It’s Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023.
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Hey folks, it’s Amie, and it’s once again time for only good news from Iowa!
This week:
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And this newsletter is still basically a secret one that only unlocks for certain folks!
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I’m still in awe at the kind letters I get from you all. A sampling!
“I look forward to my Thursday email from you,” wrote Patty E.
“Just when it is so discouraging to be an Iowan, you send hopeful news with a great reminder there are other like minded people here, too,” Carol M. wrote.
“I love the emails you send me … Keep up the GREAT work,” wrote Tom F.
“God knows we need a ‘Positive Iowa,’” Saundra R. wrote.
Just as much as I love your positive affirmations, I’ll also take your suggestions on people I should spotlight!
Thanks for reading and sharing,
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1. Teaching Tech Skills 💻
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If you’re not getting calls from your grandma about how to fix her computer anymore, Lloyd X. Forney might be the reason why.
Forney (pictured at left) is an Army veteran and network engineer who has designed computer networks and consulted on technology projects for a variety of clients across the country for decades.
He’s now finding meaning in his small-group classes designed for older adults in Waterloo, where he not only teaches them the basics of how to use their laptops and smartphones, but even how to take apart their computers for minor fixes, binary coding, and more. (I can admit that’s more than I know!)
“He makes it so plain, the youngest person can understand it (and) the oldest person can understand it. And he takes the time,” one of his students, Shawn Houston, told me.
Another—Beverly Cook of Waterloo—said the class allows her to live more independently.
“If you don’t have any kids and you’re up there in age, you don’t have the skills, you don’t have the background … I wouldn’t be able to do any of it,” Cook said. “So I’m preparing myself for taking care of myself. And that’s what we need to do.”
Forney also teaches engineering courses to high school seniors called STEMAlate Academy, and is searching for a permanent home for his technology courses.
💬 “I had a good life in computers, and I just wanted to give something back.”
~Lloyd X. Forney
thanks to Ricky R. for the news tip!
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2. A Little Help For Our Friends 🏳️⚧️
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“Neighbors helping neighbors” is how Max Mowitz describes the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, which they began in 2021 to provide financial aid for a variety of gender-affirming care.
It funds things like hormone replacement therapy, surgery, therapy fees, voice training, name change fees and help traveling out of state for care that isn’t available because of state laws passed this year.
Applications for those needing help reopened this week, and those wishing to donate can do so here. (And they’re not the only Iowa organization helping nonbinary and gender-diverse Iowans; find more of those here!)
💬 “I really saw a profound need for this kind of care and financial support for folks because, as we know, trans and non-binary people are disproportionately represented in homeless and houseless populations.”
~Max Mowitz
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The caption should say “moved,” but that’s what you get from YouTube’s artificial intelligence captioning system….
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The pop/folk trio Trousdale isn’t from Iowa. But they penned a new song about us anyway—and it’s a positive one!
“Smart Iowa” is about a Hollywood starlet that settles down in our state to escape her troubles and live a peaceful, fulfilling life.
Keyboardist Quinn D’Andrea told me the idea for the song was sparked after band members were wondering whatever happened to The Weepies’ singer/songwriter Deb Talan. Someone else remarked Talan “got smart and moved to Iowa.” (Fact check: true.)
“We all practically froze in that moment and collectively knew that we needed to stop everything and start writing a brand new song,” D’Andrea recalled. “After that the song almost wrote itself, the story kind of unfolding as we went.”
The silhouette-animated video is also well worth the watch (and it was personally done by D’Andrea, who said she spent 400 hours painstakingly making every one of the thousands of frames).
Now, the big question: Will Trousdale actually perform it live here?
💬 “We have passed through Iowa while out on the road touring, and it’s a huge goal for us to make it there to play a show soon!”
~Quinn D’Andrea
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End with something cute 🌸
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This is Frank. He was found in a parking lot and somehow made his way to a cushy apartment and a human that works from home. He spends his time dozing on his flower tower, sneezing, and causing general mayhem.
(Photo submitted by Avery S., Starting Line’s social media manager, who just adopted Frank.)
Send me your pet’s photo here!
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Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers. Iowa Starting Line is happily free to read for everyone. Your financial support means a lot to us. Donate here.
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