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  LWV Upper Mississippi River Region

UMRR blog

Does it take an act of Congress to protect the Mississippi?

3/23/2022

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The answer is that Congress is one piece – an important one – of the solution to the Mississippi’s woes.  In the UMRR Annual Meeting, we will have an exciting panel of speakers to talk about bills currently in the US Congress that have the potential to greatly affect our river.  We will also explore the idea of a “compact” between river states to protect the river from water diversions.  This session will set the stage for the work that LWV UMRR will tackle in the years to come.  

Join LWV UMRR for this session on May 21 at 10:30.  This meeting will be held in Webinar format on Zoom - pre-registration is required.  
Click this link to pre-register!  You will receive the link to the meeting by return email; we will send reminders in May, including on the 21st.   Registration is open until the meeting starts on May 21 at 10:30.  

​We have a great slate of panelists for this session - representatives from other organizations working for the river and leading work on federal bills and big ideas.    We will cover the Mississippi River Restoration and Resilience initiative (MRRRI), the Safeguarding the Mississippi River Together initiative (SMRT), the Farm Bill reauthorization and a big idea - the notion of an Upper Midwest Compact to protect the waters of the Mississippi from diversion.  Our speakers represent organizations that are working to protect the Mississippi.  ​
MRRRI Update
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Alicia Vasto, Water Program Associate Director,  Iowa Environmental Council

​Alicia joined the Council in 2019. She grew up in Adel, Iowa. She previously worked as the director of the Iowa
Conservation Education Coalition, where she supported environmental educators and advanced environmental literacy. Alicia holds a Master of Environmental Management degree from Duke University with a focus on land conservation and management, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science from the University of Notre Dame. In her free time, she enjoys cycling, travel, and yoga.

SMRT Update
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Brandt Thorington,
Policy Director,  Mississippi River Cities and Town Initiative

Brandt serves as the Policy Director for the MRCTI, specializing  in analyzing legislation affects, building coalitions and advancing legislation. His primary areas of expertise are  appropriations,
tax policy, budget, energy, health care, immigration reform, homeland security, public safety, transportation, water infrastructure, and community development. Brandt has extensive experience working with various levels of government including Congress, federal officials, state legislators, mayors, and other local officials.
Farm Bill Update
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Lara Bryant, Deputy Director, Water and Agriculture, Natural Resources Defence Council

Lara Bryant promotes soil health practices and policies that protect water quality, use water more efficiently, and help farms to be more resilient to climate change. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked on sustainable agricultural policy at the National Wildlife Federation and World Resources Institute and was a chemist at a private environmental laboratory. Bryant holds a bachelor’s degree in plant and soil science from the University of Tennessee and a master’s degree in public administration in environmental science and policy from Columbia University. She works out of NRDC’s Washington, D.C., office.
Upper Midwest Charter
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 Kirsten Wallace, Executive Director, Upper Mississippi River Basin Association

Kirsten Wallace was appointed executive director of UMRBA in 2017, following over 10 years focusing on the Association's ecosystem, navigation, and flood initiatives.  Kirsten works with UMRBA's member states to develop  regional positions, advocate the states' collective interests before Congress and the federal agencies, and facilitate and foster interagency coordination, cooperation, and communication.
Kirsten serves on the Board of the Interstate Council on Water Policy, America's Watershed Initiative, and the National Waterways Foundation.
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Thinking Like a Watershed hosts LWV UMRR Chair Mary Ellen Miller - Recording now available!

3/1/2022

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Championing the Upper Mississippi River Region  
Mary Ellen Miller, President, League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region
How a life-long conservationist became an advocate for the Mississippi…an LWV president discusses conservation & change
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Conservation activist and self-proclaimed tree-hugger, LWV UMRR Chair Mary Ellen Miller shared the League’s connection between advocacy, voting and the state of the river.  She discussed the work that members are involved with to improve soil health and water quality and how they are working with others in the Upper Mississippi River network to take action for change.  Here's the link see a recording of her talk.

This monthly series is a project of the Upper Mississippi River Initiative (UMRI) of the Izaak Walton League of America/MN Division, with co-hosts Chris Henning of the Panora Conservation Chapter and Des Moines Chapter Communication Director, Bud Hartley.  This program feature guests for 30-40 minute presentations that shed daylight on good works done in the name of the Mississippi and its uplands. In this way we uplift our shared goals for a cleaner river, a cared for environment, and kinder communities. Recorded  programs are available shortly after they air live.

