Reader letters to Iowa Starting Line for Sept. 29, 2026:
Do you put up fall or Halloween decorations, and when?
“My Halloween decorating is done.” — Donna (drsassycw)
“I start decorating around October 1st, my kids however start as soon as possible in September. We really enjoy Halloween.” — Chelle K.
“Generally I decorate my home with Autumn / Fall decorations mid September. I do not decorate with anything relating to Halloween. I did in the past when son was little. Grandchildren live out of state and have very rarely been here during the Halloween season. Now they are teenagers.” — Maddie C.
“We have skeletons and Corn candies [all in wood] that we display in our yard and on the deck.” — Clare L.
“Heck yes we decorate for Halloween, almost as much as we do for Christmas!! We do both inside and outdoor decorations. We even dress up in our Winnie the Pooh and Tigger costumes and stand out in front of our house to pass out candy, we’ve been doing that for around 25 years or so!! :)” — Linda C.
“I do, although less than when the kids were home. I love fall, so Halloween decorations are a natural. I do not put any up until October 1. Each season or holiday has its spot and can not step on another’s toes!!” — Kristi K.
“Yes, in our living room where our adult kids wait for trick-or-treaters, we decorate.” — Catharine F.
“No I don’t decorate for Halloween it is one of my favorite holidays” — Tracy S.
Iowa’s lone billionaire:
“Great post on Stine. The only thing I would add, is that like Elon Musk and so many other assholes, WE funded the research when it began at ISU, as you shared. Why don’t Iowans get a return on OUR investment? We funded the research, and only he profits? It’s BS. Thanks for your great work.” — Bob L.
“What about Dennis Albaugh?” — Hailey P. [NOTE: I looked into this Iowa billionaire who made his money on generic glyphosate, but two things stuck out to me: He might live in Florida now, and he hasn’t been on the Forbes Billionaires list since 2007.]
“Here is another impactful Iowa seed business: Holden’s Foundation Seeds.
Founded by the Holden family in Williamsburg, the company built a successful corn genetics business that supplied new corn varieties to the entire seed corn industry from 1937 to 1997. At its peak, Holdens Foundation Seeds provided roughly 30% -35% of the genetics for the US corn industry. They only sold varieties to other seed companies, so very few farmers knew of them.
They eventually sold the company to Monsanto in 1997 for $990 million, which is equivalent to over $2 billion today.” — Doug E.
Apple picking:
“Good issue. I need some apple orchards that are already picked.” — David V. [NOTE: Choose Iowa has a larger list here.]
Josh Turek:
“Ashley Hinson is a YES MAN IN A DRESS. She has stood there and WITH FULL AWARENESS, GIVEN THE GREEN LIGHT to every idiotic, misguided Trump strategy that has destroyed Iowa’s economy and driven FARMERS INTO BANKRUPTCY.
And by the way, Republicans are saturating the Iowa airwaves with ads that mock Josh Turek’s absences from casting votes. It is not commonly known, but these lifetime debilitating disabilities of his THAT CAUSE THESE ABSENCES are from THE EFFECTS OF AGENT ORANGE. AGENT ORANGE, a chemical agent that his father was exposed to as a soldier during THE VIETNAM WAR, was passed along to his son through the damaging effects of AGENT ORANGE on his father’s DNA.
To mock him about it is DISGRACEFUL AND SHAMEFUL, KNOWING IT WAS CAUSED BY AMERICA’S FAILED PARTICIPATION IN THAT DEADLY WAR, but that’s pretty typical behavior from those associated with today’s Republican Party.” — Thomas (hemijendrix987)
“Trek is just another lying socialist Democrat won’t do anything he says.” — Jared P.
Health care is too expensive:
“As a nurse, I have spent my career caring for people when they are at their most vulnerable. Increasingly, I hear another worry from Iowa families: not just whether they can get the care they need, but whether they can afford it.
Some Iowa small-group health insurance plans are proposing staggering premium increases for 2027. According to the Iowa Insurance Division, Avera has proposed an average increase of 23.74 percent, while UnitedHealthcare has proposed 23.01 percent.
Those numbers should be setting off alarms at the State Capitol.
Republicans have controlled the Iowa House, Senate and governor’s office for years. They cannot control every force driving health-care costs, and it would be misleading to blame them for every premium increase. But when one party controls state government, it also owns the responsibility for what state government does—or fails to do—about problems confronting Iowa families.
