Generation Iowa Recommendations to Stop Iowa's Brain Drain

Yesterday, the Generation Iowa Commission released updated recommendations to keep young people in Iowa.

The commission's report identifies Iowa's strengths, such as being one of top five importers of college students, and that at least 21 percent of Iowans having a college degree. It also identifies the state's weaknesses, such as being among the leading states in the loss of college-educated people, losing those residents at the fourth-highest rate in the nation. The report also cited the state's low wages - ranking nine-out-of-10 in a 10-state region - with wages that are 20 percent lower than the national average. [..]

The group presented a list of initial recommendations to lawmakers last spring. On Wednesday, it issued a second report with four additional recommendations on what can be done to attract and retain more young people in Iowa.

Those include:

-Providing more opportunities for young Iowans to be involved in state boards and commissions.

-Creating more high-wage, higher-education jobs.

-Expanding the Iowa Department of Economic Development Internship program for young Iowans in higher-education-oriented growth industries and link top Iowa college students with internships in small- and medium-sized businesses.

-Expanding education benefits for the AmeriCorps program to attract service-minded and educated young professionals.

Here are the recommendations from last spring from the Generation Iowa Commission.