February's program featured Kelly McGinnis of the Mississippi River Network.  You can see the .
“The POWER of 1 Mississippi & 20,000 River Citizens” Thinking Like a Watershed ~ Kelly McGinnis— February 22nd, 2022   How 58 organizations team up to drive policy—“Can the river count on you?” A call to action…

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How Did We Get Here?   Fifty Years of Federal Farm Policies

11/3/2021

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Monday, December 6th 1:00 pm - Discussion with columnist Alan Guebert.   The video of this Zoom meeting is available on the LWV UMRR YouTube channel at this link.   Due to inexperience of the Zoom operator, the recording was done in "gallery" mode until the discussion period, but the audio is good and there were no slides.  

Guebert shared his perspectives on the impacts that federal farm policies have had on our economy, our communities and our environment.  
Watch this blog for information on our February meeting, on the simulation "En-Roads Climate Change Workshop".  Jackie Armstrong giving us a live demo on how that software program works.  This will be an evening presentation - 6:30 pm on February 7.  
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Extract from Guebert column, Hey Genius, Mind your Own Business:   "... our pedal-to-the-metal food system rarely pays farmers and ranchers to do the cheaper-in-the-long-run right thing and often pays them to do the more-profitable-in-the-short-run wrong thing.

Even our federal farm programs focus on fixing problems after they occur, not before; programs like federal crop insurance, the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Market Facilitation Program, and soon, on-farm carbon sequestration.  ...


Alan Guebert bio:  Alan Guebert was raised on a 720-acre, 100-cow dairy farm in southern Illinois. After graduating the University of Illinois in 1980, he served as an associate editor at Professional Farmers of America in Cedar Falls, Iowa and Successful Farming magazine in Des Moines. Later he spent eight years as a contributing editor for Farm Journal magazine of Philadelphia.
 
In 1993, Guebert began the Farm and Food File, a weekly newspaper column on farm and food policy and politics. Twenty-eight years and 1 million words later, the Farm and Food File continues to be published weekly in 26 states and two Canadian provinces.
 
Guebert currently lives in Madison, WI, with his spouse, the lovely Catherine. They have two children and three grandchildren.
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PFAS in Minnesota - the Blueprint for Action                                Zoom Program on November 10 at 11:30

10/21/2021

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Minnesota's investigation into PFAS contamination began in 2002 when 3M notified the MPCA of PFAS in its Cottage Grove production well. In 2004, PFAS were found to have contaminated drinking water supplies in parts of the eastern Twin Cities, and fish tested in the Mississippi River Pool 2 had high concentrations near the discharge from the 3M Cottage Grove facility. Most of the contamination was traced to four dumps or landfills. The East Metro investigations have identified an area of groundwater contamination covering over 150 square miles, affecting the drinking water supplies of over 175,000 Minnesotans.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, are an enormous family of chemicals now pervasive in the environment. Called “forever chemicals,” they do not break down and can bioaccumulate in both humans and other living organisms, with some known to be toxic. Minnesota created the Minnesota PFAS Blueprint, a strategic, coordinated approach to protecting families and communities.

On Wednesday, November 10 at 11:30 am, LWV MN's Climate Change Task Force will host MPCA Assistant Commissioner Kirk Koudelka, talking about PFAS in Minnesota and the state's response to this wide-spread contamination of our land and water.  This meeting will be hosted on Zoom - click the link below to join at 11:30 on November 10
https://lwvmn-org.zoom.us/j/87846019802

To join by phone:  dial in on 312 626 6799 (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 878 4601 9802


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This meeting is a follow-up to UMRR's October 4 PFAS webinar, PFAS The Unfolding Story which took a regional look at PFAS contamination, and then focused on problems in Wisconsin.  You can watch the video of this meeting at this link.  This post also includes supplemental material on PFAS sources and actions.  
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Kirk Koudelka, MPCA Assistant Commissioner 

Kirk Koudelka was appointed Assistant Commissioner for Land Policy and Strategic Initiatives in May 2012.

Prior to that, Kirk served as the Legislative Director at the MPCA. He led the agency’s legislative efforts for the 2011 through 2014 legislative sessions in both roles.

