Winter 1999

In this issue   Learning to teach: Extension volunteers share Internet skills Iowa Institute for Public Leadership brings state officials together Kids find Ag-Citing ISU and Extension respond to farm economy issues Extension strengthens low-resource families Modern Johnny Appleseed sows technology Kids dig in the dirt and grow in the garden Iowa roadways gain appeal Start college while in high school __________ The Extension Connection Winter 1999 homepage

Iowa Institute for Public Leadership brings state officials together "It's very important that members of each branch of government understand what people in the other branches do," said Scott Rosenberg, a district court judge in Polk County. As a working judge, he has gained new appreciation of the work done by state legislators, executive branch department heads and staff members from all three branches of state government through participation in the Iowa Institute for Public Leadership. Michael Josephson, nationally known expert on ethics issues faced by people involved in public service, considers a question during a break at an Iowa Institute for Public Leadership Session. The institute was organized in 1995 by former State Sen. Ralph Rosenberg and Linda Hason, director of the Iowa Department of Personnel, with Iowa State University Extension. The institute graduated its third class in September 1998. About 165 participants from the judicial, legislative and executive branches have participated in the program that combines presentations by nationally known experts on governmental issues with unlimited opportunities for state officials to interact. "It is well worth the time it takes," said Effie Lee Boggess, a state representative from Villisca. "I particularly enjoyed the chance to discuss local issues with people from other branches of government." Boggess was one of 45 participants in the most recent institute which started with a two-day session last June on the Iowa State University campus. That was followed by one day on the Des Moines Area Community College campus in Newton in August, and another day at Drake University in September. John Mathes, warden at the Newton Correctional Facility, said he found the institute "very productive from several perspectives." He mentioned the opportunity to job shadow people working in other branches of government and also said the session on organizational values resulted in his managers helping to revise the mission statement at the prison. Terry Besser, ISU Extension sociologist who coordinates the institute, said the key to its success has been the small group setting with the emphasis on teamwork. "We do workshops and exercises designed to help participants meet people from the other branches of government," Besser said, and the result is that "they get to know each other really well."