The election is three weeks away and it will be anti-climactic in Big Grove Township. There are two candidates for two open school board seats and that’s it. The incumbents are competent people and they earned my support this election. We haven’t decided when and where we will vote, yet in all likelihood it will be at our regular polling place on election day.
Our household is following the news and we’re looking for some positive light. It has been in short supply. It seems the Middle East War will expand beyond Hamas and Israel despite President Joe Biden’s competent management of American support for Israel and the Palestinian people. Expansion of the conflict is not certain, yet there are so many players and so many years of hostilities and conflict, dodging a broader war seems impossible. It is not a good, short-term sign that Israelis are turning against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right wing divisiveness at this moment.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans have yet to elect a speaker after removing Kevin McCarthy on Oct. 5. We have until Nov. 17 to pass a budget or the government will face another cliff and need to pass a second continuing resolution. I’m okay with the Republican plan to pass individual spending bills instead of an omnibus or minibus bill. The clock is running out on their ability to do so and gain U.S. Senate agreement.
Iowa is literally turning into a sick place to live. Our leading causes of death (2021 data) are heart disease and cancer. Iowa is ranked 16th among the states in deaths from heart disease and 24th from cancer. Since 2021, data from the Iowa Cancer Registry indicates Iowa has the second highest incidence rate of cancer in the country. With harvest in full swing, particulate matter in the air is at high levels, afflicting people with respiratory diseases. A report released yesterday indicated Iowans’ incidence of COPD is higher than the national average. Rates of chronic lower respiratory diseases in Iowa are the fifth leading cause of death.
It is important to keep hope alive, despite the challenges of doing so.
Journey Home 
You must be logged in to post a comment.