    [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
    [Senate]
    [Page S1361]
    From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                             TRIBUTE TO RON STEELE

      Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today, I come to the Senate floor to
    congratulate a legend in the broadcasting business. Ron Steele is a
    long-time journalist from my hometown TV station KWWL in Waterloo, IA.
    Tomorrow will be his last day behind the anchor desk after more than 50
    years of bringing news, weather, and sports to Iowans.
      Over the years, he has interviewed newsmakers from around the world
    and across our State, spanning U.S. Presidents, Nobel laureates,
    Olympic medalists, and hometown athletes. Iowa's families in the Cedar
    Valley looked forward to his weekly coverage of ``Friday Night
    Heroes.'' He also launched a public affairs program called ``The Steele
    Report,'' where he interviewed more than 400 people, including this
    U.S. Senator.
      As an avid news consumer, I hold Ron's work in high regard. He has
    received recognition for his outstanding work, including the
    prestigious Jack Shelley Award from the Iowa Broadcast News Association
    as well as multiple Emmy Awards.
      Ron didn't let grass grow underneath his feet behind the anchor's
    desk. He leveraged his platform to become an invaluable civic leader
    across Cedar Valley, bringing particular focus to special needs kids.
    Ron's program called ``Iowa's Child'' series has helped 200 children
    find their forever families. Like my work in the U.S. Senate on foster
    care, what I hear from foster care kids as they are shuttled from one
    family to another over the course of a year: I would like to have a mom
    and dad and a home. That is what Ron was helping these 200 children
    find.
      His leadership also was instrumental in raising enough money for the
    five Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum in Waterloo. I don't expect
    people in Washington to know about the Sullivan brothers, but they are
    the five brothers who were on the same destroyer in 1942 in World War
    II. It sunk, and they all lost their lives. There are some trees
    planted out here, on the Capitol Complex, in their memory--five
    Japanese trees.
      So, from one small town kid to another, I appreciate Ron's commitment
    to our community and to the people of Iowa. He will certainly be missed
    behind the news desk. My wife Barbara and I wish the entire Steele
    family the very best in the years ahead.
      I yield the floor.
      I suggest the absence of a quorum.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
      The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
      Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order
    for the quorum call be rescinded.
      The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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