Monday, September 28, 2015

Greeters for the Rest of the Year 2015

Here is a brief list of the members who will be greeting you in the upcoming weeks. Find your name and put it in your calendar.

October 7          Dave L.
October 14        Sue L.
October 21        Doug N.
October 28        Bob N.
November 4      Tony R.
November 11    Tom R.
November 18    Jerry S.
November 25    Greg S.
December 2      Nick T.
December 9      Gene T.
December 16    Stan
December 23    Jeff W.
December 30    Liz W.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Revisiting the Past and Looking Towards the Future



Wednesday Sept. 23—State Senator Jeff Danielsen talked to our group today about the successes of the past legislative session and the challenges that must be faced during the next one. 

Bipartisan support led to an increase in the gas tax, so more improvements and timely repairs can be made to Iowa’s road system. After lagging behind the other state universities the past few years in funding, the University of Northern Iowa came out well during this past legislative session.

A revamped IT system is projected to save the state $300 million each year.
 
Goals for the next session are to find ways to keep more young teachers in the profession and to slow down the mushrooming cost of Medicaid.

Thank you for sharing your views, Senator.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Our Installation Banquet is Coming on October 1

The Cedar Falls Rough Risers will hold it’s annual Installation Banquet on Thursday October 1, 2015 at the Clarion Inn in Cedar Falls, beginning at 6:00 p.m. The 2015-16 board will be installed by Katie
Orlando Lt. Governor Kiwanis International from Waterloo. The officers will be: Tony Reid-President; Alan Czarnetzki-Vice-President; Jim Larson- Secretary/Treasurer; Rod Hamer Past President. Board members to be installed are; Gery Deavers, Tim Jones, Bob Ericson, Leigh Zeitz, Sue Loy and Cindy Hahn.

The club will celebrate the year completed and look forward to the plans for the coming year. One
highlight will be naming this year’s Hixson Fellowship Award recipient given in the name of an outstanding member, which supports $1000 contribution to Kiwanis International’s Eliminate Maternal/Neonatal Tetanus Program.

Kiwanis Mission- is the belief that the most effective way to enhance a community is to enhance its children. When you give a child a chance to learn, experience, dream, and succeed, great things will happen. The Rough Risers purpose is to serve the Children of the Cedar Valley.

Views From Our Statehouse Connection



Wednesday Sept. 16—Walt Rogers who represents Cedar Falls in the Iowa Legislature joined us today to share his insights on the past legislative session and the one that will begin in January. 

Forming the state budget is the biggest single task that the legislature faces. The largest slice of the budget pie is education, which gets about 56% of the budget so much discussion and debate centers on education.

Medicaid is a rapidly growing expense for the state and will get a lot of attention in the next session, along with Governor Branstad’s plan to privatize Medicaid administration.

We appreciated hearing Representative Roger’s comments that went beyond what we hear in the news about the statehouse.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Local Racetrack Lives On in Book



Wednesday Sept. 9—A prominent person in local history was Jud Tunis, who built a racetrack on the west edge of Waterloo shortly after WWII.

Jim Volgarino, author of Dirt Track Dreams, visited the Rough Risers to share the story of Tunis Speedway as chronicled in his book. The track was originally built for horse racing, as Tunis was an avid horse racing fan.

The track was soon converted to car racing and over the decades, was a popular destination for drivers and fans alike. The last weekly races were held in 1979.

The photos and stories about Tunis Speedway added an interesting chapter to our awareness of local history and events, and we appreciated Jim sharing it with us.