🗣️ It’s Friday: Time for
Only in Iowa, Positively Iowa, this week’s pet photo, and
reader replies.

I give it three stars: Want to help fight increasing light pollution? Check out the Orion constellation this month or next, then report your findings to the Globe at Night project, an international citizen-scientist campaign.

Not feeling Randy: Things aren’t going well for 4th District US Rep. Randy Feenstra‘s bid for Iowa governor lately: Voters talked about a different candidate to his face when President Donald Trump visited last week, voted him third or fourth in Republican straw polls for governor this week, and now have a petition (with 700 signatures) asking Trump not to endorse him. (At least he’s making good money campaigning.)

Students walking out on ICE: From Ottumwa to Iowa City to West Des Moines, Iowa high school students have been walking out of class this week to protest the unaccountable and violent tactics of ICE and Border Patrol. Today, that included Waterloo students, who organized a four-school walkout themselves. I talked to three student organizers of the walkout this week, which you can watch on YouTube here.

• Watch your language: What do DACA and TPS mean? What’s the difference between a refugee and an asylum seeker? Iowa writer Christina Fernández-Morrow breaks down what various immigration terms mean here.

Taking a break at one of these Iowa truck stops is sure to put a smile on your face. (Aleksandar Malivuk/Shutterstock)

🐈 This is Thomas, who “enjoys sitting on the table—especially when there is something else to sit on,” writes reader Deb S.

My cats are the SAME—a bare surface? Gross!

Send me your pet photos here.

Readers are invited to add to the conversation by emailing responses@iowastartingline.com. Please include your first name and last initial. You may also want to include your city, but that’s up to you. I may edit your content for conciseness or to correct typos.

On CNH Burlington’s closure:

• “I sent this through the CNH company website after reading your recent newsletter:

  ‘Would you say that your company is too big for anyone at the top to give a shit about the plant you’re closing in Burlington, Iowa? That’s my query. I hope the few millions of dollars you save by this helps with the purchase of company pencils.’

  I don’t expect a reply, but if I get one, I’ll share with you.” — Bill R., Iowa City

ICE in Iowa:

• “F*ck off we need ICE … F*cking communist bastards.” — Cody B.

Iowa’s Black history:

• “Thanks for your great work! We just did a podcast about a Black farmer in Iowa I thought you might want to feature for Black History month.” — Beth H.
  
  

Ethnic food pantry opening:

• “February 7th from 1-4 p.m. at 1101 73rd Street in the parking lot of the Windsor Heights Sam’s Club, Direct Empowerment Iowa Alliance (DEIA) is organizing a food and supply drive in partnership with Knock and Drop Iowa. Donations will go to the new ethnic food pantry opening soon! 

   

  DEIA is a decentralized, grassroots mutual aid association focused on strengthening our community through direct service and advocacy. We would love for everyone to come out and support our neighbors in the area’s first ever ethnic food pantry. Our goal is to serve families who are often underserved by traditional food systems by providing culturally familiar foods, household staples, and necessities which in turn will help reduce food insecurity while simultaneously celebrating the diversity of our community!”
  — Direct Empowerment Iowa Alliance

Your stories of Buxton:

• “As the son of a man born in Buxton, I have met [Rachelle Chase] at a reading at Prairie Lights. My father and grandparents Paris moved from there when the coal came to an end. … My close friend was born in Buxton and his father taught in the school there.

  As a Caucasian, I was shocked to find it was a town founded by recruiting black coal workers. My father never mentioned it. Only nasty nuns.” — Warren P. (NOTE: Nasty nuns?! Tell me more!)

• “My dad was born at Buxton Mine #2 in 1914. That grandpa from my dad’s side was a mining engineer for C&NW with no formal education

  (same as my dad—8th grade, some high school, some business classes at Northwestern U.), unlike Mr. Hoover.

   

  I transferred into SUI 1962, left in October because of Cuban missile crisis—230 S. Capitol was my rental at $25/month (not there now).

   

  Please tell your researcher there was another Muchikinock Creek in Polk County whose watershed contained the Enterprise coal mine. …

   

  Thanks for your columns. As Iowa seems quite hopeless, maybe Minnesota or Illinois could annex it.” — Daniel D.

Mumps and infertility:

• “OK, here’s a somewhat different angle on the vaccination bill currently in the Iowa House. 

  I’m old enough to remember that boys who got the mumps during or after puberty could become sterile. I find it really ironic that the same group of MAGA people who are concerned with increasing the ‘correct’ birthrate are advocating for something that might contribute to the opposite.

   

  Maybe a story to remind people that this used to happen might make them look at the science behind vaccines and the devastating consequences of actually getting some of these childhood diseases.

   

  I’m quite sure that the Starting Line team could research and present this with the appropriate amount of irony.” — Jan H.

  (NOTE: It appears the connection between mumps and permanent infertility is tenuous, though temporary infertility is a good possibility. Per the CDC, “Inflammation of the testicles could lead to temporary sterility or decrease fertility in men; but no studies have assessed if it results in permanent infertility.” If you’re skeptical of the Trump CDC these days {fair}, here’s a 2019 study from the National Institutes of Health: “Mumps virus … may lead to male infertility. [Mumps] frequently causes orchitis … which occurs in up to 30% of mumps cases in young adult men … thus leading to dysfunction of the testis and impairment of male infertility.”)

The kindness of health care workers:

• “Last [month], I experienced a minor stroke that left my speech very slurred. I spent that night in the hospital and returned home with my wife mid-afternoon.

   

  Every person I encountered through this scary event was one of the most beautiful and caring human beings I’ve ever met! I experienced caring compassion and careful handling every second!

   

  I was cared for by men and women of all types and origins:

   

  One of the ambulance personnel was a pretty young woman (with some piercings) who was also at least as physically strong as her two male partners, and they all demonstrated care and respect for each other.

  One of the nurses in the emergency room was a beautiful sweet man married to a husband of Hispanic origin.

  One of those who drew by blood was a lovely young woman from Romania.

  The head nurse on my hospital floor was a strong woman in her 50s who, despite her still mourning the loss of her daughter who had been murdered less than a year ago (!), demonstrated nothing but kindness, compassion, and sweet companionship to me. (In fact, we kind of bonded and she gave me her email address so that we might keep in touch.)

  I met two doctors, both male, one older, perhaps in his 50s who was Jewish, and we were able to have a few minutes of straight talk between us that expressed a bond of mutual respect, affirmation, and support. The other, younger doctor was a very handsome young man (37) with tousled sandy blond hair, bright eyes, something of a gangly manner when he sprawled on the chair near my bed, and one of the loveliest, sweetest nature I’ve ever encountered. He spoke of his colleagues proudly in words of support, admiration, and compassion.

  The whole experience, while admittedly having its scary beginning, turned out to be one of the loveliest I’ve ever had, a reminder of the beautiful beings that are all around us all the time if we but take the time to see.

  All in all, it was a wonderful reminder that despite the fact that this administration supports murderous thugs, nonetheless angels do walk in our midst, several of whom were people of color and immigrants!” — Greg C.

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