Iowa is home to more than 175,000 veterans. Their stories — the battle-buddy jokes, the lifelong friendships forged in uniform, and the sacrifices made during deployments — are too often tucked away in photo albums or memories that fade if they aren’t preserved.
The problem: The Veterans History Project through the Library of Congress was created to preserve these stories. But there’s no easy way to do that locally — no tool that helps Iowa families, students, and communities capture and keep those memories before they’re lost.
Without an accessible way to capture these stories, too many are slipping through the cracks — and that’s where ideas like IAHeroes come in.
What’s new: Yesterday, I met with Joseph Zambreno, a student at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Des Moines and this year’s Congressional App Challenge winner, to talk about the app he built to solve exactly that problem. ⬇️
Joseph created IAHeroes as a digital home for Iowa’s veterans’ stories — a place where students, families, and communities can learn directly from those who served and ensure their experiences are preserved for future generations.
Why it matters: As a combat veteran, I know how quickly these stories can fade if they aren’t passed down. The Congressional App Challenge is about turning good ideas into real solutions — and Joseph did exactly that, leading Iowa innovation while preserving the voices of those who served.
Bottom Line: A Des Moines high schooler looked at a problem facing 175,000 Iowa veterans and wrote the code to solve it. That’s what the Congressional App Challenge is about, and it’s why I’m proud to host it every year in our community.