Events

Billi Hunt has been named the Executive Director of the Cultivation Corridor. Hunt brings 20 years of experience working for one of the leading agriculture companies in the state.

Hunt joins the Cultivation Corridor after working as the Government Affairs Manager — U.S. Central Region for DuPont. The U.S. Central Region includes Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. In this role, she supported DuPont’s global business through state-level advocacy, public policy initiatives and government-related business collaborations. She represented DuPont’s business in a number of community and industry-related organizations, including the Iowa Business Council, the United Way of Central Iowa, the Iowa Biotech Association, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the College of Human Sciences at Iowa State University and the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

Not since the upheaval of World War II have there been so many displaced persons on this planet at one time; 
40.8 million are displaced within their own country, 21.3 million are refugees, and 3.2 million are waiting asylum decisions, 12.4 were newly displaced in 2015 and even more so far in 2016.  Sixty percent of those are from Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Worldwide, the vast majority of the refugees came from just three countries:  Syria 4.9 million, Afghanistan 2.7 million and 1.1 million from Somalia.
Germany has taken in roughly a third of these fellow humans.  As of September, the United States had admitted 10,000 Syrian refugees in our national resettlement program. Fewer than 10 have been settled in Iowa. Iowa has a long history of welcoming refugees and immigrants and the Ames Interfaith Refugee Alliance seeks to honor and continue this tradition.
Members of the Social Justice/Outreach team of Ames United Church of Christ identified refugee resettlement as a priority and because of the likely need to resettle more than one family and the complexity of resettling refugees decided that it would be best to seek other like-minded individuals in Ames churches.  The group initially reached out through our Industrial Areas Foundation affiliate, A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS), as well as local religious leaders.  
The interest from other congregations was phenomenal. When the group held its first meeting, the Ames Interfaith Refugee Alliance (AIRA) was formed. The AIRA agreed to seek further membership and AIRA membership rapidly expanded into service and other community organizations.  The initial activities of the AIRA included meeting with the US Committee on Immigrants and Refugees in Des Moines, inviting a city council member to discuss refugee placement in Ames. The overall working goals and objectives of AIRA are to 1) Seek to be inclusive; 2) Network with service providers; 3) Hold a Town Hall meeting; and 4) Address community concerns with refugee placement.
The first hurdle will be to secure approval from the State Department to settle refugees that have been vetted. The cost and availability of affordable housing will become one of the most immediate and long-term challenges for the Alliance. Like many small cities, Ames has a huge need for affordable housing. However, because Ames is a rapidly-growing university town rent prices have soared the past few years as Iowa State University keeps breaking records in attendance. This does have one advantage, though, as 110 countries are represented on the campus and, as a result, in the community. There is a large Muslim Student Association on campus and an active and centrally located mosque. Our church has also been active, through AMOS, in establishing a housing trust fund that will allow our county to access state monies to provide more access to housing (new, rental, and the like). We also recently donated $40,000 for a Habitat for Humanity house.
We will invite area service providers (health, food, medical, etc.) to join in our work, many of which receive funding from Ames UCC. The Alliance also anticipates connecting with the Ames school system in order to prepare for admission of refugee children. The Ames schools provide an English as a second language program.

My mom and I started delivering warm cookies around Des Moines a few years ago and they were an instant hit—especially in the winter. But when summer rolled around it seemed people preferred a cool treat. So, we put fresh ice cream between two wholesome homemade cookies. We began selling them at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market but soon people craved more. Now we offer our sweet sandwiches through a great group of retailers from Omaha to the Quad Cities

Aileen Sullivan, a veteran chemistry teacher at Ames High, was named the 2018 Iowa Teacher of the Year by Governor Kim Reynolds at a surprise event that was also attended by Iowa Department of Education Director Ryan Wise. Sullivan has taught at Ames High School since 1996 and is known for challenging her students, her colleagues, and herself to grow and improve.

Hilary T. Seo is an Associate Professor and the Head of Preservation at the Iowa State University Library overseeing conservation, reformatting, mass deacidification, library binding, marking, and Digital Collections. Hilary Seo has been selected for the ARL (Association of Research Libraries) Leadership Fellows program. The 2018-19 group is made up of 30 individuals from the United States and Canada, and participation in the program is designed to develop senior-level leaders in ARL institutions.

A lifelong interest in nature and wildlife led to the purchase of Ty Smedes’ first 35mm camera, in 1980. As a hunter, he loved being in the field, and the camera allowed him to be there, during all times of the year. In 1983, the Iowa DNR became interested in publishing his waterfowl photos, and from there his interest evolved to include more of Iowa's wildlife, prairies, insects, and scenic vistas.

Then, as he travelled frequently to other parts of the Midwest and West, he began to include coverage from those areas as well. Eventually, his curiosity and love of nature led him to Brazil, seven different African Countries, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island, and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Ty’s ultimate goal is to help others enjoy, appreciate, and value our often fragile and threatened natural eco-systems and natural heritage. He hopes his photos will cause others to make important choices which will save declining habitats and improve our natural world.

Some of his photo credits include: The Smithsonian, The Nature Conservancy, Sierra, AAA Living, Outdoor Photographer, Our Iowa, The Iowan, and many more.

Ty will present on interesting discoveries about Iowa's Bald Eagles and how they go about their every-day lives in Iowa and the Midwest.

Kris Lager, BS Animal Science, MS in the Area of Physiology

One Heart Equestrian Therapy

Co-Founder & Executive Director

PATH-Certified Registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor

PATH-Certified Level 1 Therapeutic Driving Instructor

PATH-Certified Equine Specialist in Mental Health and Learning