Monday, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows hosted two leading members of the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Des Moines.
Clarion has a sister-city relationship with Junik, Kosovo which was established in 2022. The agreement aims to foster regular exchanges of students and citizens with a focus of providing opportunities for students and businesses in both Clarion and Junik. Drilon Zogaj, Chief of the Consular Mission of Kosovo, was one of the members in attendance Monday and tells RadioOnTheGo News building relationships with cities, like Clarion, are important to Kosovo, a country over 5,000 miles away from Iowa.
“The city agreement between our city, Junik and Clarion is appreciated very much because it gives us an opportunity to connect people, the citizens of Junik, the citizens of Clarion. It gives the opportunity to connect not only the leadership, not only the mayors, but the citizens. And this connection is very important for us because of the long-lasting relationship with the United States, in this case with Iowa, with communities here are very important for our country and they’re priority for our state also.”
Clarion Mayor Rodney Heiden was in attendance and spoke on the importance of the relationship.
“I think it’s a great thing between all the cities and states. The opportunities it affords our children to learn and grow through their cultures, as well as their students from ours, and just the fabulous people that we meet.”
Clarion-Goldfield-Dows FFA members presented information on activities they took part in this year. Some of those FFA members will visit Kosovo next March and superintendent Joe Nelson says students from both sides will learn a lot during the trip.
“You know, in my three previous trips to Kosovo, every time I come back, I’m inspired to take more kids and I want to have that be a meaningful trip. And I think it’s just a natural fit where we sit in Iowa. We are the buckle of the agricultural belt. And so to have a thriving FFA program, we’re so blessed to have that in our high school. To me, it’s just a natural fit, taking an FFA trip to Kosovo to learn about agriculture authentically from their farmers, from their teachers. What a special opportunity for those kids that I think will create lifetime memories and hopefully open some doors for our kids that want to get into agriculture when they take off to college. I can’t think of a better learning experience than to spend a week in Kosovo.”
Clarion has about 2,700 residents, while Junik, Kosovo has a population of about 6,000.
Pictured: Drilon Zogaj (left) and Fatmir Rrahmanaj (right), members of the Consulate of the Republic of Kosovo in Des Moines, taking questions from Clarion-Goldfield-Dows FFA members