Before coming to the agency, Kirk spent 11 legislative sessions at the Minnesota House of Representatives in various capacities. The last six years were spent focused on environmental and natural resources issues, four for which were with the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee. It included administering the Solid Waste, Recycling and Resources Conservation Working Group focusing on state level changes, but also internal changes at the Legislature.
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Kirk has a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and History from Hamline University.



​https://www.pca.state.mn.us/waste/pfas-pollution 
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Should You Drink That?                                                                              The Unfolding Story of PFAS in our Lives

8/12/2021

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The video of this webinar is available for viewing now at this link:  https://youtu.be/SodForAydqQ
Since the 1940s, manufacturers have relied upon a class of man-made toxic chemicals that is resistant to heat, water, stains, grease, oil and friction. PFAS, or Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, have provided consumers with popular products such as nonstick cookware, stain-resistant furniture, and water-repellent clothing. Teflon, Scotchgard, Stainmaster, and Gore-Tex are just a few examples of brand names containing PFAS. The manufacture and use of PFAS in consumer products and firefighting foam are so widespread that 99% of Americans have PFAS in their blood today.
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On October 4, LWV UMRR hosted a panel discussion on PFAS. Our presenters helped us understand how PFAS have become a big part of our lives – present in food packaging, household products and drinking water – and what we know about how they affect our health. As awareness of PFAS contamination grows, communities are struggling to cope with tainted drinking water while engaging in advocacy to increase public awareness and bring about constructive change. Watch the video to learn what the federal government and states are doing to establish safe standards for drinking water and ban the use of PFAS in manufacturing. Most importantly, learn what you can do to help protect yourself, your family and your community.
                                                                          
                                                                                   
                 OUR  PANEL

Jeff Lamont – Retired hydrogeologist, works with SOH2O (Save Our H2O) to ensure safe drinking water for residents in Northeast Wisconsin and to advocate for state and federal standards for PFAS compounds. Jeff resides in the Tyco/JCI groundwater contamination plume in the Marinette and Town of Peshtigo area and has a private well impacted by PFAS. Jeff and his wife have been living with bottled water for drinking and cooking for the last 3.5 years.

Erika Schreder – Science Director, Toxic-Free Future, conducts and publishes research on toxic chemicals, their presence in people and products, and safer alternatives.

Deanna White – Minnesota Director, Clean Water Action, coordinates EPA and state level interactions for policy and legislation. Deanna has an extensive background in community organizing and advocacy.

To learn more about how you are exposed to PFAS and PFAS regulation in your state, check out this LWV UMRR-researched background sheet with information on PFAS  from Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin.  
pfas_background_sheet_lwv_umrr_ilo_rev._9-2021.pdf
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​This event will be recorded and made available in this blog post after editing.  
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Tollway Sustainability - April 5, 2021

3/2/2021

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Many thanks to Bryan Wagner, Environmental Program Manager for the Illinois Tollway System, for this talk on April 5!  His talk, linked at the right, provides an excellent overview of the many measures the Illinois Tollway has undertaken to improve environmental performance of these very busy highways.   You will be impressed - and his talk with make the journey across the tollway system that much more interesting! 
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​(For a closer look at Bryan's slides, scroll down.) 
 The Illinois Tollway stretches 294 miles (473 km) of tollways in 12 counties in Northern Illinois.  This highway system includes these tollways: 
  • Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (I-39/I-90/US 51)
  • Veterans Memorial Tollway (I-355)
  • Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway/Chicago–Kansas City Expressway (I-88/IL 56/IL 110)
  • Tri-State Tollway (I-80/I-94/I-294)
  • Elgin-O'Hare Tollway (IL 390)
These highways are VERY busy, carrying freight, travelers, commuters, deliveries, everything.  The Jane Addams Memorial Highway (I-90) had an average daily traffic count of more than 55,000 vehicles, 11,000 of which were trucks.  The roads are built for safety, speed and yes, sound environmental performance.   
Here's an example of the types of measures that are being undertaken:
The Illinois Tollway’s Landscape Master Plan was developed with the goal of establishing and maintaining healthy tree communities throughout the Tollway’s 294-miles, 5 roadways and 12 counties.
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OBJECTIVES: In partnership with The Morton Arboretum and the Chicago Region Trees Initiative, this Master Plan will guide Tollway efforts to:
  • Install 58,000 trees with the intent of increasing regional tree canopy coverage
  • Develop experimental approaches to planting that could test new ideas for tree installation and care in stressful roadway conditions
  • Develop maintenance programs to better ensure the long-term viability of future planting efforts
  • Evaluate and develop a diverse list of plant species and material suitable for high speed roadways
  • Identify viable living snow fence locations
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LWV UMRR plans meetings and events for 2021

