Legislative News
Register Now: Regional meeting in Sioux City, May 24
If you haven't participated in a Regional Public Policy Meeting, there's still time. Join us for the Sioux City regional meeting on May 24. Lunch will be served and ABI public policy staff will provide an in-depth analysis of the legislative session along with a preview and discussion of 2018. If you're in northwest Iowa and plan to attend, bring a colleague who may not yet be an ABI member. Click here to register.

2017 legislative action concludes
Action on the 2017 legislative session officially came to a close last Friday. Gov. Terry Branstad finalized action on all legislation, including budget bills that totaled $7.2 billion in spending for fiscal year 2018, which begins July 1, 2017. The end of 2017 action also signals the last of Gov. Branstad's bill signings. Iowa's longest-serving governor is expected to be approved soon by the U.S. Senate to his appointment as U.S. Ambassador to China.

ABI and its members had a fantastic session as many pro-jobs bills were signed into law. Click here to read more on bills that ABI tracked that were just signed by the governor. Gov. Branstad signed 21 bills ABI supported during the 2017 legislative session.

Registration Open: August public policy meetings
Registration is open for ABI's annual public policy committee meetings, which will take place in August. These grassroots policy planning meetings are an excellent opportunity for a new ABI member company or ABI members to get additional teammates involved in the association. The Workplace and Product Safety Committee has already secured Iowa Workers' Compensation Commissioner Joe Cortese as the speaker.  Click here to register for these important policy development meetings.

State Rep. Forristall dies at age 67
Rep. Greg Forristall (R-Macedonia) died last week due to complications from cancer. Rep. Forristall was serving his sixth term in the Iowa House representing District 22 and was vice chair of the Education Committee. Read more from The Daily Nonpareil here. ABI's heartfelt condolences go out to the Forristall family, as they go through this difficult time. Gov. Branstad has scheduled a special election for June 27 to fill the House District 22. Read Branstad's press release  here.

Feedback requested: Department of Transportation proposes rule changes
The DOT is conducting a required five-year review of all of its administrative rule chapters and seeking feedback on Iowa DOT Administrative Rule Chapter 20, which pertains to procurement of equipment, materials, supplies and services. Members are encouraged to review the proposed changes and provide feedback on how they could affect your business. Keep reading...

Federal Spotlight: Congress readies action on career and technical education bill
Congressmen Glenn Thompson (R-PA) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) have introduced the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. The first legislative procedure for the bill took place this week. The bill seeks to reauthorize and amend the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006. The Perkins Act provides federal support to state and local career and technical education (CTE) programs.  
The purpose of the legislation is to improve and strengthen the country's education and workforce development skills for workers in the 21st century. Keep reading...
There's still time for students to save on Business Horizons!
Do you know high school students looking for fun, fulfilling ways to spend their summer? Encourage them to apply for Business Horizons, an action-packed week of competitions, challenges and fun for high school students from across the state put on by the ABI Foundation. Students gain real-world experience and develop their personal and professional skills as young leaders while setting goals for a successful future. 

Business Horizons 2017 will take place June 25-29 at Central College in Pella. There are still plenty of spots available and applications postmarked by May 20 will save $35 on registration!
From the Desk of...
Own your ABI conference experience

Kathy Anderson
Vice President, Member Development and Programs, 
Iowa Association of Business and Industry [email protected]

The 2017 Taking Care of Business Conference will gather 500 - 600 Iowa business leaders from across the state together for three days, June 6-8 in Dubuque. With so many attendees in a variety of industries, ages, and positions within their company, the Taking Care of Business Conference will offer opportunities for your personal growth, professional growth and certainly your business growth.
Own that growth by taking three important steps to get the most out of this opportunity:

1. Connect.

Check out the conference attendee list, which is provided for you here. There will be many on that list you already know: Reach out ahead of time to tell them you're looking forward to seeing them at conference. Some of them have changed positions or companies or are now charged with spearheading new efforts for their organization. Grab an old friend and connect while exploring Dubuque.

Make a list of 5-10 people you'd like to meet this year. If you couldn't identify them in a crowd, ask another ABI member, ABI staff member or a Conference Committee member for an introduction. Finally, be very aware that each attendee has a variety of roles within ABI and may have board, committee or programming responsibilities. Don't take it personally if you happen to catch someone at a moment when they aren't able to talk. Commit to follow up at a later time. Keep reading...
Top News
Past ABI Chair Hanawalt nominated to business hall of fame (Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier)
Mark Hanawalt, president of United Equipment Accessories and past chair of ABI, has been nominated to the Eastern Iowa Cedar Valley Business Hall of Fame. Hanawalt and two other nominees will be inducted at an even in October.

Board member Hargens, ABI members appointed to state board (Governor's Office)
Individuals from five ABI member companies have been appointed to the Iowa Partnership on Economic Progress. They include ABI board member Roger Hargens of Accumold, Tim Glenn of DuPont, Sherri Hotzler of Vantec, Inc., Matt Rizai of Workiva and Mike Wells of Wells Enterprises. 

Flexsteel to invest $28 million in new plant (Dubuque Telegraph-Herald)
Flexsteel Industries announced Friday it plans to build a new $28 million facility in Dubuque, which will retain at least 200 jobs in the community.

RFID's 'Metal Problem' has been solved by Iowa's Metalcraft, Inc. (Forbes)
This Iowa Voice column highlights how Metalcraft partnered with CIRAS to develop an RFID tag that can be used on metal products.

Kaplan University acquired by Purdue  (Purdue University)
Kaplan University has been acquired by Purdue University, which pans to create a new public university to further expand access to higher education. 

The Branstad record on business, property and gas taxes (Radio Iowa)
Radio Iowa explores Gov. Terry Branstad's record on business and taxes, including passage of a sales and use tax exemption on machinery and equipment used in the manufacturing process. 
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