~a column by Colleen O’Brien First, I read Bag Man by Rachel Maddow. It was a quick overnight read about Spiro Agnew – remember him? At the time he was in the public eye, I thought he was merely laughable, but the PR for Maddow’s book explained Agnew’s life as “The wild crimes, audacious cover-up, and spectacular downfall of a…
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The Capitol Roundup
~by State Senator Jesse Green April 9, 2021 Greetings friends! Now that the second funnel week is over, we voted on many more bills than we normally do to send to the governor’s desk or to the House. This week we passed out of the Senate the Life Amendment. The section reads, “To defend the dignity of all human life,…
Read MoreTake a pod on a walk, to lunch, to bed with you
a column by Colleen O’Brien The word podcast [CC1] has been around about 15 years. It’s not science fiction chat or a mob of whales in the ocean but a name for transmitting information via electronic gadget software so we can download readings, discussions, interviews, opinion, informational audios of 15 minutes or so up to an hour or more. Often the…
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April 5, 2921 ~by State Senator Jesse Green This week was the 12th week of the legislative session. It included the next important legislative deadline of the year. In order to be considered for the rest of the year, policy bills needed to be out of their original chamber and through committee in the second chamber. In other words, we…
Read MoreDennis Morlan about the Covid vaccine clinic
To the Greene County community, For the past several years, I’ve watched our local public health and the public health agencies across the state prepare and train for the day that they’ll conduct a mass vaccine clinic. Becky Wolf and our local public health staff have done a tremendous job dealing with our year long Covid crisis. For the clinic…
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~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 MoreBeta 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…
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