Award on Dec. 13. The award recognizes the key role Sen. Wood and Rep. Winckler have played in improving library services in Iowa. As co-chairs of the Education Budget Subcommittee, Wood and Winckler secured much needed funding increases for Iowa’s public libraries and the networks that support those libraries. They were also instrumental in restoring the state law ensuring every school district employ at least one school librarian. The award was presented by Sheryl Bissen, president of the Iowa Library Association.
	State Senator Frank Wood of Eldridge met with Governor Chet Culver at the Iowa Statehouse on Dec. 3 to discuss the best ways to stand up for middle-class families and to continue responsible, prudent budget-making during the 2008 legislative session. Wood 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 Wood and other legislators pledged to repeat that accomplishment in the 2008 session. Pictured from left: Representative Janet Peterson (Des Moines), Wood and Culver.