Amie here. Here’s how much the Iran war has already cost us. Sure, gas prices are going up, but it turns out that was the plan all along!

🏒 Trouncing their opponents: The Paralympic Winter Games began last week, and Kevin McKee of Davenport and his Team USA sled hockey team absolutely embarrassed the Italians in preliminary rounds, with McKee scoring the fifth of Team USA’s record-setting 14 goals.

• USA repeated that yesterday, shutting out Germany 13-0.

• If they keep this up, they’ll help McKee get his fourth gold medal with the team: They play China today.

🥧 Not that kind of pie: Saturday is Pi Day, since it’s 3.14, which is the mathematical answer for the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. And because you’re now thinking of it, here are some great places around the Des Moines metro to get actual pie.

🏀 Who’s in? We’ll find out which college basketball teams make the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, when seeds and matchups are announced, but we already have one surprise: The University of Northern Iowa men won their conference championship, ensuring they’ll get a bid for the first time in a decade.

🏆 The Academy Awards, aka the Oscars, are Sunday. Looking through the list, I pretty much have only seen one of the films (“Sinners,” so good!), so I hope it wins all the things. (For more nuanced film critique, I recommend my former colleague Avery Staker‘s blog.)

In this issue: Candidate events and protests, this week’s viral post, and reader soundoff.

Meet a candidate:

US Senate candidate Zach Wahls:

• 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Waukee
• 2 p.m. Saturday, Fairfield

Iowa Governor candidate Rob Sand:

• 4 p.m. Wednesday, Cedar Rapids

Iowa Auditor of State candidate Taylor Wettach:

• 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Waukon

Iowa Secretary of State candidate Ryan Peterman:

• 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Greene
• 11:30 a.m. Saturday, Charles City
• 2 p.m. Saturday, Waverly
• 1 p.m. Sunday, Decorah
• 3 p.m. Sunday, Waukon

Featured protests and rallies:

Sgt. Declan Coady, 20, from West Des Moines, and Maj. Jeffrey O’Brien, 45, from Waukee, were both killed March 1st by an Iranian drone—one day into a war Congress never voted on.

Join the discussion on

• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok

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.

Support for new farmers:

• “I have managed my parents’ farmland for 16 years. Now, as a 73-year-old heir, I am a first-year beginning farmer with this 2026 crop year. 

   

  Recently, while considering the construction of a small machine shop on the land, I asked for an appointment with the FSA loan agent because I understood the FSA loan rate was very low.

   

  I was shocked to find that, as a beginning farmer, the loan benefit was out of reach for me. One of the disqualifying FSA criteria is that I would need to apply to three commercial banks for the loan and be denied by each one to be eligible for the FSA loan. …

   

  In other words, an FSA loan is only available to beginning farmers in extremely dire straits. That raises the question of the track record of successful outcomes for those who secure it. … Is the loan program actually accomplishing a meaningful role? …

   

  I also inquired with NRCS about using EQIP funding to cover the cost of installing fencing so I could put cattle on the farm to increase my revenue stream. NRCS requires me to have cattle on my land before providing financial assistance for fencing. Isn’t that creation of an impossibility? …

   

  Beginning farmers who inherit farmland receive little support from the state or federal government. Beginning farmers who do not own farmland will face even greater financial risk when operating a farm.

  The outcome of fewer farmers and growing farmland consolidation bodes ill not only for independent family farmers but also for the common good of our citizenry, as oligopolistic markets lead to higher food costs.” — John C., Iowa City

Reader feedback:

• “I just want to congratulate you for doing such a great job. As I was reading this this morning, I thought how lucky we are to have people hustling to keep everyone informed and engaged. Sorry I never took the time to say so before.” — Jackie N., Des Moines 

Book recommendations:

• “To understand the Middle East and its history, I would recommend ‘Desert Queen: The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell: Adventurer, Adviser to Kings, Ally of Lawrence of Arabia’ by Janet Wallach. This [extraordinary] single woman in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s learned Arabic, explored, mapped out the region, and dug in the Middle East. She was one of the guiding forces besides T. E. Lawrence (i.e., Lawrence of Arabia) in gaining the trust of Arab leaders to help create the ‘modern Middle East’ after WWI. This book helped me to understand why there is so much conflict in the Middle East.

   

  ‘The Red-Haired Archaeologist’ by Amanda Hope Haley is a great book for would-be and want-to-be archaeologists. Amanda has a degree in Biblical Archaeology so you get some wonderful insights into the holy sites of Christianity. She explains what a tel is (a mound, heap, or ruin of an ancient city) such as Tel Aviv and Tel Dan. You get a brief insight into working an archaeology site, the oppressive heat, the record keeping, and the short time period they are able to work in the region. You also get to ‘explore’ Israel with her as her family hits the major sites of Biblical sufficiency. She also discusses Gaza and the West Bank as well.

  ‘The Franklin Cover-Up: Child Abuse, Satanism, and Murder in Nebraska‘ by John W. DeCamp. This is a true story that took place in Omaha back in the 1980’s. It involved prominent political members and a whole lot of corruption and evil. Besides the deep and disturbing subject matter, financial fraud, and political power gone awry, is the fact that this is a true story and there is evidence that it is still happening, i.e.: Jeffery Epstein.

  Could this be a monthly event? I love to see and hear about what others are reading.” — Coleen G., Keota (NOTE: Love it—send your book recommendations anytime!)

Brenntag worker lockout:

• “In this economy, a 50-cent raise isn’t too bad. Many others received no raise at all, and many others do not have a job.

   

  Big mistake by the workers’ union, but the workers are merely sheep led around by the nose by the union.” — Paul B.

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