2/11/2021

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​LWV Upper Mississippi River Region, or UMRR (pronounced “Ummer”), is an interleague organization focused on water quality.  UMRR is made up of 60 local Leagues in the states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.  Our geographic area is the Upper Mississippi River basin – that part of the Upper Mississippi basin upstream of the river’s confluence with the Ohio at the south edge of Illinois.  Here’s a link to an UMRR blog post  to learn more about what an ILO is and how it fits into the LWV national structure, and to learn more about how our structure strengthens our work, allowing the amplification of the voice of League throughout the watershed.  

Established in 2015, UMRR’s Board has strong representation from each of our four member states
.  Our Board members are listed on our Contact Us page– you may know some of us!   The Board meets six times a year on the first Monday of even numbered months.  In the pre-Covid days, we traveled around the basin for these meetings, which was a great way to get to know our members and the water issues in their communities.  Now, everything is on the same schedule, but virtual.  For each Board meeting, we also hold an educational session that focuses on a specific topic of concern.   These educational sessions are open to the public and recorded videos are shared and posted.

​Upcoming educational sessions are planned on
  • the impacts of highways on water resources (April 5),
  • efforts a city can undertake to protect and improve water quality (August 2),
  • PFAS (fire-suppression chemicals found contaminating water (October 4), and
  • the impact of electric cars can have in combating climate warming (December 6).
UMRR’s annual meetings are larger events, built around topics of current concern.  Our May 22, 2021, Annual Meeting will focus on using carbon capture to combat climate change, highlighting the role of agricultural lands in this effort.  All these meetings will be described on our Blog and advertised through the UMRR newsletter, direct emails to member Leagues and through state communications like this All Member News.  We look forward to working with you!
PictureLWV UMRR Board members Mary and Steve Ploesser at the Headwaters, June 2019
How to connect with LWV UMRR:
 
LWV UMRR’s website has lots of information.  Our Blog features 2-3 posts per month on topics that UMRR is working on.  One recent post includes a link to video from our Feb 1 meeting, where we learned about watershed-scale work to reach people and promote soil health and water quality.  Our “Upcoming Events” page includes posts for our upcoming meetings and maintains Board meeting information from past events.  Here, those who are interested can see our Board agendas, meeting minutes, Treasurer reports, and Action Committee reports as well as see the topics that were included in the educational sessions. 
 
Almost every month, LWV UMRR puts out a newsletter that includes links to our Blog posts and other items of interest.  You can sign up to receive the newsletter by submitting the info through our Contact Us page, or by emailing us at lwvumrr@lwvmn.org.   Leagues that are not already members can join UMRR through our Membership page, and anyone interested in making a donation can do so on our Donate page.


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Wisconsin Speaker's Task Force on Water Quality holding hearings this summer

6/4/2019

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In February of 2019, Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) is pleased to announce the 16 members of the bipartisan Speaker’s Task Force on Water Quality. There are 12 Republican representative and senators and 4 Democrats.  Representative Todd Novak-R-Dodgeville is the Chair and Representative Katrina Shankland-D-Stevens Point-Co-Chair.  
 
The development of the special legislative committee commenced after Reps. Travis Tranel (R-Cuba City) and Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) made a request to the speaker in reaction to a preliminary report showing widespread contamination in private wells in southwestern Wisconsin. Because of the great importance of the issue being studied, this task force will also include members of the state Senate.
 
“Wisconsinites deserve to have safe, clean and healthy water,” said Speaker Vos. “We’re beginning this essential work by gathering input from across Wisconsin.  I’m pleased these legislators have agreed to take part in this statewide, collaborative effort.”
 
The task force has been asked to make recommendations on assessing and improving the quality of surface water and groundwater. Legislators will hold public hearings around Wisconsin to gather information on the specific concerns in the various regions of the state. The speaker’s office has already been contacted by dozens of groups including Wisconsin Wetlands Association, the UW Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences and the Wisconsin Conservation Voters.   “The goal is to take input from everyone; stakeholder groups, individuals and local officials,” said Speaker Vos. “Every important solution starts with robust conversation.
 
The Task Force will be traveling to 11 Wisconsin cities to get input.  Next week Mauston, Wisconsin will have their hearing on Wednesday, June 12, 2019 and La Crosse, Wisconsin will have their hearing on Thursday, June 13th, 2019.  For more information, click here.

