ILLINOIS

Chicago's Cook County Jail is the site of a unique program that addresses the issue of HIV and AIDS in a correctional setting. Counselors from Cermak Health Services offer inmates a daily program of HIV services, including AIDS education, HIV testing and counseling, case management, and mental health assistance. Prisoners are trained to serve as "peer educators," resulting in an atmosphere where inmates freely discuss sexual practices as they relate to AIDS. In other correctional institutions AIDS education is not a high priority and is generally not well received. In 1992 more than 19,000 individuals participated in program activities. A recent Cermak survey found that 92 percent of the Cook County inmates believed the program staff to be knowledgeable about AIDS and 74 percent said they would change their sexual habits based on the information presented.

Contact:

Delia Johnson

Program Director

Cermak Health Services of

Cook County Department of Corrections

2800 South California

Chicago, Illinois 60608

IOWA

The Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University helps reduce the use of chemicals while maintaining yields on the state's 105,000 farms. Using teams of agronomists, sociologists, conservationists, and farmers to develop new, agriculturally sustainable approaches to farming, the center works on such issues as the management of pests, cropping systems, and animal waste. An estimated 25,000 Iowans have benefited from the center's conferences and research and education projects. Up to 5,000 farmers have carried out practices demonstrated by the center.

Contact:

Dennis R. Keeney

Director

Leopold Center for Sustainable

Agriculture

126 Soil Tilth Laboratory

Iowa State University

Ames, Iowa 50011-3120

KENTUCKY

The Glasgow Electric Plant Board's Interactive Communication System is curbing the rising costs of electric power and demand for electricity through a municipally owned "information superhighway." The system has changed consumer behavior in part through cable television appeals to conserve electricity during peak hours. Competition between the utility and the local cable company has provided 5,000 homes in Glasgow with at least a dozen more channels than comparable cities across the country at a rate averaging $18 less per month than cable service in other cities. The multiservice system is making possible distance learning between homes and Glasgow schools. Glasgow's system also offers alternative telephone service and an area-wide computer network.

Contact:

William J. Ray

Superintendent

Glasgow Electric Plant Board

100 Mallory Drive

Glasgow, Kentucky 42141