Former Des Moines Register president, Michael Gartner, talks about the impact of Tai Dam refugees from Southeast Asia on Iowa in 1979.

So, Iowa was fortunate. The refugees were fortunate. I mean, it made Iowa a much better state, much better state, a broader state, a more interesting state, a more diverse state. And what it did for these people's lives…Every once in a while you'll run into one. And they cry when they tell you what their life was like and what it's like—became after they moved here.