Be The Poll – Duuuude

As I noted yesterday, the Illinois Senate approved legislation legalizing marijuana for medical use. Minnesota’s governor vetoed a similar bill last week.
During the last Iowa legislative session. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, D-Iowa City, floated the idea but eventually dropped it.
Officials in several states have talked about it, especially the idea of taxing legal pot to raise [...]

Salier v. King

U.S. Rep. Steve King disagrees with the Iowa Supreme Court’s gay marriage ruling and wants Iowans to vote on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex unions. But he’s smart enough to know that government officials still must abide by court rulings.
But conservative “activist” Bill Salier says King has gone lefty soft. It may take a primary to set his [...]

Thursday Column — Swastikas

The swastika just won’t die.
There they were again Sunday morning, this time painted on 80 cars and some houses in Cedar Rapids. They were hastily drawn, judging by photos I saw, but unmistakable. “Springtime for Hitler,” without the music and laughs.
I know what some of you are thinking. It was probably just stupid kids or [...]

What are the Neighbors Up To?

The Illinois Senate approved legislation yesterday that would legalize marijuana for medical uses. From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
The measure would allow people suffering from unrelenting pain or nausea due to a narrow list of conditions — including cancer, HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis or Crohn’s disease — to use marijuana if prescribed by a doctor.
Physicians who [...]

County Bonding Update

Linn County Supervisor Lu Barron and county staffers visited The Gazette’s editorial board this afternoon to discuss issues surrounding the possibility of floating bonds to expanded the county’s Administrative Office Building, or AOB.
Last week, supervisors talked about using new powers granted by the Iowa Legislature allowing counties and cities hit by disasters to sell bonds without first [...]

While You Were Sleeping

Gov. Chet Culver wielded his veto pen just before a midnight deadline last night to take final actions on the work product of the 2009 legislative session. The press release popped on my BlackBerry around midnight.
I can’t remember a governor wrapping up his work in the dark of night like this.
The Des Moines Register and [...]

Iowa SCOTUS Reax

So what are Iowa politicos saying about President Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court of the United States?
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Mike Kiernan. He likes her:
“Today President Obama delivered on his promise with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. Sotomayor’s stirring life story and outstanding career – at nearly every level of our [...]

Participation Garden Update

Finally got most of the Dorman family “Participation Garden” planted over the holiday weekend. The Obamas have a “Victory Garden”  outside the White House, but we’re only hoping for a few nice parting gifts. A few tomatoes, some peas and maybe some chili peppers.  Thanks for playing.

There have been some snags.
Earlier this month, while turning [...]

Thoughts on CR’s New (Temporary) Slogan

Since the flood, temporary has become the new permanent in Cedar Rapids. So we might as well have a temporary city slogan, too.
In case you missed it, the deciders who make these sort of calls have temporarily replaced our familiar “City of the Five Seasons” slogan with “The Fifth Season of Progress.”
In 30 days, the [...]

Tuesday Column – Diamond Days

Years ago living in Sioux City, I went to many minor league ball games. The hometown Explorers play in the Northern League, unaffiliated teams with mix of young hopefuls and aging veterans.
I remember seeing an ex-big leaguer, whose name escapes me, smack a ground ball to right. As he chugged up the line, the outfielder [...]