Health-care affordability is one of those problems. … It can mean more money coming out of a paycheck or another financial burden for a small business already struggling with rising costs. And health care isn’t something families can simply stop buying. You can postpone a vacation. You can’t necessarily postpone taking your child to the doctor or getting treatment when you’re sick.
Iowa can’t fix America’s entire healthcare system. But that shouldn’t become an excuse for inaction.
As a nurse, I’ve seen what happens when cost becomes part of a patient’s medical decisions. I want lawmakers focused on lowering prescription and insurance costs, increasing transparency and protecting families from expenses that make necessary care unaffordable.” — Heather Sievers, registered nurse and Democratic candidate for Iowa House District 40
Book reviews:
“Newest review of books I’ve checked out from Carnegie-Stout:
‘Seventeen and Oh: Miami, 1972 and the NFL’s Only Perfect Season’ by Marshall Jon Fisher is a fantastic read about the 1972 Miami team which went undefeated. An incredibly thorough look at how the Dolphins were built, their embarrassment in losing the 1971 Super Bowl, and the hard work they put into claiming a World Championship the next year.
There are detailed recaps of the 17 games and interesting back stories which took place throughout the season. There are also experiences which give readers many laughs, such as Coach Don Shula starting a game film session not knowing his players had put an adult movie in the projector.
Marshall also takes a look at how Miami was a much different city than it is today as he shares his childhood memories and also talks about the impact of having both the Democrat and Republican National conventions in the city that summer. The book is a blissfully entertaining and informative story.
‘Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of The USFL’ is one of the damndest sports books I’ve ever read. Jeff Pearlman does a fantastic job writing about the United States Football League, which was a spring football league from 1983-85. The USFL was part-unintended joke, part-serious league with amazing talent.
The stories are jaw dropping: From Herschel Walker giving up a year of college eligibility to sign with the New Jersey Generals, to the Los Angeles Express courting Steve Young, to how the tremendous success the Jacksonville Bulls had in drawing crowds led the city to landing an NFL franchise a decade later, to how the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars, who played in the USFL championship game all three years, could’ve legitimately competed in the NFL.
There’s also many stories about bat-crazy owners and players, a fan who won a $1,000,000 drawing only to find out the first payment wouldn’t occur until 2005, and a San Antonio Gunslingers franchise which started dying the day it was created.
The book has its share of dark moments and goes into detail about stupid decisions made, including the choice to move from the spring to the fall, and the anti-trust lawsuit against the NFL which succeeded and failed at the same time. Football and history lovers will cherish this book.” — Don C.
They didn’t like an email with bisexuals mentioned:
“Bisexuality awareness week? This is satire, right?” — RJ Boyd
“What is this a fucking joke? Don’t you ever Email me ever again… Bisexuals Can go to hell” — Sean P.
“Who are you and why are you sending me emails? I don’t think I know you.” — Angela S.
“REMOVE MY EMAIL FROM YOUR LIST IMMEDIATELY!!!” — Joel A.
“Leave me alone” — Eleanor L.
“Tell me the purpose of this Iowa Starting Line again.” — Dixie E.
“What does this have to do with outdoor activities in Iowa?” — John L.
“Take me off your mailing list.” — Kathy P.
“I do not mind what others do in regards to their chosen sexuality or sexual preferences. I do, however, have a huge issue with unsolicited emails celebrating a mental illness. Please remove me from your mailing list immediately.” — Michelle O. [NOTE: Bisexuality is not a mental illness.]
“unsubscribe me – Most people don’t care what others do in the privacy of their own bedrooms, but I’m not celebrating or accepting anything like this. When do we Have month-long parades for heterosexuals- And weeklong celebrations Come on -I thought your newsletter was gonna be something I’d be interested in. It’s too bad you’ve had to go down this path.” — Jeff V.
“PLEASE TAKE ME OFF YOUR MAILING LIST – THANK YOU” — Lonnie (lonnap54)
“Shut the fuck up about Bisexuality. Noone wants to see this” — Nanci S.
“Wth? I didn’t sign up for anything with bisexual in it. Take me off your list.” — Niki W.
“STOP do not email me ever again.” — Lacy S.
