COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (KMTV) — U.S. Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer visited Iowa Western Community College on Wednesday morning. She toured some of the skilled trades classes including welding and HVAC.
- IWCC President Dan Kinney said it was a chance to showcase the school's trades programs and emphasis the need for continued funding.
- Council Bluffs Superintendent Vicki Murillo was eager for the local high school students to meet the secretary and talk about what they've learned taking trades classes at Iowa Western
- Council Bluffs Public School provided me with some statistics from their skilled trades credentialing program: 91.1% of the 568 members of the Class of 2025 earned a second credential along with their high school diploma. One-hundred-and-thirty-one students graduated from Iowa Western with a diploma, certificate or degree.
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U.S. Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer toured some of the trades programs at Iowa Western Community College Wednesday.
President Dan Kinney told me it was an opportunity to advocate for more funding for trades education.
This is part of the secretary's goal to visit all 50 states. The secretary's staff told me she wasn't taking questions from the press due to time constraints. I wanted to ask Chavez-DeRemer about Iowa and Nebraska's problems with skilled workers moving away...
This is the secretary's first stop on a trip to the metro area. On Thursday she'll be visiting Union Pacific. We were originally informed that she would take questions while at UP, but then later informed she would not be taking questions from the press.
I'm Southwest Iowa Neighborhood Reporter, Katrina Markel in Council Bluffs.
