Iowa Ideas 2017

February 7, 2017 | Events•Local Life

Cedar Rapids, IA—Registration is now open for Iowa Ideas 2017. The statewide initiative will offer symposiums, printed magazines, digital updates and a multiday September conference surrounding issues that continue to impact the economics and people of Iowa. The first symposium is scheduled for February 28 at the Hotel Kirkwood in Cedar Rapids, offering attendees a workforce/regionalism or K-12 education track.

The February 28 symposium will be the first of eight to be hosted across the state in coming months. Participants will be encouraged to review current research and case studies presented by regional experts, collaborate on ideas and determine resources required to achieve ideal goals.

The K-12 education symposium will focus on the evolving design of the educational system, the classroom, individual learning and consideration of impact from adverse childhood experiences. The workforce/regionalism discussion will include topics such as Iowa’s changing population, rural/urban divide along with recruitment and retention issues from geographic and political perspectives.

Hosted by the local Cedar Rapids media company The Gazette, the concept of Iowa Ideas arrived at a time when discussion about the media’s role in how state issues are reviewed, interpreted and communicated were critical.

“Iowa Ideas is designed to get past partisan politics,” explains Zack Kucharski, Executive Editor of The Gazette. “It won’t assume that everything we do today is obsolete or broken, because it’s not. It will allow us to examine issues in unique depth- how we got to the current state, pursued to address some of the challenges, and how to scale them to respond to need.”

Symposium stops will include Iowa City, Des Moines, Sioux City, Council Bluffs, Cedar Falls and Davenport to address transportation, health care, higher education, energy & environment and agriculture in addition to the Cedar Rapids K-12 education and workforce & regionalism topics on February 28. Concluding the symposium series The Gazette will host a multiday conference in September 2017 featuring national and local keynotes related to the seven tracks.

A ticket for the February 28 symposium is $75 and available for purchase at www.iowaideas.com

Contact:
Zack Kucharski, Executive Editor, The Gazette
Zack.kucharski@thegazette.com
319.398.8219