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87 people age 18 to 35 have submitted applications to be on the new Generation Iowa Commission to help reverse Iowa's Brain Drain.
From the Cedar Rapids Gazette...
As part of Iowa's strategy to retain and recruit young people, the Legislature approved and Culver signed a measure (House File 617) to establish the Generation Iowa Commission -- a 15-member panel made up of young Iowans between the ages of 18 and 35.The application deadline to be on the commission is May 15th.
As of this week, the governor's office has received 87 applications from young Iowans wanting to serve on the board -- representing young Iowans from at least 20 counties with a diverse racial make-up that is divided among Democrats, Republicans and independents.
I have written numerous times about this problem and the bill that was authored by Rep. Elesha Gayman. It will be interesting to see what this commission accomplishes.
4 comments:
My daughter and her husband have to move to North Carolina for his work. Makes us all a bit sad.
I always have mixed feelings when this subject comes up. I was anxious to get out of Iowa for college and try living in another part of the country. After college I lived overseas for about a decade. I came back to Iowa with my husband when we were ready to start a family.
Some of my friends stayed in Iowa for college and then left, never to return (at least not yet). Others went away for school or work, then came back for the quality of life.
I don't think it's inherently a bad thing for young people to try living somewhere else for a while. The key is to make Iowa an attractive place for these people to come home to.
"The key is to make Iowa an attractive place for these people to come home to."
I totally agree with this. To accomplish this we need to redirect our Iowa values back onto education and improving our quality of life (environment, things to do, etc) instead of handing out taxpayer money to wealthy corporations.
I'm excited to see that others share this view!
My husband and I just moved back from Washington, D.C., after having a baby because we want to raise our son here. The focus shouldn't be on preventing young people from leaving; it should be on providing incentives for them to return (as better and wiser citizens, in our case).
Perhaps 2- or 5-year property-tax abatements might be something for local governments to consider. More affordable housing was a huge factor in our decision.
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