Daily Staff Writer

Honors Program receives $60,000 donation

The ISU Honors Program has received a $60,000 boost in its fund-raising efforts for a new building.

Robert and Patricia Jester of West Des Moines made the pledge to help strengthen the University Honors Program. The building is estimated to cost $2 million, which will be split between the university and private supporters.

The pledge is part of Campaign Destiny, the largest-ever private fund-raising project in Iowa State’s history.

Plans for the facility include new conference rooms, a scholar’s learning center, study areas, a kitchen and a computer lab.

Robert Jester is president and owner of Jester Insurance Services. He attended Iowa State from 1958 to 1963.

Patricia Jester is retired. She was the president and owner of Creative Foods Ltd. She is a 1964 graduate of Iowa State.

The Jesters are lifetime members of the ISU Alumni Association.

They have given several gifts in the past, including support for the Robert and Patricia Jester Endowment Fund for General Scholarships in the College of Agriculture.

— Justin Kendall

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Electric system to get new phone system

The Ames Municipal Electric System will have an enhanced customer assistance program beginning today with the installation of a new electronic phone answering system. The new answering system is intended to improve how the utility division receives, responds to and follows up on power outages.

Steve Wilson of Ames Municipal Electric said he believed the service will help ease the frustration of customers in the event of a power outage, and to identify the location of the outage and extent of damage more rapidly.

“It ties in to our goal of constantly improving customer service,” Wilson said.

The new system will use customers’ phone numbers to identify addresses and special-account information, such as medical needs, will be identified as an “emergency restore.”

The new system will have the ability to process 13 calls at once rather than one at a time. Callers will have the ability to report an outage, state an outage’s cause or leave a message for the operator.

When an outage has ended, the system will make random calls to confirm that everything is in working order.

The new number for reporting an outage is 239-5240.

—Justin Kendall