🗣️ It’s Friday; time for reader replies!

My take: I don’t live in Avoca, so maybe y’all have been inundated with loud cars, and I’m off base here. But if it’s mostly four or five loud cars that are the problem, can’t law enforcement handle this? Why are we paying for extra surveillance on all of us?

Iowa news briefs:

• Another survey I don’t trust: A tie between supreme and meat lovers? Really? Reply and tell me your favorite pizza so I can check something.

• Reader’s Digest says Iowa’s best comfort food is chili and cinnamon rolls, and I don’t know about this, either. Am I too young to know about “Chili Bash Day?” (Team chili/peanut butter sandwich, if I’m picking!)

• Iowa drunk driving is up, despite drunk driving across the country going down, according to a new report. Y’all are gonna hate next week’s Cancer in Iowa newsletter….

• Several Kum & Go stations rebranded as ‘Mega Saver’: They knew we would hate Maverik for taking our beloved, but this new rebrand is somehow worse.

• First, it was a barricade; now, no more interpreter? An Iowa City Catholic Worker interpreter was barred from the federal courthouse in Cedar Rapids, where immigrants are required to check in, just a week after officials erected a barricade to keep protesters at bay. “This is really unfortunate that they’re not letting me inside to provide support for immigrants and also interpretation,” said the interpreter, Emily Sinwell. “What we are witnessing is the militarization of Iowa, the shrinking of the public square, and the stripping away of rights to speech, worship, and accompaniment,” said Alejandra Escobar with Escucha Mi Voz.

• Make America H(ave more pesticides) Again: Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he wanted “to end the production of PFAS.” Yet the EPA has now approved four new pesticides that contain PFAS.

• Red state dwellers largely can’t get COVID shots covered by insurance this year, while blue state dwellers can. Make it make sense!

• There’s always an Iowa connection: Fairfield was spotted in Jeffrey Epstein’s gross birthday book and posted to Reddit.
  
  
• It’s Suicide Prevention Week, which many of us have been affected by. And I don’t know who needs to hear this (probably me), but suicide loss is not your fault. Learn more about the warning signs here, or take a course in Mental Health First Aid. I may join you.

Aerial view of downtown Sioux City, Iowa, at dusk. (Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock)

🐈 This is Sox, one of three pets of reader Kristi K. of Mount Vernon.

I need to know what caused this look!

Send me your pet photos here.

🌼 Reader Angelina S. sent me this photo “from our walk on the trail at Kent Park on Aug 24th.”

A search tells me F.W. Kent Park is in Oxford in Johnson County, and is also “one of Iowa’s premier county parks and one of the nicest you will find anywhere.” Gauntlet thrown!

Send me your flower 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.

How you’re preventing cancer:

• “When we bought our house in Portland 12 years ago—it was built in 1951—we had it tested for all kinds of things and, sure enough, we found we had radon! So as part of our agreement to purchase we had the basement worked on, and now we have a 24-hour fan that lifts any such radiation from below the floor and whisks it outside above the roof level. (We hope.)” — Greg C.
   
• “We have invested in a reverse osmosis water system, air purifier and radon mitigation. I also am purchasing dishwasher tablets that are free from the chemicals that are found in regular tablets. It’s sad maintaining our lives requires these things. When I grew up on a farm in Minnesota, we had great well water and never worried about what we were drinking.” — Lois A.

• “I’m sad you couldn’t add ‘don’t drink city water’ to your list.” — Shawna J.

Do you still support capitalism?

• “No, I do not support this type of capitalism. The little guy is getting killed.” — Michael W.

• “This is an awesome subject line.” — Nina E.

• “My two cents is that capitalism is irredeemably flawed. The only way to make it look pretty is to accept its premise that there are externalities (pollution, loss of land, worker injury/deaths, etc). Capitalism dehumanizes all participating. Those who profit from it disassociate from their humanity as they deny the basic humanity of workers, the poor, those forced from their land, those without water because of pollution. Those same people, those same parts of the planet are in turn denied their full potential as people, as ecosystems through no fault of their own.

   

  I’m drawn to the concept of Doughnut Economics by Dr. Kate Raworth. Her book and videos easily explain how we can have an economy within the basic foundations of what our planet can handle and human dignity. This has a quick explainer.” — Jeff S.

Iowa needs more organizing, not just money:

• “After DOGE cuts in the spring, I had to dive all the way into searching for funding to keep my org going, and also for personal employment. In that process, I’ve been struck by something I thought I already knew—just how limited Iowa’s civic infrastructure is, especially compared to places like Minnesota or even Nebraska. There’s a real lack of investment in the spaces, programs, and practices that help people learn how to engage, organize, and lead together. I hope I’m missing something, but it doesn’t feel like I am?

  Which then brings me to the campaigns that are raising boatloads of money. Have we not learned that money alone will not win elections!? Especially in a state where you have to bridge the gap of a few hundred thousand registered voters just to stand a fighting chance?? Show me how you’re using that money to ENGAGE people. Ask me to DO something, not just give money. I was a Rob Sand fan back in the day but the only thing I’ve seen from him come across my inbox, mailbox, or text messages are requests for money, while also being told he’s raising record amounts of money. Who is getting energized by that message!?

  Can we be the party of action, hope, or maybe even (gasp), joy? Use your millions to bring people together at a time when loneliness is an epidemic, political division is intensifying, and a tanking economy will require us to lean on each other to get through. For example, convene parents, educators, and most importantly kids to imagine together how schools could truly support learning, community, and well-being. Host community dinners that bring people who won’t naturally come together to talk about sustainable agriculture and local food systems. Create mini experiments or action labs where campaign engagement can be turned into public work with small, local groups tackling real issues with tangible support from the campaign team. Gather people at a weekend soccer tournament to talk about finding creative childcare solutions. Then, whether you win or lose the campaign, you’ll have built something to work with in the future.”
  — Kara T.

