State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Living in Society

Politics mostly social commentary.

  • Not Much of a Boycott

    Word from a friend was to leave discussion of the Solon city council’s minimum wage vote at home when I visit later in the week. It’s nice to know stuff like that in advance. More than a few locals are upset about the decision to lower the city’s minimum wage to the state figure after… Read more

  • Thursday in the County

    Leaves of soybeans turn, painting a landscape of green, amber and gold as the plants die, pods wither and beans dry in the field. Tall corn is also losing its green, its growing season done. Soon harvest will be here. Freedom comes with being an unpaid blogger. Posting what I will with only the sense… Read more

  • Letter to the Solon Economist

    I attended the Solon City Council meeting regarding the minimum wage ordinance passed on Sept. 16. This is a discussion worth having in the extended Solon community as we celebrate our dodransbicentennial. A couple of things are worth mentioning. It served no purpose for outside parties to participate in the discussion. Those from Davenport and… Read more

  • Takes From the Solon City Council Meeting

    SOLON — The Solon City Council received more than 50 media and members of the public in its chambers this evening. In a unanimous vote, council rejected the Johnson County ordinance to raise the minimum wage in favor of state regulations. They collapsed three required readings into this one, so the decision is final. Seventeen… Read more

  • Mau-mauing the City Council

    RURAL JOHNSON COUNTY — A group of advocates from the county seat is expected to arrive in nearby Solon for tonight’s city council meeting at 5:30 p.m. On the agenda is an ordinance by which the City of Solon would opt out of the county mandate to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 per hour… Read more

  • Late Fall Reflections

    Leaves are beginning to fall from the Green Ash trees. Those on the two early apple trees have been down more than a week. The garden is producing and likely will until the hard frost comes in mid-October. This time, more than any in the year, is for work at home. Today’s to-do list includes… Read more

  • Raising the Wage in Solon – Or Not

    RURAL JOHNSON COUNTY — The nearby City of Solon is concerned about the impact of the recently passed county ordinance to raise the minimum wage. The city council doesn’t buy in, local businesses don’t buy in. On Sept. 10, the Johnson County Board of Supervisors held the last of three readings of a new ordinance… Read more

  • Coming Around (To A Presidential Pick)

    From my earliest awareness I believed in free will and in joining together with others to accomplish common good. Self-reliance, natural freedom, and Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s idea that “the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody,” have been a part of me for as long as I can remember.… Read more

  • Thursday Trifecta

    Yesterday brought a truckload of news on three important issues: nuclear non-proliferation, the Iowa caucuses and local worklife. Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked a vote on legislation intended to derail the process of bringing the Islamic Republic of Iran into compliance with its obligations under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. By signing and ratifying the… Read more

  • Back to a Non-partisan School Board

    Voter turnout in yesterday’s Solon school board election dropped from 834 votes in 2013 (18.4 percent of registered voters) to 281 votes (8.18 percent). What happened? The district is moving on after a 10-year cycle of electing politicized and mostly conservative board members to finding a less political, middle ground focused on doing what’s right for… Read more