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LWV seeks to support non-operating owners of farmland

12/5/2018

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On December 3, 2018, LWV Upper Mississippi River Region held their bi-monthly Board meeting at the Coralville Public Library, in Johnson County, Iowa.   The educational event after the Board meeting featured speakers from the Woman, Food and Agriculture Network, and the Izaak Walton League.   These organizations, along with the LWV Upper Mississippi River Region, are reaching out to absentee landowners  - people who rent farmland for others to farm.  

Throughout the Midwest, absentee landownership of farm land is common.  In some places, more than half the farmland is rented.  The management of this land is critical - land owners must work with their renters to develop contracts that reward good stewardship and build soil health.    How should these discussions be framed?  How can the renter protect both the rented land and his bottom line?  What will be the farming legacy of these rented lands?

The Izaak Walton League (aka "the Ikes") received a grant from the McKnight Foundation and is developing workshops to provide landowners with this information.  The LWV UMRR is working with the Ikes in our four-state area, with a goal of finding member Leagues to work with local Ike chapters put on these workshops throughout the watershed.  ​

The goal is to provide these landowners with tools and support to help them work with their renters to build soil health and improve the environmental performance of their farms.   Here's the video from the presentation in Coralville.  
​Our speakers, left to right, are Chris Henning from the Women Food and Agriculture Network, Mike Delaney from the Izaak Walton League and Lonni McCauley from the LWV Upper Mississippi River Region Inter League Organization.
LWV UMRR is also working with the Land Stewardship Project in Minnesota.  Here, a series of three meetings will occur in January, with follow up meetings planned for February.    LWV'ers will be helping with these meetings, which will be be a good way to build LWV knowledge as well.  
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The dates for these meetings are shown at the right.  

In this workshops, landowners will orient to the basics of soil building in partnership with their renters. We will talk about soil health, review resources for landowners, have a panel of farmers and landowners to answer your questions, and learn how to start some of the difficult conversations around increasing conserva-tion practices on your land. All workshops are from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm with lunch and coffee included. LSP is requesting a $20 suggested donation from attendees to help cover costs.

Agenda:
9-9:30 - Sign in and coffee
9:30 - Lunch: Presentation from Assistant State Soil Scientist Kristin Brennan (Roseville and Albert Lea), panel with soil specialist, local SWCD staff, soil building farmers, and landowners who have worked with renters for better soil.
Lunch- Talk with someone new or bend a panelist’s ear a little longer.
1-3 pm- Learn about what resources are there for you, practice starting hard conversations, decide what is next for you.

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 Register online at this link or reach out to LSP staffer Robin Moore  at 320-269-2105
or by email at 
​ 
rmoore@landstewardshipproject.org with questions or to register.
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Come to Coralville on Monday, December 3

11/3/2018

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Monday, December 3
​Coralville Public Library - Room A
1401 5th St, Coralville, IA 52241

Speakers:
  Mike Delaney, Izaak Walton League Upper Mississippi River Initiative Field Organizer
  Lonni McCauley, League of Women Voters Upper Mississippi River Region Action Chair
 
Agenda
    1:00 - Gather at the Library for light refreshments
    1:25 – Introductions
    1:30 – Speakers
    2:15 – Audience questions and discussion
    2:30 – Adjourn
Throughout the Midwest, absentee landownership of farm land is common.  In some places, more than half the farmland is rented.  The management of this land is critical - land owners must work with their renters to develop contracts that reward good stewardship and build soil health.    How should these discussions be framed?  How can the renter protect both the rented land and his bottom line?  What will be the farming legacy of these rented lands?

The Izaak Walton League (aka "the Ikes") received a grant from the McKnight Foundation and is developing workshops to provide landowners with this information.  The LWV UMRR is working with the Ikes in our four-state area, with a goal of finding member Leagues to work with local Ike chapters put on these workshops throughout the watershed.  Both organizations extend the invitation to this meeting in Coralville so we can meet each other and set up the groundwork for local workshop planning.  

The Coralville Public Library is close to I-80 just northeast of Iowa City.  It offers free parking and a large, comfortable room for our use.  Click Upcoming Events for a printable flyer you can use to share the information with others.  We also have made this an event on Facebook - like us and help spread the word!  Here's a map - see you in Coralville!  
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