It’s Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023.

Hey guys, it’s Amie. Welcome to your weekly dose of good news from Iowa, where I find five inspiring stories from around the state and deliver them right to your inbox!

Since we switched email providers, a whole lot of you are getting this email for the first time. Eventually, we’ll narrow down the list of folks who get it (by who is opening it and clicking on stuff) to only those of you who want to keep getting it.

So if you’re not a fan of this one, no worries—you’ll probably only get it a few more times. Just be aware that if you unsubscribe, you won’t get ANY of Starting Line’s newsletters anymore.

But let me say this: Compiling Positively Iowa has truly become one of my favorite jobs here. Maybe it’s just a good counterbalance to the world today, but I love it—and I think you might, too.

Here’s to better days ahead,

Get On the (Free) Bus 🚌 

Iowa City is nearly three months into a two-year pilot program that began Aug. 1 to see how offering free transportation on city buses will impact residents and visitors. (Bus fees are around 8% of the city’s transportation revenue.)

And that impact is already being felt: There was a 53% increase in people riding the bus in August compared to a year ago, and up 38% in September over the prior year—including a 23% increase in disabled folks riding paratransit buses.

💭 “I just think that’s something to take pride in. It’s a small thing, but it’s something that adds up to feeling like you’re at the right place—like this could be your home.”

~Second-year University of Iowa student Sebastian Buchman

A Growing Tradition 💀

From midnight on Oct. 31 through Nov. 2, Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, celebrates the souls of those who have passed on, highlighting the strength of family, the honoring of ancestors, and the continuance of life.

Dating back hundreds of years to the time of the Aztecs in present-day Mexico, Día de los Muertos is a Mexican national holiday and growing in popularity around the world, including in the US.

Hola Iowa has a great list of events coming up in Iowa, both festive and solemn, whether you’re into art, sports, parades, or just plenty of music and food.

Transitioning from military life—with its fast pace and clear orders and direction—to the not-always-clear life of a college student isn’t always easy. But trying to talk to a college counselor who doesn’t know that part of you might not be easy, either.

So the University of Iowa, with its 608 veteran and active-military students, hired Chuck Xander, a longtime mental health counselor and combat veteran, to help those students succeed.

💭 “I would say going to college is even harder than being in the military … Having other veterans that are going through the same thing as you are, being able to joke around … you still feel like you’re kind of in the military because you feel like you can act your true self, like you don’t have to put up a façade.”

~Austin Smith, second-year student at Iowa and Marine Corp veteran

After more than 200 workers with Teamsters Local 90 at Pepsi in Urbandale rejected their company’s offer, workers held a “practice picket” on Monday.

By Tuesday, the company agreed to a deal that includes “record pay increases,” an end to mandatory overtime, paid holidays and more, according to Local 90 President Tanner Fischer.

Members will vote to ratify that contract Sunday (and I’ll update on how that vote went in next week’s Iowa Worker’s Almanac).

💭 “This deal was only possible through engaged rank-and-file involvement, and having a great committee of members who were able to voice their concerns and fight for their rights at the company they have dedicated their working lives to.”

~Fischer

AP Photo/Elise Amendola

This Saturday (Oct. 28) is the fall version of the twice-yearly National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, where local pharmacies team up with law enforcement to collect leftover prescriptions and over-the-counter medication sitting unused in cabinets and on shelves across Iowa.

The idea is to keep medicine, particularly addictive opioids, from getting into the wrong hands. To date, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Office of Drug Control Policy, Iowans have safely disposed of 98 tons of old medicine, including 3,800 pounds of drugs in this spring’s event alone.

Find a location near you here (including year-round drop-off locations), and find addiction help here.

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