As always, post a comment if you know of any important event I have left out.
Democratic candidates, send me your public schedules (desmoinesdem AT yahoo.com) so I can include your events on my calendar.
I have included notices about public meetings convened by the Rebuild Iowa Office, but note that you can give your feedback in person any day at the Iowa State Fair:
The Rebuild Iowa Office will have representatives at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines to answer questions and hear Iowans’ concerns and ideas as the state moves forward with flood recovery. RIO representatives will greet Iowans alongside members of the Governor’s Office staff at the Governor’s Office booth, located in the center of the Varied Industries Building on the main concourse.
Iowans can also go online and submit their ideas at the Rebuild Iowa Office Web site (www.rio.iowa.gov) or call the RIO office at (515) 242-5004. […]
The RIO and Rebuild Iowa Advisory Commission were established by Executive Order after the Flood of 2008. RIAC is a 15-person, bipartisan commission whose members chair nine task forces focused on specific issues that will develop further recommendations to support the state’s strategic recovery and rebuilding process. The Commission reports to the Lt. Governor. Major General Ron Dardis, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard serves as the Commission’s chairman. The RIO coordinates all state recovery activities.
Iowans can fill out “Speak up Iowa!” surveys at the RIO/Governor’s Office booth. “Speak Up Iowa!” input sessions are taking place across the state and were created to initiate dialogue on the major issues facing the State of Iowa and provide an opportunity for official public and community involvement, with specific focus on gaining input for the RIAC 45-day Report due Sept. 2, 2008. “Speak Up Iowa!” allows residents the opportunity to voice their ideas and desires regarding the long-term recovery of their communities.
Now, on to the rest of the calendar.
Sunday, August 10:
There’s a fundraiser for Rob Hubler in Carroll, which former Governor Tom Vilsack will attend. Reception starts at 6pm; dinner at 7pm. Crossroads Bistro, 12012 Hwy 71 in Carroll. To RSVP for this event, please call the Hubler campaign headquarters: 712-352-2077.
Monday, August 11:
The Rebuild Iowa Office is holding its third “Speak Up Iowa!” public input session at the Red Coach Inn, Banquet Rooms 2 and 4, 1200 Senate Avenue in Red Oak, from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Tuesday, August 12:
The Rebuild Iowa Office is holding its fourth “Speak Up Iowa!” public input session at the Iowa Central Community College Career Education Building (Rooms 108 and 110), 330 Ave. M in Fort Dodge from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.
It’s the last day to reserve a spot at the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa’s Crossroad lunch event, which will take place on Friday, August 15. (see below for more details). For more information or to make a reservation, call (515) 279-8715 or email tiaiowa@dwx.com.
Tom Harkin is attending a fundraising reception and private classic car display in Ankeny hosted by Dennis Albaugh at 5:30 pm. The evening promises to be a fun one with over 120 classic Chevrolets for you to view. For full details of this great event please click here.
One Iowa is holding its “Coffee House/Happy Hour” at Ritual Cafe, a time to meet like-minded friends and relax in a welcoming atmosphere, from 5:00 pm to 6:45 pm. At One Iowa , we believe all families should have equal protections and responsibilities; the way to achieve this is through marriage. As we continue our work toward Marriage Equality, this month Phyllis Stevens will talk about the Seven Straight Nights for Equal Rights events going on in September. Ritual Cafe, located on 13th Street between Grand and Locust in downtown Des Moines, is an LGBT-operated coffee shop and cafe offering “really great coffee and food” in an open and affirming place. For questions, please contact One Iowa at (515)288-4019, or you can visit our web site at www.oneiowa.org.
State Representative Bruce Hunter (House district 62) is holding his Re-Election Kickoff and fourth annual Hunter house party, with special guest Michael Mauro, Iowa Secretary of State. The party will take place on Tuesday from 5:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. at the home of Bruce Hunter & Betty Brim-Hunter, 452 Wilmers Avenue, Des Moines. Suggested donation $25. Please Make Checks Payable To The Committee To Elect Bruce Hunter.
The Des Moines Business Record is honoring this year’s “women of influence” at a reception on August 12 from 4:30 to 7:30 pm (honors presentation at 5:00) at the Des Moines Marriott Downtown. You can register for the event, which costs $25 to attend, at http://www.businessrecord.com. The honorees are:
Des Moines Register columnist Rekha Basu
Former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell
Des Moines attorney Lori Chesser
Community volunteer Sheila Drevyanko
Wells Fargo Home Mortgage employee Cara Heiden
Iowa Environmental Protection Commissioner and philanthropist Charlotte Hubbell
Community activist Willie Glanton
Lieutenant Governor Patty Judge
West Des Moines City Council member Loretta Sieman
The woman business owner of the year is Sarah Grant of Sticks.
Wednesday, August 13:
From the Iowa Power Fund:
(DES MOINES)- The Iowa Power Fund board of directors will hold three of its monthly meetings in locations around the state with the second meeting being held on Wednesday, August 13 in Algona. This meeting, as well as the last summer meeting of the Power Fund directors, will be followed by an evening public forum on energy issues.
