This week’s highlight was finishing with the LED lights and heat pad, and moving most production outdoors to the portable greenhouse. The shelves are full with some 700 seedlings, waiting for trays to be planted in the ground before the pepper plants can find space to move from the dining room. It’s all good.
Mixed into this week’s schedule was making the garage space more usable. I ordered a heavy duty shelving unit—capacity 3,500 pounds— and put it up next to the long handled implement rack. This allowed me to clear surface space on the work bench, the work table, the radial arm saw and the long, narrow table I made that will serve as a garlic rack when the crop gets harvested in July. A political candidate stopped by with some campaign materials and we strategized over a calendar laid out on the trash bins. Every inch of garage space has better functionality now.
Most mornings I started by taking a cup of coffee to the garage and simply taking in fresh air, morning light, and considering the day’s potential. One thing leads to another, and soon I get productive with tasks to fill the day.
Work presents itself without much planning. Experience developed since I began lawn and garden work here in 1993 leads me without it. For example, to clear greenhouse space before the last frost date of May 10, the covered row goes in next. After that, clearing the tomato cages from last year’s spot and turning it over for spring planting. Garden tasks naturally queue and will continue until the whole garden is planted, hopefully by Memorial Day.
This week, I got cruciferous vegetables planted and broke down the tomato starts from channel trays into individual soil blocks. Over the weekend I tilled the covered row plot, making it ready for herbs, Asian greens, spinach and other perennial favorites. Along with this was the first lawn mowing, although this pass it was mostly to even it out. I did not collect clippings for mulch but will need more than the yard can produce.
Week three was valuable in all these ways. A gardener needs that as we move through this new season of hope.
In Spring, when the world starts turning green, hope is everywhere. For a Democrat that means hope to advance our policies and aspirations in a society where corruption, greed, and large scale grifters would swindle from us the hard won freedom and tolerance we forged over the century after the Civil War. Each year it feels real and we engage in the next election cycle, hoping to do better, staying in the fight.
37 days from the primary, it’s time to choose. In November, I’ll support the Democrats on the ballot. There are contested primary races before then, and I don’t have much else to say about races where there is only one candidate.
U.S. Senate
It would be hard for me to be in anyone’s camp but Zach Wahls. I remember him setting up an apartment in Coralville as Chloe joined him, when Elijah was an idea. I remember his first campaign for state senate against Janice Weiner. The two of them were everywhere in the district, putting in the work. He attended an event we hosted in Solon and brought the president of the Solon Community School Board, which was a first for our local politics. That early period was important to my current support.
Zach’s support for Elizabeth Warren during her 2020 presidential campaign typifies the kinds of policies he supports: taxing the wealthy, consumer protections, and improved health care for all. On the issues, Zach’s policies align with mine and continue to do so. He would support Warren’s efforts to hold corporations to account, tax wealth, enforce strict financial accountability, put teeth into anti-trust regulation, protect consumers, determine a way to fix the gap in Social Security, and transition to Medicare for all. These policies are right for Iowa and the country.
During his tenure as Senate Minority Leader, Wahls was ousted in 2023, purportedly for firing two long-term Iowa Democratic Party staffers. I won’t rehash that, and note the unanimous vote of the caucus to remove him. Was the party better for re-hiring those two people afterward?
Here’s the thing. Wahls got too far over his skis and ahead of the caucus on this action. At the same time, isn’t pushing the party in a better direction what we want from leadership? I think it is, and that’s what Wahls offers in his run for U.S. Senate. We must be agents of change. He would be… and this is why I support Zach Wahls in the June 2 primary.
First Congressional District
I support Christina Bohannan for U.S. House in Iowa’s First Congressional District Democratic primary.
I am spoiled by having had access to Dave Loebsack from before he announced for the House, through winning in 2006, and during his subsequent tenure. After he retired, and Rita Hart lost to Mariannette Miller-Meeks by six votes, my part of the state in rural Johnson County has been dominated by Republicans. With Bohannan’s persistence, and despite her previous losses, we have a chance to change that. I am pragmatic enough to know this is not about policy, but about a Democrat winning in November. A lot is at stake in winning a Democratic majority in the U.S. House, and as Bohannan said, we should “put Iowa first.” Count me in.
Johnson County Supervisor—District Two
I support Jon Green for Johnson County Supervisor in District 2.
At the precinct caucus I said,
Jon showed up in our area, canvassed with me, and listened — which tells you exactly the kind of County Supervisor he is.
One of the hardest issues we face is the jail. Jon understands we need a solution that works for the county, for county employees, and for the people who are incarcerated there — and that means real leadership, not delay or division.