We could have AI money:

• “Have you seen this?” — Bill R., Iowa City (NOTE: French unions know what’s up!)

Drain the (new) swamp:

• “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made promises of life-and-death importance to our Senate to get confirmed as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, then promptly broke them. This is absolutely the same as lying on a job application, grounds for immediate termination in any American workplace. Yet we’re stuck with him unless he voluntarily resigns. Why?

   

  A majority of our Supreme Court did the same thing. Our legislators routinely vote against their own campaign promises. Why are our highest officials held to a lower standard than us? If they lie on their job application, or leak military secrets, or break the Constitution, why aren’t they subject to the same disciplinary actions as other loyal Americans?

   

  Our Constitution says our Senate has to consent to presidential appointments, but it doesn’t say the nominees have to be honest or keep their word, and provides no workable way to get rid of ’em. People can say whatever it takes to get confirmed or elected, and do the exact opposite from the moment they’re sworn in. They can violate their Oath of Office with absolute impunity.

   

  From the ground up, our entire government system is designed to attract and reward unscrupulous individuals with no regard, even with contempt, for the Greater Good. It is a toxic work environment for the honest, the ethical—the people we want to have there.

   

  Maybe President Trump is right to tear it down. If we get to pick up the pieces, our new system should encourage honesty and reward integrity. Our government should attract ethical individuals of conscience, and have meaningful consequences for acting otherwise. It should be an uncomfortable work environment for the unscrupulous so they’ll go somewhere else, if anyone else’ll have ’em.” — Dixon S.

Letter of the Week: There’s a childcare desert in Mahaska County

“In Mahaska County, more than three children compete for every available childcare slot, a shortage so severe it has branded the community a ‘childcare desert’ for at least 15 years. The lack of affordable, accessible childcare not only strains families but also holds back Iowa’s workforce and local economic growth.

Parents in Mahaska County face a startling reality: 2,770 children under the age of 9 depend on just 861 licensed childcare spaces. That imbalance, 3.2 children for every slot, puts Mahaska well beyond the threshold for a childcare desert, which is defined as more than three children per licensed space.

‘Families often have to start looking for childcare more than a year, sometimes even two years, in advance of the child being born because the waiting lists are so long,’ said Arthur Zacharjasz, director of occupational, employee, and public health. ‘That reality forces parents into difficult choices, sometimes deciding whether one parent should step away from work entirely because the cost of childcare outweighs their income.’

The shortage has ripple effects far beyond the family home. Zacharjasz noted that young families may not even consider moving into a community without adequate childcare. ‘For rural areas especially, where we’re trying to attract young families and sustain an aging population, the equation is pretty clear: we need healthcare, we need strong schools, and we need reliable childcare,’ he said. ‘Without those three pillars, it’s hard to grow.’

In Iowa, 73% of families with children under age 6 have all adults working, one of the highest rates in the nation. The state ranks ninth overall in labor force participation, but the lack of childcare is a primary reason parents are forced out of the workforce.

‘When parents can’t access childcare, workforce participation drops. That creates a tighter labor market and ultimately reduces productivity across Iowa’s economy,’ said Oskaloosa City Manager Shawn Metcalf.

Childcare centers also face staffing shortages that prevent them from serving at full capacity. By law, centers must follow strict child-to-staff ratios. Even when facilities have space, they cannot admit more children without more employees.

‘If every mother of young children had access to affordable, quality childcare, more than 150,000 additional people could enter Iowa’s workforce,’ Metcalf said, citing data from the Common Sense Institute. ‘The demand is there. The problem is access, quality, and cost.’

Iowa’s childcare deficit mirrors Mahaska’s challenges. The state has more than half a million children under age 12, but only about 177,000 licensed slots—leaving a shortfall of 330,000 spaces.

The cost of care adds another burden for families. The average cost of infant care in Iowa is 18.4% higher than in-state tuition at a four-year public university. National guidelines suggest childcare is affordable if it consumes no more than 7% of family income. In Iowa, only about one in 10 families can find care within that range.

Meanwhile, the workforce caring for children is underpaid. Childcare workers are the third-lowest-paid occupation in Iowa, with starting wages averaging $10.89 per hour, which is $3.90 below the living wage for a single adult. As a result, 30% of childcare workers rely on Medicaid, and 40% depend on at least one public assistance program.

‘Childcare is not babysitting. It’s a necessity for Iowa to thrive and build the economy,’ said Jeannine Laughlin, president of the Iowa Association for the Education of Young Children, in remarks referenced in Mahaska’s recent childcare assessment.

Beyond workforce and economic implications, local educators stress that childcare is essential to a child’s long-term success. Research shows that 90% of brain development occurs in the first 2,000 days of life—roughly the first five and a half years. The neural connections made during that time shape learning, problem-solving, social-emotional health, and future well-being.

‘Early childhood education is one of the great equalizers in shaping future success,’ said Oskaloosa Schools Superintendent Mike Fisher. ‘When children gain early skills in reading, numeracy, and social development, they thrive. The benefits show up across their lives—in employability, mental and physical health, and even in reduced involvement with the criminal justice system.’

Fisher added that Oskaloosa’s efforts are rooted in community partnerships that have already made childcare a priority. ‘The next step is expanding access to high-quality options so every child has the chance to benefit,’ he said. ‘It really does take a village, and in Oskaloosa we take seriously the idea that we all share responsibility for raising the next generation.’“

— Justin DeVore, Director of Marketing, Communications and Development, Mahaska Chamber & Development Group

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