From Chief Justice Mark Cady
On behalf of all the justices of the Iowa Supreme Court, I would like to thank the citizens of Creston for your warm welcome during our visit to your community to hold court in the Creston High School auditorium the evening of March 9. We truly enjoyed our visit and the opportunity to meet so many people from the Creston area. We were able to see some of your community and observe the sense of pride and optimism that abounds. Justice Waterman went out for an early morning run down Highway 34 and Justice Mansfield swam laps at the YMCA with a few other early risers. I had the honor of meeting your VFW High School Teacher of the Year Todd Jacobson and spending part of a morning with his students.
My colleagues also enjoyed visiting with students and teachers about our court system. Civic education is a critical component for preserving our constitutional democracy for future generations. We hope our visits with young people will build upon what they have learned in school, lead to a common understanding of the history and role of the courts, and encourage them to learn more about the work of courts and the vital link between the rule of law and democracy. We talked with students about our responsibilities on the supreme court, the Iowa court system, and answered the many questions they had about the judicial branch of government.
The court would like to especially thank Skip Kenyon and the Union County Bar Association, Creston High School Principal Bill Messerole and his staff, the officers of the Union County Sheriff’s Department and Creston Police Department, and the Creston Chamber of Commerce. I also want to thank the high school students who left us bottled water and gummy bears in the music room we used to change into our robes. Everyone was so helpful and welcoming. You are fortunate to live in such a wonderful community, and our visit will long be remembered.