SULLIVAN'S SALVOS

December 29, 2021

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/4/22

In this edition:

*Welcome to 2022!

*Tony in the House!

*Joe Manchin

*Real Research

*Poor Farm Cemetery

*Did You Know?

*Welcome to 2022!

Happy New Year! Here’s to a better and brighter year ahead! I have never been big on New Year’s resolutions – you can see that by my weight! But I certainly welcome the “fresh start” feel of the New Year. I hope 2022 is good to you and yours!

*Tony in the House!

My good friend Tony Currin has announced his candidacy for Iowa House District 89 in southern Iowa City. I am really excited for Tony, and excited for the people of HD89!

Tony checks a lot of demographic boxes – he is a gay African American labor activist who is also a US Army Vet. He has spent thousands of hours volunteering for various candidates and causes. More importantly, Tony is extremely intelligent, hardworking, compassionate, caring, and friendly. Tony will do a great job for HD89!

I do not live in the District, but I strongly support Tony Currin for HD89! You can learn more about Tony’s campaign at: https://www.facebook.com/tonyintheh0use.

*Joe Manchin

If you are like me, you are convinced that there is a special place in Hell for the Senator from West Virginia. Seldom in American history has a single person had the power to help so many and refused. It is truly appalling.

But please remember two things:

1.) Biden and Dems in the US House and Senate still need to work with Manchin. They undoubtedly feel even worse than we do. But they still have to try to squeeze some decency from him.

2.) We are in this predicament because *ZERO* Republicans will vote for any piece of Biden’s agenda. ZERO. Not one vote for poor children. Not one vote for parental or medical leave. Not one vote to expand Medicare. Not one vote to address climate change. Not one vote for taxing the super rich. Not one!

Remember these things when we talk to our neighbors and friends! Manchin will be gone soon, but most of the opposition will remain.

*Real Research

I saw a Facebook post yesterday about COVID. One of the posters was complaining about his opinion being dismissed. He said, "Do you have any idea how long I've been studying this stuff?"

The guy is in the music industry, not science. So I am going to assume his interest in COVID started about the time it became news. He might have begun studying in January 2020, though March 2020 is more likely.

Does he understand how long it takes to get a Ph.D. in Epidemiology? Four years for a Batchelor's Degree. Then if you can even get in, 3 years for a Master’s Degree. Then if you are brilliant and can get in, 5 years for a Ph.D. Then you'll probably need to do a post doc for a couple years. That is 14 years of really challenging school. 50 hours per week for 14 years, learning from some of the smartest people we have. Then you go to work on your own research, and continue the learning process for yourself and others.

Virologist? That is even more difficult and perhaps longer. Pulmonologist? Same thing. Cardiologist? Same thing.

These are some of the very smartest people and best students our education system produces. (And not just ours. The whole planet has Ph.D. students at American universities.) They spend whole lifetimes studying this stuff.

The idea that their work is not questioned? Unbelievable. My wife is a scientist. Every single thing she does is questioned. Once you can get it through your own lab, it goes for peer review. These people are smart, and they are gunning for you. They desperately WANT to find your mistakes. Then it goes through a process to be accepted in a journal - yet another review. Then it is published, and people attempt to replicate it.

So you spent two and a half years on the internet researching whatever Q said? Congratulations. You are only 14 years of incredibly challenging school away from me giving a shit what you think.

*Poor Farm Cemetery

As you may know, Johnson County has been gradually making improvements to the Historic Poor Farm. Small farmers and nonprofits are farming the land. Almost all of the buildings have been refurbished. Environmental efforts are at work. Signage, driveway, and parking improvements will be finished this spring. It is truly on the verge of being one of the coolest spots in Johnson County!

One particular area has been problematic, however. The Poor Farm has an onsite cemetery. Unfortunately, there are very few records available, and the whole area had simply been marked with a large wooden cross. Obviously, this site has significant cultural significance. But what in the world do we do with it? We don’t even know the actual boundaries. And the last thing we want to do is behave insensitively when human remains are involved.

Luckily, there have been a couple of specialists from the University of Iowa who have brought their expertise to bear on the project. Back in 2009, Dr. Glen Story from the UI used ground penetrating radar to look at the area. He determined that there were very likely graves present.

That led us to engage Dr. Jennifer Mack from the UI. After explaining to us how they could do so in a culturally sensitive manner, she and her crew spent several months digging 5 trenches at the site. Dr. Mack recently released a report to the Board as to her findings.

The Poor Farm came into existence in 1855, and it is conceivable that burials began taking place right away. By that point in local history, many townships had already established cemeteries, but the spot at the Poor Farm would have been used for the indigent. While burials began in 1855, the records are poor. We really don’t know who or how many people were buried there until about 1880, when better records were kept. The last recorded burial there was in 1901.

Adding to the confusion are several historical questions. Were “typical” burial processes followed in the case of transients? What about people with severe disabilities, who were often discriminated against in other ways? There are some records of bodies from the Poor Farm being used by the UIHC to train doctors; what happened with those remains? Could less typical burial processes (think mass graves) have been used in some cases? These are but a few of the many questions that remain.

