Iowa Award recipients praise state’s people

JOHNSTON - Three Iowa Award recepients praised the state's people Thursday for their kindness, hospitality and work ethic and said they expected Iowa would continue to play a lead role in feeding a hungry world.

'When I came back I thought this is home. Really, there's no place like Iowa,” said international opera singer Simon Estes, who has traveled the world - including living 35 years in Zurich, Switzerland - before returning to Iowa to teach, perform and raise money for student scholarships and humanitarian causes.

Estes, a Centerville native, joined Des Moines businessman and philanthropist Bill Knapp and World Food Prize chairman Ken Quinn for a taping Thursday of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press” show featuring recipients of The Iowa Award, the state's highest citizen honor.

Estes was awarded the prize in 1996, Knapp in 2011 and Quinn will be given the honor May 30 by Gov. Terry Branstad. The trio discussed their experiences in the state and their respective visions for Iowa's future during a half-hour show that will air statewide on IPTV at 7:30 p.m. Friday and again at noon Sunday.

Knapp, an Allerton native who founded a successful real-estate business in 1950, called Iowa the greatest food-producing state. He also said Iowa would play a leading role in meeting the demands of an ever-growing world population this century.

'There's going to be more hungry people and more people to feed, so I think that with Iowa and the agricultural state that we are, that the spotlight is going to be on us,” Knapp said. 'We're in the heart of agriculture. Food is going to be a big problem in the future and we're going to be a big player.”

All three Iowa Award recipients named former Iowa Gov. Robert Ray and Nobel laureate and green revolution leader Norman Borlaug as people who inspired them as they achieved notable things in the fields of music, diplomacy and business.

Quinn praised Iowa's humanitarian spirit, Estes cited the state's welcoming people and Knapp pointed to Iowa's tradition of clean government among the state's strengths.

'I've been to several places. I've never seen where we have a better government. It's honest and it's solid,” Knapp said. 'I've been around the country and I can't think of any other place where I'd rather live. This is it. It's got everything.”

Estes said Iowa enabled him to succeed from a humble background, noting that his grandfather was a slave who was sold for $500 and that his father never learned to read or write.

'I can honestly say that Iowa is one of the greatest states if not they greatest state to live in,” he said. 'The people in Iowa are very special. They're friendly and they're kind, they're generous.”

At the request of Iowa Press moderator Dean Borg, the trio closed the show by singing a verse of 'The Iowa Corn Song.”

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