Gov. Chet Culver gave his Condition of the State speech to the Iowa House of Representatives Tuesday, outlining where the state had succeeded and failed in the past year.

“The condition of our state is strong,” Culver said.

Culver began by recognizing those Iowans in the armed forces who are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I would like to recognize the brave men and women in our armed forces,” he said. “Thank you. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.”

Culver listed where Iowa had become strong, citing renewable energy in particular.

“It is estimated that there will be $20 billion of wind projects around Iowa in the next seven years,” he said. “We are also home to five wind power manufacturers. This makes us the second state in the nation housing manufacturers of the three parts of wind power.”

In acknowledging the progress of the state in the past year, he focused mainly on the requests of his constituents he had fulfilled.

“We kept our promises we made to the people who got us here,” he said. “We promised that we would raise the minimum wage, expand health care to tens of thousands of Iowans, invest in our environment, and to make Iowa the national leader in renewable energy and establish a $100 million renewable energy research and development fund and, guess what, we did.”

Culver listed a few areas where the state could improve, starting with health care.

“Right now, Iowa is 49th in the union in salaries for nurses,” he said.

Culver will create a task force to led by the lieutenant governor by March 1 that will report to Culver on how to increase pay for nurses and keep more nurses in Iowa.

Culver forcefully continued by stating his opposition to smoking.

“If there’s a bill for a ban on smoking at the local level, I will sign it,” he said.

Culver explained that the majority of his budget was focused on wellness initiatives and asked all Iowans to take personal responsibility for their own well-being.

“As a former coach, I used to say, ‘Don’t talk the talk if you can’t walk the walk’. So, I’m asking all Iowans to join me in the 100-day Lighten Up challenge,” he said.

He then went on to talk about Iowa’s lead in the renewable energy field and said that, to maintain it, the Iowa Power Fund needed to have money.

“Funding the Power Fund is our top priority. My plan is to have 25 percent of all power from Iowa come from renewable sources by 2025,” he said.

Culver also said the corporate tax structure needed to be changed, saying that big, out-of-state corporations were using an outdated loophole to avoid paying Iowa income taxes.

“Twenty other states have closed that loophole, and seven of those are in the top 10 places to do business, according to Forbes,” he said. “It’s time for us to join them.”

Culver winded down by saying that partisan struggles between the different political parties must be stopped.

“Civility works. People expect us to work and get along,” he said. “Our duties, responsibilities and opportunities are tied together.”

Pat Navin, of Winterset, expressed his hope that the representatives took that to heart.

“I’m a union agent, and every state that has a labor bill like Culver proposes is better off in worker relations than us,” he said. “I just hope the Republicans wake up and help.”

Culver finished with a statement that this is a time for action.

“A year ago, I said that this is our time. We could create one Iowa with one future,” he said. “And one year later, I believe this even more. Our state is strong.”. “And one year later, I believe this even more. Our state is strong.”