Dec 31, 2021The year ahead. We’re it.I’ve been thinking about writing an essay to close out the year for weeks if not months now — apparently I want to bid this year goodbye — and it’s only now, seven hours until midnight that I’ve started. Procrastination is indeed my middle name. New Year’s Eve has long…Rural7 min readRural7 min read
Nov 25, 2021A small town reporter gives thanks.An editorial from an edition of the Traer Star-Clipper published on Friday, August 28, 1953 caught my eye this past week while searching through our archive books for stories on the late LeRoy Kopriva — 1954 Traer High School graduate, Redhawks starting quarterback, and great-uncle to this past season’s stellar…3 min read3 min read
Aug 13, 2021The first & the last — my decision to not run for office again.“This time was the first and the last.” That’s my official statement in answer to the question, ‘Will you run again?’ It was my first run and my last. In 2020 — here in rural Iowa — Benton and Iowa counties — I just wasn’t the candidate people wanted. Numbers…Iowa6 min readIowa6 min read
Dec 16, 2020A Rural Strategy We Can Work WithIn the lead-up to the General Election on November 3, 2020, many members of the Iowa Democratic Party (IDP) — including party leadership — had high hopes for a reckoning in our state in terms of weakening the Republican trifecta control. …6 min read6 min read
Nov 26, 2020Through A ButterflyAuthor’s Note: This essay was intended for publication prior to the November 3, 2020 General Election as a letter to the editor in a local Iowa newspaper. For a variety of reasons, it did not make it to press. I am publishing it on Thanksgiving as a tribute to my…4 min read4 min read
