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Ken Robinson was the long time editor and publisher of the Bayard News-Gazette in Guthrie County. Even after retiring, Ken enjoyed playing the role of the curmudgeonly old newspaper editor but beneath that faade was a sharp mind, a keen wit and a good heart

Our visits at his newspaper-cluttered dining room table covered vast stretches of territory -- from the newspaper industry to the struggles of Iowa's small towns to politics and you never had to guess where Ken stood on any issue. He enjoyed regaling me with stories about Adlai Stevenson and other prominent politicians of his acquaintance.

Ken served Audubon and Guthrie Counties as a state representative from 1965 to 1967 and enjoyed talking about his experiences at the state capital. I once asked Ken which bill, of all the legislation he worked on, made him the most proud.

"The community college bill," he said without hesitation.

In 1965 the General Assembly enacted legislation that created a statewide system of two-year post secondary educational institutions originally known as "Merged Area Schools." We know them today as Iowa's community colleges.

In most cases, one or more of the locally operated junior colleges were incorporated into the merged areas. I was a student at Webster City Junior College in its last year of existence before merging with Fort Dodge and Eagle Grove Junior Colleges to form the new Iowa Central Community College.

Over the years the 15 area community colleges have collectively become one of Iowa's greatest assets. The community colleges serve Iowa in three major areas associate degree programs with credits transferring to most four-year schools, career-oriented vocational and technical programs and adult education.

The adult and continuing education offerings range from GED programs to computer classes to tailored instruction for industry groups and everything in-between. When a plant closes, the local community college often works with the newly unemployed to provide training for new careers.

Iowa community college enrollment in last year's fall semester was a record 88,104 more than Iowa's three Regents universities combined. Statewide, health sciences was the largest career area last year, followed by business management and administration and manufacturing.

Over the years I have had the privilege of serving on advisory councils at Western Iowa Tech in Sioux City, Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville and Eastern Iowa Community College in Clinton. In each case I was consistently impressed with the courses being offered and how they were being taught.

Our children attended Southwestern Community College in Creston before moving on to four-year colleges. After completing their educations both said that some of their best instructors were at Southwestern.

Ken Robinson died in 2004. In spite of his deep pride in the community college system he helped create, Ken was outspoken in his later years about the one fault he found with the system. He was frustrated with the community college athletic teams that, in his opinion, were serving as training grounds for larger schools. (If I didn't mention that, Ken would find a way to tell me, "Tell the complete story, boy.")

In the interest of full disclosure, my wife is an employee of Des Moines Area Community College and previously worked at Southwestern Community College. My work with and admiration for community colleges began long before her career. Her job, however, has helped me understand even better the gift that Ken Robinson and his legislative colleagues gave us 44 years ago.

When I read or hear reports on the many ways Iowa's community colleges are contributing to our state these days, I think of Ken Robinson. He had every right to be proud of his involvement in the piece of legislation that created one of Iowa's greatest assets.

(Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@msn.com. 2009 by Huisman Communications.)