DES MOINES - Champion gymnast Shawn Johnson, an Iowa native, drew well-wishers and autograph-seekers during a trip to the Statehouse Wednesday.

The pint-size competitor is hoping for a spot on the U.S. women's gymnastics team when it competes in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Members of the House and Senate honored Johnson with formal resolutions celebrating her career.

The 16-year-old is back in Iowa and completing an intense training schedule before heading back to camp. Johnson said she'll likely know if she has made the team in June, but like any teen, she still finds time for fun.

"I go shopping and hang out with friends a lot. I mean, I do a lot of the normal teenager stuff. So I still feel pretty normal," she said.

Johnson apparently is still adjusting to her newfound fame.

"I'm getting a little more used to it, but it definitely does feel a little weird to have people recognize you," she said. "But it's still such an honor to know that it's because of all the hard work that I've done that I've gotten this far."

GOING GREEN - One of the Legislature's top environmental advocates is urging his colleagues to go green by recycling more waste at the Capitol.

"Our goal is to reduce the amount of recyclables that go in our waste stream and send that into recycling," said. Rep. Donovan Olson, D-Boone. Olson serves as chairman of the House Environmental Protection Committee.

Currently, the Legislature has a below-average record for recycling.

Donovan said 35 percent of the solid waste at the Capitol is recyclable fiber and paper products. That compares to 22 percent of solid waste from Iowa's municipalities. Another 10 percent of the waste at the Capitol is recyclable plastic compared to 2 percent of the solid waste of municipalities.

"Our goal would be to be like some other Statehouses that are near zero waste," Olson said.

Olson is even attempting to get Styrofoam and plastic out of the Statehouse cafeteria, which is run by a private company.

BULLDOG BLUE - The Cinderella story of the Drake University men's basketball team has brought out the Legislature's ardent Bulldog fans.

Rep. Scott Raecker, R-Urbandale, has provided the Iowa House with almost daily updates of the Bulldogs' upcoming opponents and poll standings throughout the season

With the NCAA tournament looming, Gov. Chet Culver, a Drake graduate, upped the stakes Wednesday with a challenge to Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear for the Drake-Western Kentucky first-round game.

Culver is wagering 40 pounds of premium Berkshire pork raised on farms in northwest Iowa and provided by Berkridge Pork of Sioux Center. Beshear is wagering a Corvette windbreaker from Bowling Green, Ken., home of the university and the Corvette assembly plant.

"I have confidence in our Drake Bulldogs," Culver said in a statement. "I look forward to presenting coach Keno Davis with a new windbreaker as a reminder of an incredible season and hopefully the beginning of a long and successful tournament run."