Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and University of Northern Iowa President Ben Allen today (Tuesday) announced a series of community conversations featuring Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education and economic development, will take place across the state in September and October. Two of the meetings will be held in the southwest Iowa towns of Bedford and Creston, on Wed., Sept. 19th.

The first session will take place 1:30-p.m. Sept. 19th, at Southwestern Community College, in Creston. The event will be held in Instructional Center Room 180. The second session takes place at 4-p.m. Sept. 19th, in the Auditorium at the Bedford High School. Both meetings feature Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds and UNI President Ben Allen.

The community conversations are designed seek feedback from Iowans about what priorities the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council should focus on as the STEM initiative continues to build across Iowa.  Reynolds, co-chair of the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, says “We are determined to provide Iowa’s young people with engaging STEM education opportunities, no matter where they live. That will help assure more students are well equipped to be knowledgeable citizens and to someday begin college or career training prepared for success. It also will help assure a stronger STEM employee pipeline for Iowa’s businesses and industries.”

All parents, grandparents, educators, business and civic leaders, legislators and other Iowans are invited to attend the hour-long, town hall style meetings. Ben Allen, co-chair of the STEM Advisory Council,  said they  “Are in the process of rolling out STEM programs through our scale-up initiative and these community conversations are a way to foster STEM relationships between local businesses, the regional STEM networks and area schools.  The Governor’s STEM Advisory Council is a public-private partnership whose overarching goal is creating greater student achievement in STEM subjects and a stronger STEM workforce.