I’ve been too busy to be a dedicated baseball fan up until this World Series. I was eight years old when the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. That’s perfect timing being just old enough to appreciate the sport. They brought with them announcer Vin Scully who was my connection to the game.

I’m going to take a moment to pause from the election to talk about something else that has kept me very busy recently.  (Don’t worry, I’ll be back with more election 

information next week).   

You may have noticed that there is some construction going on at the courthouse recently.  We are currently in the process of getting a new roof.  Back on April 18th, we 

On October 16th, I hosted a telephone town hall with more than 7,500 Iowans. I provided an 

update on what’s happening in Congress and answered questions about important issues ranging 

from tax cuts and trade to agriculture and manufacturing. Listening to Iowans and advancing our 

shared values in Congress remains a top priority for me, and these conversations are a great way 

Election Day is almost here.  November 4th is the date for the 2025 City-School Election, and I have some information to share with you to make sure you are ready!  

As luck would have it Barbara Kalbach had her column, “Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa” published on the same page in the Chronicle as my “Thoughts on Healthcare.”

If Democrats had succeeded and President Trump’s Working Families Tax Cuts were not passed on July 4th this year, families, farmers, and small businesses would have faced the largest tax 

increase in U.S. history. Over 210 million American taxpayers would have seen an average 22% tax hike, and the tax increase on an average family of four would have been the equivalent of 

We rely on hay for the cattle to survive while the grass isn’t growing. It can be stressful seeing dark clouds with drying hay on the ground.
One time our friend who we hire to cut and bale our hay said yes when the fellow in line before us asked him to bale some more that he had not planned on. It rained and rained on our previously dry hay. We raked and raked to try to get some of it put up and edible. It smelled like dirt.

Two years ago on October 7th, 2023, the world watched in horror as vicious Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, murdered nearly 1,200 innocent Israelis, burned entire communities to the ground, and took hundreds of people hostage.Hamas is a terrorist organization that has no regard for human nor any remorse for its violent actions.

Absentee voting for the 2025 City-School Election starts today. Things are rolling fast and steady in our office as we feverishly prepare not only for absentee voting, but for upcoming poll worker training, and of course Election Day.  
 

It may seem weird for this to come from me, but I am getting old. This week, I turn 19, and by the time this paper is printed and published, that special day will have come and gone like most any other. Nonetheless, I can’t help but come to the realization that for me, time has flown by these past few years, and I’m sure my parents and grandparents will say the same.

 Older and wiser is not necessarily a hard and fast rule. Upon realizing that a dead ash tree would eventually fall on the fence we were building, I decided to get it on the ground before dark. I hurried. Not wise. I did a perfect job, with a nice hinge it fell right where I planned for it to fall.

Absentee voting for the 2025 City-School Election starts in just one week.  Things are rolling fast and steady in our office as we feverishly prepare not only for absentee voting, but for upcoming poll worker training, and of course Election Day.  

In October, our country celebrates Manufacturing Month and recognizes the critical importance of manufacturing to our economy. Domestic manufacturing supports good-paying jobs in our 

communities, strengthens our supply chains, and helps reduce our dependence on foreign nations for the goods and products that Iowans need and rely on. During this month, we also honor Iowa 

We were flying out to California to see our son, Hans. Alegiant goes from Des Moines straight to Orange County. If it was American Airlines, hitchhiking might be a better option.
 
As we crossed into California from Nevada I got some photos of the giant solar power stations called Ivanpah. I assumed the phone store had initiated a save feature but they didn’t and when the phone needed repair the photos were lost.
 

Occasionally, I have nearly panicked looking at this deadline and considered digging through the archives to resurrect a reprint of a movie review column I wrote 15 years ago. But it was typed in Microsoft Word and that disappeared from my computer and when I try to open the document it looks like a speech from Tibet.