As chair, Jon has proven he can lead in difficult moments. He builds coalitions, believes in transparency and debate, and makes sure every voice is heard.
At a time when local communities are often caught between state and federal pressures, Jon will stand up for this county.
We need local leaders who understand not only what the law requires, but what the people demand.
Those early observations remain important to my endorsement.
With the Solon Area Democrats we arranged an early forum for all three candidates in the primary, the other two being Jessica Andino and Janet Godwin. They are both talented, accomplished people, and qualified to be a supervisor. However, after too many delays, it is time to build a new jail and Jon put the coalition together. We should enable him to finish this work after the push for the November ballot issue.
One more thing. The issue of changing the form of county government was promoted at the League of Women Voters District 2 supervisor forum April 18. I oppose the idea, which I first heard at the county convention from Sue Dvorsky. Jon opposes it, as well. Here is my thinking from the April 21, Cedar Rapids Gazette.
As mentioned at the top, I will support Democrats in November. We have to get through the primary first, without any self-inflicted wounds that give Republicans an advantage.
Editor’s Note: These endorsements are those of Paul Deaton, and not of Blog for Iowa or any of our great writers and supporters..
The period leading up to the June 2 primary is usually one of the quieter stretches on Iowa’s political calendar, and 2026 is following that pattern. Most candidates have entered their races, the filing deadline having passed in March, and ballots are largely set. For those facing competitive primaries, the work now is less about public engagement and more about methodical outreach—fundraising, calling through supporter lists, securing endorsements, and ensuring turnout operations are in place.
Meanwhile, many voters are focused elsewhere. Spring in Iowa brings farm planting, yard work, fishing, bicycling, and the general pull of being outdoors after a long winter, which tends to dampen political attention. Voter turnout for a midterm election is typically less than in presidential years.
The most visible local activity this week has come on the Republican side in southeast Iowa. Congressional candidate David Pautsch began deploying more yard and barn signs in his effort to unseat incumbent Mariannette Miller-Meeks as the party’s nominee. The increased sign presence stands out compared to his 2024 run, when such visibility was limited. Even so, the fundamentals appear to favor Miller-Meeks. Through her use of franking privileges and regular congressional newsletters, she has maintained consistent communication with Republican voters in the district. That kind of sustained visibility should translate into enough baseline support to withstand a primary challenge.
In the governor’s race, Rob Sand occupies a relatively quiet but advantageous position. Without a primary opponent, he is able to focus entirely on building a general election coalition. That means fundraising, message development, and outreach to constituencies that will matter in November rather than expending resources on intra-party competition. This kind of political space is valuable, particularly in a cycle where Democrats see a potential opening.
Party organizational activity continues in the background. District conventions on May 2, followed by the June 13 state convention are approaching. These gatherings tend to be dominated by party insiders and activists. They play a role in shaping party platforms and selecting certain nominees, yet they rarely capture broader public attention during this phase of the cycle.
While those outside political inner circles often overlook its activity, the Iowa Legislature continues to shape much of what affects Iowans day to day. Lawmakers are now working past the traditional 100-day session mark, moving into overtime as they negotiate final pieces of the state budget. This extended timeline reflects unresolved disagreements—primarily within the Republican majority itself.
Although Republicans control both chambers, they have not been aligned on spending priorities and policy details. Differences between factions—ranging from traditional conservatives to those pushing for sharper policy shifts—have slowed final agreements. That internal negotiation tends to happen largely out of public view, giving the impression of inactivity when most of the work is happening behind closed doors.
For most voters, the details of budget targets or policy language remain distant concerns, especially this time of year. Nonetheless, the outcome of the session will set the fiscal and policy baseline that candidates from both parties will campaign on through the summer and into November.
At the national level, Iowa received attention when the Democratic National Committee agreed to consider the state’s case to regain early-state status in the 2028 presidential nominating calendar, potentially even returning to first-in-the-nation. For now, this is more background noise than an active political force. The decision ultimately hinges on whether the DNC is willing to reverse its post-2020 shift away from Iowa. While some state Democrats actively make that case, it has not yet translated into widespread grassroots discussion. There may be developments in May, but there is just as much chance the issue remains unresolved for some time.
Stepping back, the larger landscape remains defined by a mix of opportunity and constraint. Democrats view 2026 as a cycle with unusual openings, driven in part by open seats and voter dissatisfaction. At the same time, Republicans retain a structural advantage in statewide races and voter registration. Any internal divisions that emerge in Republican primaries could have downstream effects, but for now, the balance of power has not fundamentally shifted. The weeks ahead are less about dramatic change and more about quiet positioning before the electorate engages closer to the primary.