The August 13 meeting of the Power Fund directors will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the Water’s Edge Nature Center, 1010 250th, Algona. The meeting will include presentations by seven applicants for funding. They will include: Soy Energy, LLC – Biodiesel Plant at Marcus using PEF Pellet Boiler; Carbon-Free Energy, LLC – Vertical Wind Turbine Manufacturer; The cornerstone BRAD, LLC managed by Bison Renewable Energy, LLC; Indigo Dawn, LLC – Green & Main, Integrating Efficiencies into a Historic Mix; I-Renew – Energy and sustainability EXPO; TPI Iowa LLC – TPI Wind Blade Advanced Manufacturing Initiative; Prairie Land Enterprises L.C – Switchgrass.
The evening public forum is the second in a series of six annual forums hosted by the Office of Energy Independence. The energy forum in Algona will also be held at the Water’s Edge Nature Center and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
From 1000 Friends of Iowa:
NW 26th Street Public Input Meeting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Central Senior Center
2008 Forest Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311Commonly known as the MLK Parkway Extension, Polk County and other leaders are now calling this project the “NW 26th Street” project. This proposal consists of
* Reconstruction of NW 26th Street to a 4-lane facility between IA 415 and I 35/80
* Construction of a new interchange at I-35/80 and NW 26th Street, and
* Construction of a new four-lane roadway on new alignment from near Euclid Ave/U.S. 6 and MLK Jr Parkway and the proposed NW 26th St interchangeThis will be an open house with some audio/visual presentations, and held by Snyder and Associates, the engineering firm doing the study for Polk County. This will be a meeting to provide an update on the study and collect input on proposed alternative locations for the project, including possible expansion of existing streets in Des Moines like Beaver Avenue and 6th Avenue. Another alternative presented for public comments is for expansion of transit services in the metro area to prevent congestion in the future.
This meeting is a part of the Environmental Impact Statement, a federally required evaluation for a project that has extensive environmental impacts.
Thursday, August 14:
Congressman Leonard Boswell, who represents Iowa’s third district, will be speaking at the Des Moines Register’s Soap Box (outside the Register’s Service Center on the Grand Concourse) at 1:30 pm. As part of this new Iowa State Fair tradition, the Congressman will be speaking on the challenges facing our country in these uncertain times and about his work to put us back on the road to peace and prosperity.
Friday, August 15:
The Interfaith Alliance of Iowa is holding a Crossroads lunch featuring Michele Soria of New Realities Diversity & Innovation Training & Consulting:
Do I really value diversity?
Challenging perceptions & creating new behavior
Does equity exist for all people? Is it possible? What is my responsibility to create multi-cultural inclusiveness in society?
An intensely interactive experience which will challenge your beliefs and create new behaviors.The Crossroads luncheon is Friday, August 15 from 11:45 am – 1 pm at Plymouth Congregational Church, 42nd & Ingersoll Avenue , Des Moines .
Reservations are required for Crossroads and must be received by Tuesday, August 12.
Cost is $8 and is payable at the door.
For more information or to make a reservation, call (515) 279-8715 or email tiaiowa@dwx.com.
Dr. Steven and Jill Kraus will be hosting a reception at their home for Tom Harkin in Carroll on Friday, August 15th at 5:30 PM. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be provided and valet parking is available. For the full details on this event, please click here.
Saturday, August 16:
Senator Harkin and Mayor Jerry Sullivan, candidate for Statehouse (HD-59), will attend a fundraiser for Sullivan’s campaign from 3:00 to 4:30 pm at the Great Midwestern Café, 1250 NW 128th St in Clive. Catering provided by Great Midwestern Café. Suggested donation $50 (host levels higher). Checks can be made payable to Sullivan for State Representative, 7018 Franklin Ave, Windsor Heights, IA 50322. RSVP to Mike at mmccall@iowademocrats.org or call (614) 561-9117.
1000 Friends of Iowa is holding its 10th anniversary celebration and annual meeting at the Griffieon family farm near Ankeny. The event starts at 9:00 am and runs all day. Click here to register for the meeting or find more details about the event, including a schedule and directions to the farm. Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey will be the keynote speaker. Registration costs $30, and that includes an “Iowa grown lunch.” Other events of the day include:
Presentation – Connie Mutel author of The Emerald Horizon: The History of Nature in Iowa Mutel will describe her new book, which offers an opportunity to understand, reconnect with, and nurture Iowa’s precious natural world. She’ll also discuss the functions (such as flood-resistance) provided by healthy native communities, and offer a challenge to restore these functions through reintegrating nature into Iowa’s working landscape. 1:30 Presentation – Erv Klaas Dr. Klaas will discuss how reserving valuable cropland for growing corn and soybeans creates difficult challenges to livestock owners who use riparian zones for pasture. He will use the Griffieon pasture to illustrate problems livestock owners face, the technique LaVon is using to remedy the problem and how improvements to water quality and to our streams depends on a total watershed approach. 2:00 Tour de Sprawl – Guides: LaVon Griffieon & Stephanie Weisenbach In the past decade development has encroached upon the farmland next to the Griffieon’s farm. We will tour the neighborhood by bus to see the changes made upon some of the world’s most prime soils.
I am involved with 1000 Friends of Iowa and will attend this meeting, but not in my capacity as desmoinesdem, so don’t expect any talk about partisan politics!