A growing number of Bosnians, Laotians, Sudanese, and immigrants from many other countries are creating opportunities and challenges in the nation's midsection. "The Changing Face of Iowa in the 21st Century: A Conference on the Implications of Diversity and Immigration" was the title of an event held earlier this year to explore how these developments are affecting Iowa.

More than 200 people attended the conference at Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa. Over 100 others at ten remote sites were able to view parts of the event live via Iowa's fiber-optic video network.

Krvavica spoke to the group about more than just her personal refugee story. "I work as a Bosnian case manager at the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services," she said. "It means that I am assigned a caseload of Bosnian refugees, which I take care of. I meet the refugees when they first come. I arrange with their sponsor families for their apartments, for furniture through our office. I help them do their first medical appointments and refugee physicals. I help them enroll kids in schools. I help them find jobs."

Conference participants heard Krvavica describe the refugee transition experience. "Physically it's hard, technically it's hard, and emotionally it's hard. Emotionally it's very difficult because the majority of our families have lost everything—their homes have been destroyed and members of their families have been killed, raped, lost in war. So we have lots of families that struggle with this emotional side of their well-being right now. And technically it's hard because the culture is different, the way of life is different, the school system is different, and the work ethic is different. So it takes some time to get used to it. But, on the other side, I have lots of friends who live throughout the US, and when I compare their experience to our experience, ours is great. Because Iowa has really been very open to Bosnian refugees. We had great sponsors who became not only the friends but members of the families to Bosnian refugees."

"We've seen a very big increase in Iowa for the number of people applying to become lawful permanent residents," Heinauer continued. "And Iowa, I truly believe, is one of the states that really opens their arms and their hearts to new immigrants and especially to people as refugees—people that are fleeing war-torn countries like Sudan or Bosnia-Herzegovina."

Heinauer also said that his agency plays a role in educating the public on the positive role legal immigration has played in American history. "I think one of the things that the US wants to do is send a very clear signal that we want to encourage people to come here legally, and we want to welcome that, because America is a nation of generations of immigrants who built our country. We still are a very generous nation in terms of welcoming immigrants. We welcome about a million persons each year as lawful permanent residents. And that is more than all countries in the Western world combined. So what we want to do is encourage legal immigration and at the same time say 'No' to illegal immigration," Heinauer said.

Ryerson believes the change will have a long-term impact on the state. "I think the state is changing as the population changes, and as that middle level—that middle-age group—starts to get smaller, who's going to support the older people? Who's going to support the younger people? And, increasingly, it looks to me like it will be the immigrants coming to the state."

Jonathan Leuth, one of the first Sudanese refugees to come to Iowa, has been bringing Sudanese here for fifteen years. "I think Iowa is a unique place for immigrants," said Leuth an advisor at Iowa State University. He brought the conference participants a unique perspective on cultural diversity. "Forty-five percent of Iowans are Germans, some are Norwegians, some are Swedish" said Leuth. "I have seen how diverse Iowa is in terms of culture. I'm not talking in terms of being white. But you know, diversity is not only a function of white and black. It is a function of ways you do things [and] how you think about things, and as a result, the addition of newcomers will make this diverse state more diverse."

Leuth shared his favorite story about the transition from Africa to the Midwest. "I came in June, and it was so humid at that time, I didn't know the extent of humidity. And I thought that I was sick. You know, it was so sticky on my skin. And when I went to the student health center at Iowa State, they said, 'Oh, you are not sick. It's just humid!'"

Conference participants left having heard much about the changing demographic nature of the region and the challenges these changes cause for both newcomers and long-time residents. The message they heard was largely positive about the possibilities and the experiences of refugees and immigrants. Krvavica summarized this best when she said, "I have traveled a lot in the past couple of years to different conferences throughout the US. And when I mention that I am a Bosnian from Iowa always the first reaction is, "Why Iowa?" And I always struggle and fight with everyone who thinks the life here is dull and not interesting. Because I really think that your life depends on how interesting a person you are. And my life in Iowa has been great."

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