South Iowa News

Gov. Kim Reynolds touted the success of a bipartisan initiative that provides tuition-free community college and certification programs to Iowans training for high-demand jobs in her 2022 Condition of the State address.

Future Ready Iowa has awarded more than 35,000 scholarships, “empowering nearly 17,000 Iowans to pursue careers and advance Iowa’s workforce — with thousands more to come,” according to Reynolds.

“With these efforts, we’re on the path to giving every Iowan the opportunity to find a rewarding career,” the governor, a Republican, said in the speech, a video of which was published on YouTube.

She acknowledged that the need for childcare is a barrier most Iowans face in trying to find a rewarding career.

The governor said that the answer isn’t found at the federal level, and that Iowa addressed the matter on its own terms.

“In Iowa we’ve taken a bottom up approach. Last legislative session we created the Childcare Challenge, a program where providers apply for grants that fit the needs of their communities,” Reynolds said, according to a transcript of the speech issued by her office. “It’s already paying off.”

 Iowa’s Child Care Challenge awarded grants that will create 4,000 new childcare spots across the state, the governor said.