Readers sound off on Iowa issues: May 26, 2026
Dubuque can be a reference point:
“To Tyler F.,
Hey Tyler, I know Dubuque isn’t as cool as Iowa City, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, but why didn’t you just say that Breitbach’s Country Dining is about 25 minutes north of Dubuque, Iowa’s Oldest City? Seems like that would have made more sense.
Nice article, just dissed Dubuque tho. Cheers.” — Mark S.
Union busting:
“I just read your article on Unity Point’s union busting tactics. It drew parallels in my mind to what is happening in my area.
Healthcare providers closing in Ottumwa, Centerville, and Richland within Iowa Senate District 13 is a well-known problem. The latest is River Hills Health Centers in Centerville and Richland.
Although poverty and the low-and-slow reimbursements by Medicaid are a big factor, employees in Centerville this week hinted to me that there was more to the story. I heard elsewhere that River Hills’ Ottumwa location voted to unionize. Centerville and Richland have yet to vote. I am told by a reliable source that the current administrator is livid over the vote and has spent ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ attempting to thwart the union.
Could River Hills be closing locations and depriving hundreds of their healthcare in retaliation for the union vote in Ottumwa, or to stop it in the two remote sites? Here’s what I learned when I visited Centerville on Tuesday.” — Brenda C.
“This was years ago, at least 30, but it was an eye-opener. I worked for a daily newspaper in northeast Iowa. Several reporters were attempting to organize a ‘guild,’ or union; wasn’t sure of the title. But the publisher and owners of the paper said, ‘If you like to keep your jobs, you won’t organize a union.’ The organizers backed off, but left the paper in disgust for other jobs.
Before I joined the Navy, I sacked groceries at a supermarket. I was a proud member of a butchers’ and meat cutters’ union. I wish I would have kept my union card!” — Craig R., Dubuque
Zach Lahn’s 37 private flights to Kansas:
“In addition, Mr. Lahn uses the terms ‘catch and release’ in his racist television commercial. That is a phrase you might use for animals. It is very degrading and dehumanizing. Is he trying to be more disgusting than Donald Trump?” — Kim B.
In support of Josh Turek for US Senate:
“Before state Rep. Josh Turek was sworn in with me to the Iowa House in January 2023, there was no ramp leading to the well of the chamber. In the 179 years since Iowa became a state, no member of the Legislature had ever needed one. Josh did. So a ramp was built. A few months later, I watched a group of kids in wheelchairs roll down it and sit on the floor of the people’s house. It is still one of the most vivid and meaningful memories I have from my time in the Legislature. …
At every stage of his life, Josh has faced incredible adversity and has succeeded despite these challenges. …
When he was cut from the US Paralympic basketball team, Josh clawed his way back to win two gold medals in wheelchair basketball for the United States. And in 2022, he won a state legislative district that has trended more conservative each cycle. Then, he held it again in 2024, a year Donald Trump carried the county by twenty points.
What I saw in Josh was a rare combination of work ethic and integrity. He fought to pass Work Without Worry—bipartisan legislation that would let disabled Iowans hold a job without losing the healthcare they depend on. For Josh, the fight to protect working families and Iowans with disabilities isn’t political. It’s personal. That’s why throughout his career, he’s built coalitions with Republicans, Democrats, and independents that most people believed could not be built. …
In 2024, I went out knocking with Josh during his re-election campaign. I watched him work door after door. Most houses don’t have ramps, but that didn’t stop Josh. He pulled himself out of his wheelchair and climbed those porch steps because he wasn’t going to skip a single voter who deserved to be asked for their support. I’ve never seen someone work harder to represent his community than Josh did in that race. He won that Trump district through incredibly hard work, determination, and grit.
Iowa hasn’t elected a Democrat to the United States Senate since Tom Harkin in 2008. Last week, Sen. Harkin, the author of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Josh’s political hero, publicly announced his support for Josh. I can’t imagine a more fitting endorsement. …
Iowa needs a US Senator who has fought for working families his entire life, who can win the voters the Democratic Party has been losing, and who will go to Washington and out-work everyone in that building, too.
That senator is Josh Turek. I’m proud to support him, and I hope you will too.” — Sami Scheetz, Linn County Supervisor
Book rec:
“‘The Printer and The Preacher’ by Randy Petersen. This book is about Benjamin Franklin and George Whitefield and what roles they played in the [American] Colonies. It is about a friendship between these two very different people and the movements that shaped America.
Both men were philanthropists and started colleges as well, and George started an orphanage in Georgia. Franklin was the inventor, the printer, the community organizer, the stateman, etc. (he started the idea/concept of a fire department that was manned by citizens, among other things). Did you know Ben even invented new words, such as ‘colonize‘ [NOTE: that verb was around at least since the 1500s] and ‘bifocal,’ among others?
Whitefield was a powerful speaker (large voice and message) who discovers extemporaneous preaching. With Ben’s help, his sermons attracted hundreds [of] people to to hear him speak and to print his sermons. He was also a huge part in ‘The Great Awakening in America.’ You will also get a little lesson on the various ‘new’ religions being practiced in American and England and the concepts they believed in. The Protestant Reformation included Lutheran, Reformed, Calvinist, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Anglican religions.” — Coleen G.
Not familiar with unsubscribe button:
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“Stop.” — Coleen C.
“Unsubscribe.” — Carol M.
“Remove me immediately.” — Eric S.
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“FUCK OFF.
[NOTE: Three days later:] I asked to not receive any email’s from you and this site!! SO PLEASE FUCK OFF!!!!!!!!!!! “— M. Wallace
“Don’t send me your garbage with your liberal opinions.” — Danna C.
“I really thought this was going to be a newsletter about festivals and activities in Iowa. But alas. I’m getting a tinge of political attitude in the posts. George Floyd memorial in Minnesota? Really? Unsubscribe.” — Billie K.
