State park trail entry point.

Journey Home

Tales from the pilgrimage.

Blog for Iowa

  • A Climate Action for Every Iowan

    Iowa Public Television devoted its weekly Iowa Press program to climate change. Dr. Gene Takle, Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University and Dr. David Courard-Hauri, Professor and Director of the Environmental Science and Policy Program at Drake University faced reporters David Pitt with Associated Press and Katarina Sostaric of Iowa Public Radio. No new ground… Read more

  • Getting Attention on Climate Change

    Ed Fallon is a friend of Blog for Iowa and we support what he does with his radio program and his advocacy against oil and natural gas pipelines in Iowa. He caught the attention of Democrats in Cedar Rapids last weekend with a performance art piece, staged by his group Bold Iowa, in which three… Read more

  • Algae and the Politics of Denial

    During his July 8 speech on the environment, the president mentioned his administration’s fight with “toxic algae” in Florida 50 miles from his Mar-a-Lago resort. Bruce Hrobak, a bait and tackle shop owner in Port St. Lucie, Fla. gave a testimonial at the event about the great job he thought the federal government did to… Read more

  • Toward a Challenger for Joni Ernst

    Two of three people running for the Democratic nomination to be U.S. Senator from Iowa spoke at State Senator Zach Wahls’ birthday fundraiser at Walker Homestead in Johnson County on Sunday. Clutching a microphone in one hand and her hand-written speech notes in the other, Theresa Greenfield of Des Moines went second to last in… Read more

  • Can Democrats Change The ‘Roberts Five’ Majority?

    If Democrats hope to undo the conservative lean of the United States Supreme Court it won’t be as simple as Republicans had it in 2016. Many said the 2016 general election was as much about the Supreme Court as it was about electing a president. It was a unique historical opportunity, where appointing two associate… Read more

  • Can A Democrat Beat Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell?

    Former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath announced she was running to beat Kentucky U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell in the Nov. 3, 2020 general election. She raised $2.5 million during the first 24 hours after her announcement. With 20 years in the United States Marine Corps and 89 combat missions under her belt, she demonstrated substantial… Read more

  • Support for Rita Hart

    I first heard Rita Hart, candidate for U.S. Congress in Iowa’s second district, speak on Friday, June 26, 2015, at Gil’s Restaurant, Ballroom and Limousine Service in Clinton at the Clinton County Democrats Hall of Fame Dinner. I have no recollection of what she said as the number of speakers was large, and my memory… Read more

  • We’ve Got to Do Something

    Over the weekend Erin Murphy, a Lee Enterprises Des Moines based reporter, said it was quiet in Iowa’s congressional primary races. “Perhaps in the coming weeks and months, some of these quieter primary races will become more crowded,” Murphy wrote in the Quad City Times. “For now, though, the fairly low level of interest from… Read more

  • Independence Day 2019

    Happy Independence Day… reluctantly. I’ve not been a fan of the Independence Day holiday since military service. It’s not that I paid much attention to it previously. As a military officer I had time to reflect on the meaning of independence while stationed far from home among strangers. People celebrate the Declaration of Independence and… Read more

  • Iran Deal Update

    Except for the president and members of his administration, the world supports the Iran Deal negotiated by the Obama administration with key allies and Iran. On June 28, Austria, Belgium, Finland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden, which are not party to the agreement, issued a statement supporting the Iran Deal: “(We) attach the utmost… Read more