Spring is also a great time to engage in the political process by attending a fund raiser or by volunteering for a candidate in an important primary race. Don’t have a candidate? The county party always needs your help.
Spring has sprung, and with it, opportunities to engage in the political process wait for your attention. Put it on your daily planner: do one thing each day to stay engaged in the political discussion that could change Iowa’s politics. Then, take a walk to consider that life is better than what our Republican politicians make it with their governance.
Mulberry tree lost some additional branches over winter, yet will still leaf out.
Last week I made my annual inspection of trees, bushes, and plants growing on our property. The large ones continue to deteriorate after the 2020 derecho damage. My rule is as long as they leaf out, I will leave them for another year. There will be an all-day project of cutting dead branches and making firewood from them.
The Pin Oak is in the best shape of the old ones, and the two new apple trees are coming right along. After cutting lilacs back dramatically, they are almost fully recovered. The legacy apple trees continue to die out, with only three of six left. The Red Delicious tree lost major branches during the derecho, and another large branch died over winter. There may be a harvest next year if it makes it that long.
I like the open spaces I created in the yard. The main pathway from the 25-acre woods to points west of our home is frequently used by deer. They leave their footprints all along the way. There don’t seem to be as many nesting songbirds in the row of trees with apple, pear, spruce, and mulberry. They seem to have moved across the yard to the neighbor’s patch of scrub growth. Maybe the nestlings are better shielded from predators there.
Due to moles and voles, our yard looks pretty disreputable. I have never been one to invest time or money in maintaining a lawn. Maybe it’s time to turn everything into an edible garden if I have the energy for that scale of work. In the meanwhile, the first mowing will reveal if there is anything positive about the lawn.
The next part of walkabout is climbing on the roof to inspect the shingles. I’ll wait until the maple tree begins to distribute seeds and clean the gutters at the same time.
This spring ritual has become a part of me. Here are a few photos from walkabout.
Autumn Blaze Maple Damage.Autumn Blaze Maple leafing out.Major crack in the Pin Oak tree trunk.Healing on the Pin Oak where I cut of a dead branch.The Red Delicious apple tree is a goner, yet there may be another harvest in 2027.The Blue Spruce is losing needles on the side toward an Earliblaze apple tree.
Soybeans coming out of the field in Johnson County.
The new by-district county supervisor election system mandated by the state is underway in Johnson County. Many candidates are running, and at least one incumbent will be ousted. With new people come new policies, including a proposal to adopt a county manager. This idea would have consequences.
The shift to district-based elections is already a significant change. It will alter representation and decision-making. Introducing another major change at the same time—restructuring county government—risks what process improvement specialists call “tampering” with a stable system, creating confusion about roles and accountability. It also raises the question of how a county manager position would be funded.
In the November election, voters will have an opportunity to weigh in indirectly. Candidates differ on whether they support a county manager system, giving voters a clear choice about the county’s direction. Before moving forward, residents deserve time to see the new election system in practice and to evaluate where candidates stand.
A county manager model may have merits, but it should be considered carefully, with full public understanding and input. Good governance requires not just sound ideas, but the discipline to implement change at a pace that preserves what already works. Whether the new board will have necessary discipline is an open question going into the midterm elections.
~ Published as a letter to the editor of the Cedar Rapids Gazetteon April 21, 2026.
Supporting the environment has changed since the first Earth Day. Then the president was aware of public support for protecting the environment and took concrete action. Now, the president couldn’t give two hoots in a holler about it, as evidenced by his support for copper mining in the Boundary Waters. Times have changed, even as the climate crisis knocks on our door daily with some new deviation from what used to be normal conditions.
I wrote about my personal progress in an unpublished memoir:
From Earth Day to Climate Reality
My advocacy for environmental causes came in two time periods: one that began in high school with the first Earth Day, and the second after joining the Johnson County Board of Health. Two and a half years after leaving the board of health, I joined the Climate Reality Project.
The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was part of a cultural phenomenon which got the president’s attention. I participated in the event while in high school. When the Council on Environmental Quality and the Environmental Protection Agency were created soon after, I felt a palpable relief. Government was taking responsibility. These actions assuaged my high school concerns about the environment. With the government now involved, I could turn my attention to other things.
