~by State Senator Jesse Green March 26, 2021 Greetings once again! Week 11 has been one of the most interesting weeks of the year. On Monday, I started the day off with a meeting that updated me on where the ethanol bill was heading. I’m pleased that the bill seems to be moving and adapting very well to the concerns…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Beta Tau Delta thanks donors
To the editor, The past year has certainly been challenging in a multitude of ways for all of us. We’ve dealt with isolation, sickness, loneliness, economic uncertainty, frustrations with rules, schools, and countless other issues. For many children and families, life was challenging even before we were all forced to deal with the coronavirus. For some, life has always been…
Read MoreWomen who took forever getting into the history books
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Virginia Woolf, in a speech entitled “A Room of One’s Own,” wrote about what it meant to be a woman: “She pervades poetry from cover to cover; she is all but absent from history.” Ever hear of Aphra Behn? She lived in17th century England and wrote poetry, novels, essays and 19 plays, which were produced…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
March 19, 2021 ~by State Senator Jesse Green Greetings friends and neighbors! The snow is basically gone and spring is here. I hope everyone is enjoying the change in seasons. I had an interesting experience this past weekend. I attend the Hamilton County Fairgrounds fundraiser, which marks exactly one year since the state was shut down and also when our…
Read MoreNot much new under the sun
~a column by Colleen O’Brien A chance encounter as I stand in my driveway watching clouds – cumulus, big and fluffy, moving almost imperceptibly behind the tree-scape – a woman I don’t know stops to look at what I’m looking at, and we start talking. After half an hour, we go into the house to get a glass of water…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
~by State Senator Jesse Green March 12, 2021 This week was the ninth week of the legislative session, and much of our time was focused on floor debate in the Senate chamber. Some exciting news was released this week. Iowa ranked number one in the country for opportunity according to US News & World Report. This rating specifically measures affordability,…
Read MoreIowa has more at stake than new road signs
~by Randy Evans, Iowa Capital DispatchMarch 11, 2021 – Reposted with permission Tucked away among hundreds of bills being considered this year by the Iowa Legislature is one people might have quickly embraced in a different era. But times have changed. It has been 38 years since Robert Ray left the governor’s office. State government today is far messier than…
Read MoreTalking to strangers
~a column by Colleen O’Brien As told to me – a story of a traveler’s encounter: “After waiting for three hours on the tarmac, we are told that all planes are grounded, no flights leaving till the next morning. It’s late at night, thousands of travelers armed with airline company vouchers for transportation, room and food are grabbing cabs and…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
March 5, 2021 ~by State Senator Jesse Green The eighth week of this year’s session is known as “funnel week” in the legislature. This week is the first legislative deadline of the year. All Senate policy bills must have passed through committee in order to be considered for the rest of the year. This week was somewhat slow for me, but…
Read MoreNever too old to learn
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I was sailing along into old age with nary a complaint. I did not brag about it around my contemporaries, several of them aging with serious health problems. I did not brag to my friends, but I admit I was full of relief…and hubris: great pride; as if I had something to do with it.…
Read MoreBanister re face masks, Covid, and the flu
Mitze T., Kosfeld R., Rode J., Wälde K. Face Masks Considerably Reduce COVID-19 Cases in Germany: A Synthetic Control Method Approach. IZA – Institute of Labor Economics (Germany);2020.ISSN: 2365-9793, DP No. 13319. From DANMASK19; Reduction in release of virus from infected persons into the environment may be the mechanism for mitigation of transmission in communities where mask use is common or…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – Clay Ross on Covid-19
Prove Covid-19 is worse than seasonal flu and that wearing masks affects transmission To whom it may concern, For the last several months the propaganda-tabloid news outlets (aka the mainstream media) have been declaring that this CV-19 is the worst thing that humanity has faced since the Black Death a thousand years ago. This has caused some people to hide…
Read More