The week began with planting onions: Patterson (yellow) and Blush (red). In a kitchen garden one cannot grow enough onions to support meals. In my case, the garden has been hit or miss in producing a good onion crop. After planting six rows, I threw up a temporary fence before heading indoors for the rest of the day.
Legislature Adjourns Sine Die
By 4:25 a.m. on Saturday, April 20, the Iowa legislature adjourned and could do no further damage to regular folk. Shortly afterward, the Governor issued a press release touting their accomplishments. What stood out to me was this paragraph about charter schools,
Charter School Expansion: Adjusts per pupil funding to support educational freedom opportunities and allows vacant or underutilized public school district facilities to be available for lease or purchase by nonpublic or charter schools. (SF 2368)
Gov. Reynolds Statement on 2024 Legislative Session, April 20, 2024.
If there were any clearer message Republicans are going after public schools, I don’t know what it could be when they make provisions for disposal of public school property.
Blog for Iowa
Wrapped up my work filling in for Dave Bradley at Blog for Iowa while his family moved to a new home. During this tenure, I wrote 38 posts on a range of topics. Most of them were cross-posted here so readers wouldn’t miss any. It felt good to write on a regularly scheduled basis. It also feels good to be free of the commitment as garden planting ramps up and my work on an autobiography enters a new writing stage.
A Late 50th High School Class Reunion
Our high school graduating class missed our 50th reunion because of the coronavirus pandemic. We decided not to wait any longer and are holding it this July. I volunteered to work the interface between the reunion planning committee and our fellow high school classmates. From my previous experience, it is the best job. I’m enjoying reading the emails with RSVPs and the contact it brings. In this role, I am privileged to interact with almost every classmate engaged with the school, whether they plan to come or not. I expect to attend the main event in July.
Political Event
On Saturday, the Solon Area Democrats hosted a Meet and Greet at the public library. Eight Democratic candidates who attended are running in the June 4 primary. In our county, the supervisor primary is usually the determinant of the general election outcome. There are five supervisor candidates for three seats this cycle. They are all decent people. This was our kick off event for the November election. I’ll have more comments about politics as the campaigns progress.
The pressure to get plants in the garden soil is on. On a related note, I’m running out of indoors places to put seedlings. Here’s hoping for a productive time between now and Memorial Day.
Journey Home 
One reply on “Weekly Journal 2024-04-28”
Agree on the Pattersons. Seem to last throughout the winter much better than some of the others. We start ours from seed (by the dozens, in little flats) which allows for more diversity in the various types that otherwise aren’t available as sets. Seems one can never have enough onions (and garlic) for home cooked winter cuisine. Reading these posts gets me motivated. Interesting how motivated and energetic you are. Most guys in our age group need a strong willed wife to be cracking the whip on us in keeping us on track… You seem to be able to generate self motivation all on your own. Just another reason (among others) why I find these posts so fascinating. Keep the good work.
LikeLiked by 1 person