While on the board of health, Maureen McCue and I were active advocating for regulation of toxins in the environment, especially for better air quality. This was a combination of my family’s history of working in coal mines, my grandfather’s suffering and death from black lung disease, and new concerns about air quality raised while I was on the board of health. The main work was to advocate against the use of coal for electricity in Iowa. Planned coal-fired power plants were held back in Waterloo and Marshalltown by a coalition of environmental groups of which we were a part.
The film An Inconvenient Truth was released in 2006 and won the Academy Award for best feature-length documentary of the year. It featured former Vice President Al Gore presenting the science and risks of climate change to a mass audience. Inspired by the force and clarity of that narrative, I traveled to Chicago in July 2013 and participated in the Climate Reality Leadership Program which trained us to present climate science and promote solutions in our communities.
Gore gave his Inconvenient Truth presentation twice, once as he had in the film, and then once on the second day with explanations about each point. During the training we learned about the latest science of climate change, best practices in public speaking, and connecting with an audience, communication strategies, social media, leadership skills, and community outreach and organizing.
The goal was to teach attendees to give the presentation ourselves and advocate for the environment in our home communities. In return for the training, I agreed to make 10 presentations using course materials. I would go on to attend training three more times, serving as a mentor to others. Importantly, I gave presentations where I could attract an audience: at an event at the Solon Public Library, and on farms, and throughout the region. Being a Climate Reality Leader helped me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself. I particularly enjoyed sitting with Al Gore and a small group of leaders at the Cedar Rapids training, talking about issues of the day.
Increased awareness of climate science helped me reinterpret a lifetime of weather. As a child, my father took me to the bank of the Mississippi River to see the record flood of 1965. The flood water seemed endless then and was unforgettable. At the time, it stood out as a singular event.
Singular events accumulated.
In April 1973, more than twenty inches of snow fell across Iowa in what should have been spring. In 1993, as we were building our home in Big Grove Township, a flood described as a 500-year event delayed construction by a month. In 2008, another “500-year” flood backed water into the watershed of a nearby 900-acre lake, stopping barely a hundred yards from our front door. The change in intensity of events was noticeable, particularly the flooding which had been commonplace when I was in grade school.
Precipitation was extreme, yet there were also heat waves. Farmers still talk about the 2012 drought. It was so hot and dry for such a long period that corn leaves curled upward to preserve moisture, and yields dropped sharply. Drought returned from 2020 through 2024, described by the state climatologist as the longest since the 1950s.
In 2019, I measured thirty-five degrees below zero at home as the foundation creaked and a lower-level window broke. On August 10, 2020, I watched a derecho tear through the neighborhood, damaging all but one tree on our lot and uprooting three entirely. Cleanup became routine. Repairs were expected.
Straight line winds, derechos, droughts, tornadoes, Iowa has always had severe weather. What changed was the frequency and the scale. Individually, each event could be dismissed as weather. Together, they formed a pattern. Climate Reality offered a way to address causes rather than consequences—to work upstream instead of continually rebuilding downstream. That was hopeful.
Politicians and industry were slow to respond to our advocacy. All the same, we kept at it. I had an opportunity to talk about coal-fired power plants with Bill Fehrman, then president and CEO of MidAmerican Energy, at an event at Old Brick in Iowa City. To say it politely, he knew how to handle me, pointing to their expansion into wind generated electricity and said they would eventually eliminate coal from their electricity generation mix. I made several trips to lobby in Des Moines with both Republicans and Democrats. With Democrats, I was preaching to the choir. Republicans appeared to listen.
I wrote letters to the editor and guest opinions, I was interviewed by radio and television reporters, I participated in large conferences and my own scheduled events. One time I gave an abbreviated version of the Inconvenient Truth lecture to three farmers while helping them plant crops at a nearby vegetable farm. I did what I could to raise awareness of the ongoing climate crisis.
According to weather sources, In April 2026 we had 5.69 inches of rain through the 17th. That is between 65% to 95% higher than average. We felt it on our homestead as precipitation kept me from most gardening until Friday when I attempted to put in a plot of cruciferous vegetables—curses, foiled again. A weird combination of changing air pressure, lightning, thunder, hail, rain, and wind persisted from 1:30 p.m. until dusk.
I did get the bed tilled and weed barrier applied. Saturday we had high winds, so I didn’t plant and pulled up fencing instead. On Sunday, I finished laying ground cover and put in the fence posts. Based on the weather forecast, I will plant cruciferous vegetables later today.
Cruciferous vegetable plot on April 17, 2026.
Big trees are leafing out. Both of these have cracks in the main trunk from the 2020 derecho, and eventually will be goners.
