Lt. governor: Education key to jobs

CLARINDA, Iowa — Iowa Lt. Gov. Patty Judge said Friday that strengthening tomorrow’s work force requires investment in education today.

“We want to keep the kids in Clarinda and Page County well educated, healthy and happy so they will remain here and take their place in the work force,” Judge said during a visit to Lisle Corp. About 25 people attended the event.

Judge spoke about ways of ensuring that current and future Iowa workers have the educational tools they need to succeed in challenging economic times.

“This is not the time to hunker down,” Judge said. “We have to keep moving forward, and without a doubt the most important mission we have to have is to create jobs.”

Those efforts started last year with the passage of the I-Jobs initiative to create jobs and invest in Iowa’s infrastructure, she said.

Since its passage, Clarinda has received $235,000 for the Glenn Miller Birthplace Museum, and Page County has received nearly $600,000 for such projects as area airport modernization and road repairs.

Judge said Gov. Chet Culver is asking the legislature to fund the Iowa Power Fund and support the Iowa Values Fund this year.

“Iowa’s workers are strong,” Judge said. “They are willing to work hard. They try to support themselves and their families, and we need to make sure they have the tools that they need to do that.”

The key to providing those tools, Judge said, is the community college system in Iowa and the job-training programs it offers.

“The programs they provide to train and retrain the local work force are critically important to the mission of job creation and retention,” Judge said.

More than 50 Lisle employees have completed the mechanical technology program offered at the Clarinda campus of Iowa Western Community College since 1970.

“These programs help workers retain their skills and develop new skills for the future,” Iowa Western’s Chad Wellhausen said.

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