Conference focuses on Asians in Iowa

A conference in Des Moines today focuses on the needs of Asian Iowans. Keri Badding is one of the organizers of the Asian Iowans conference. She says the Asian population is very segmented within itself, and they’ll be trying to get over those boundaries to help Asians work together. Badding says they’ll talk about several things that impact Asian Iowans, including issues such as healthcare, education and civil and human rights. A bill establishing English as the “official language” of Iowa government cleared the state Senate this week. Badding says that bill will also be discussed.Badding says U.S Census figures show there are just over 37-thousand Asians living in Iowa. The conference begins at 9:30 today at the Hotel Fort Des Moines.