Pin Oak Tree on April 17, 2026Autumn Blaze Maple tree on April 17, 2026.
Radishes and turnips broke ground. Here are the radishes.
Radishes on April 17, 2026.
Temps dropped into the 30s over the weekend, so I put a space heater in the portable greenhouse Saturday night. The cold spell lasted through Monday.
I started what I believe will be the last indoors plants this week: cucumbers, squash, collards, and some more cauliflower and Asian greens. From here on, almost everything goes into the ground.
Finally, I cleared the burned plastic off this year’s tomato patch. The weed burn was a problem, as I couldn’t control which plot it burned and fire took out four of them, some with plastic weed barrier. Luckily, the scorched garlic plants have already recovered. Second week in and I’m making progress.
The rise of a shadow workforce—workers who perform essential labor without full rights or protections—is not a side issue in the American economy. It is rapidly becoming the model that reshapes work for everyone.
During an April 2020 interview with Kimberly Graham about her U.S Senate race, she laid a framework,
We are some of the hardest working people on the planet. Americans are very productive. We work hard but we are not seeing the rewards of that. We are falling further and further behind financially. More of us are hurting financially. We may have jobs, but yeah, we have two jobs because we can’t make it on one. There’s all the gig economy. We have fewer and fewer unions, fewer and fewer union jobs that come with benefits and come with a pension and all of that. (Blog for Iowa, Kimberly Graham – A Voice For ‘Us,‘ April 2, 2020).
Not much has changed for the better since Graham said this. Increasingly, a shadow workforce performs work, yet are not counted as employees on payrolls. This includes legally present independent contractors, freelancers, gig workers, temporary agency workers, and part-timers. It also includes undocumented workers who are not legally in the country. The work they do is real, yet legal protections are partial, inconsistent, or absent. There are risks in this.
In a discussion with local writer Joel Wells, he said in an email, “We are actively allowing the creation of a permanent underclass of workers with fewer rights, fewer protections, and no real voice. That is not speculation; it is already happening.”
Businesses are designed primarily to generate profit not jobs. That is why public policy must set the rules that protect workers.
Democrats must take the mantle in establishing and maintaining worker protections through policy. What is needed is a clear, understandable framework that voters can grasp and defend. Things like health insurance, retirement contributions, child care, and paid leave are a beginning. There should also be strong penalties for wage theft, labor standards enforcement regardless of immigration status, and whistleblower protections for vulnerable workers. Democrats should bring these issues to the forefront of policy discussions. Since FDR, Democrats have stood firmly with labor. That relationship needs revisiting.
If neglected, the shadow workforce can be normalized, lowering standards for everyone. It has begun to spread… to everyone.
When work is pushed into the shadows, rights disappear first—wages and standards follow. Bringing that work back into the light is not just about fairness for some workers. It is about protecting the future of work for all.
When politicians come after public libraries it gets my dander up. Libraries have become part of who I am and without them we would all be something less. The administration, which doesn’t give a fig about me and what I think, is at it again.
The president’s proposed budget seeks to eliminate funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It may sound familiar: in 2025, the administration, working with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), attempted to drastically shrink or effectively dismantle the agency—placing staff on leave, freezing or cutting grants, and issuing an executive order to reduce it to a “minimum presence.” In response, people across the country and across the political spectrum took the fight to court, where federal judges blocked most of those efforts. The outcome underscores a simple truth: public libraries and museums continue to matter deeply to both rural and urban communities.
Mine is a simple question: Why can’t the fact that we love our public libraries and museums be enough to ensure their persistence?
What does IMLS do? It is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. IMLS provides grants to libraries that need to replace technology and infrastructure. Among other things, they are directly involved with funding Inter-library Loans, Books for the Blind, preserving veterans’ stories, funding resources for those associated with people who are autistic, providing disaster preparedness for libraries and museums, sustaining Native American libraries, and more. Could we live without these services? Maybe, but not as well.
I read the Republican arguments about ending federal funding for libraries and museums, saying they should be managed by the states. If IMLS goes away, as the administration’s budget proposes, it would affect a number of local museums that rely on project-based grants to fund operations. These museums include the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, the African American Museum of Iowa, and the Iowa Children’s Museum. All of these are sources of pride in the community.
Yes, our federal elected officials may tire of us calling so frequently. However, our public resistance is how we tell them we care about our libraries and museums even if politicians don’t.
The U.S. Capitol switchboard phone number is (202) 224-3121. You can call this number to be connected directly to any Senator’s or Representative’s office by providing your zip code or the name of your representative. Let them know how you feel about shuttering IMLS.
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