Recently on The Exchange, we caught up with some of the latest news coming out of the Iowa statehouse. The first legislative funnel on Friday narrowed the number of bills that will be allowed to go forward.
Also, we talk with the creator of a traveling exhibit at Western Iowa Tech called Folding Cranes, Enfolding Community. More than 10,000 origami cranes represent the Iowans that have died from COVID-19.
Clive artist Pam Douglass created the exhibit to memorialize those who died. The traveling exhibit is appearing in the ten Iowa counties that saw the highest numbers of COVID deaths. Woodbury County reported more than 32 thousand cases of COVID and 356 deaths, according to the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services.
Western Iowa Tech Community College recently held an event that celebrates the styles and culture of Black hair. The Power of Hair Expo, in its second year, encourages attendees to explore their hair styles, model those styles and reflect how changing one’s hair style can be liberating and empowering.
LaShawna Moyle is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator at Western Iowa Tech. I spoke with La Shawna about the event. She says some of the inspiration for the program came from her own experiences ,and reactions to her hair styles at work.
