The idea of The Prairie Practitioners was sparked by the advent of the centennial of the South Dakota Veterinary Medical Association in 1991. The editors realized that in South Dakota there were dozens of very interesting stories to be told about the life of the hard-working veterinarians on the prairie. From 1993 through 1995, they collected accounts (most of them written in the first person) from young and old veterinarians throughout the state. In all there are over 125 accounts. Some are less than a page long and some are a few pages long. All help the reader build a picture of what practice on the northern prairies was like over the past 3 generations.

The Interactive Multimedia Laboratory at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine assists faculty in the development of computer delivered presentations and in the creation of multimedia lessons for students. The laboratory is available for faculty to gain hands-on experience with newly developed multimedia software.

Indices of volume 58 of the Iowa State University Veterinarian, arranged by author and subject.

This article contains news pertaining to the alumni of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Legislation reforming the way new animal drugs are reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration cleared Congress the evening of September 25, 1996, paving the way for increased availability of new medicines to treat animals. The Animal Drug Availablility Act of 1996, broadly supported by veterinary and agricultural groups, will steamline the federal process for approving new animal health products to treat farm animals, poultry and pets. The bill, H.R. 2508, unanimously passed the Senate September 25, 1996, after clearning the House of Representatives in an overwhelming show of bipartisan support the previous day. Administration officials have said the president will sign the bill, which is supported by the FDA.