Dr. Mack’s findings are really interesting. She estimates a maximum of 245 individuals are buried in this spot. She wowed us with a slide show that demonstrated how they look for disturbances in the soil, and how they match up perfectly with graves. I was floored by the number 245, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been. 1855-1900 is 45 years; that is only 6 burials per year. And people who lived at the Poor Farm undoubtedly died at higher rates than the general public.

There were other fascinating bits of data. There are several very small graves, about the size of pediatric graves you would see today. Are these actually children? If so, why so many? If not, why use such a small plot?

Unfortunately, we may never have all the answers. But thanks to Dr. Mack’s work, we now know much more than we did. We now have an area we can protect, mark, and treat with the reverence it deserves.

Soon there will be a better cemetery marker, and an interpretive sign explaining both what we know and the questions that remain in terms of the Poor Farm Cemetery.

*DID YOU KNOW? The history of the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm was captured in the listing of the site on the National Register of Historic Places in September of 2014. This report, conducted by Leah Rogers, Director of Tallgrass Historians, outlines a very detailed account of the genesis of Poor Farms in America, the historic building structures, and the day-to-day life of residents.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

www.johnsoncountyiowa.gov.

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

---Rod

December 22, 2021

Happy New Year to all Salvos readers! I hope you and your loved ones enjoy a wonderful 2022!

2021 is coming to a close, and it is time for honoring a few select Johnson County residents with that most treasured of honors, the Salvos Salute. A few observations:

* This is the sixteenth annual set of awards, and there are always more people who deserve awards than there are awards to give. We live in a great County!

* The focus is on Johnson County. It is certainly worth noting the daily heroism of someone like our firefighters, police, and paramedics. There are also examples that garner international attention. But we have everyday heroes right here in Johnson County that deserve a shout out.

* There are some people out there that could win every year. I am trying to honor different folks, but repeat winners are not out of the question.

* Salvos Salutes do not have specific criteria, but you can bet that in general, most of the winners are courageous, advocate for peace and justice, have good ideas, speak truth to power, avoid hypocrisy, and look out for the less fortunate.

John Boller: The Executive Director of the Coralville Food Pantry, John has built that organization into a thriving, necessary piece of the local social safety net. In addition to running a nonprofit very well, John is a champion for those with less, a big advocate for all types of social justice, and a really nice person.

Becci Reedus: Becci started at Community Crisis Services during the 2008 floods, and retired during the COVID pandemic. Despite the rough beginning and end, Becci’s tenure saw Community successfully serve thousands of our neediest neighbors. Thank you, Becci, for all your years of great work!

Frank Lalor: 25 years ago, he helped to found Table to Table. In 2021, Frank decided to retire, leaving an incredible legacy. T2T has delivered over 25 million pounds of food during that time, feeding thousands of our neighbors while keeping good food out of the landfill. It was a great idea then, and even better now. Thanks, Frank!

Brian Finley: An Application Developer in the UI IT Department, Brian recognized that the State of Iowa had done nothing to get people signed up for vaccinations. So Brian put his know-how to use, and created a Twitter account - @IAVaccineAlerts – that automatically Tweeted out vaccine openings across the state. Tens of thousands of Iowans are safer today because of Brian’s efforts!

Kris Brown: Instead of relaxing after her retirement as the Director of the Solon Public Library, Kris went straight to work as a volunteer with Solon Senior Advocates. She got so much accomplished that Solon Senior Advocates named her the Senior of the Year! Knowing Kris, this comes as no surprise. Congratulations, Kris!

Doug Lindner: The greater Solon community suffered a huge loss when Doug Lindner decided to leave the newspaper business and take up farming in SE Iowa. The Solon Economist and North Liberty Leader long set the standard for journalism in Johnson County. When big papers said they couldn’t possibly cover the school board AND the city council, the Economist covered both, and the Supervisors to boot! Great local news coverage CAN be done. And if you want to know how, ask Doug Lindner!

Stu Mullins: After spending decades at United Action for Youth, Stu Mullins decided to hang it up. It would be a huge mistake to underestimate the impact this one person has had on decades worth of Johnson County youth. Whether in direct service or just keeping the doors open, Stu’s contributions to UAY are immeasurable. To top it off, he is a killer musician and a wonderful guy!

John Lundell: It was not long ago that Coralville’s relationships with Iowa City, North Liberty, and Johnson County were in very bad shape. Right now, those relationships are as strong as they have been in my memory. What happened? New leadership in a few key roles – notably John Lundell as Mayor of Coralville. John is an excellent communicator, hard worker, and straight shooter. He has done a very nice job, and has certainly earned this retirement! Thanks, John! I hope there are many Hawkeye games in your future!

Terry Donohue: North Liberty continues to experience growing pains – even though we have been saying that since the ‘80s! But over the past decade or so, folks have had few worries when it came to the role of Mayor. Terry Donahue has handled the role very capably and thoughtfully since 2017. Every politician says something about “listening to all opinions.” And I believe most are sincere. But I can’t think of anyone who really lives that out as much as Terry Donahue. He is a great guy with a great sense of humor, and he will be missed.

Jim Bartels: This Tiffin City Councilor is retiring after having served over 30 years in office! A lot has changed in Tiffin in 30 years, but one constant during that time has been Jim’s steady hand. It is not easy to serve on a City Council – especially when the city is undergoing great changes. Through it all, Jim has always been kind, thoughtful, and hard working. Thanks for your service, Jim!

Anji Jordan: Many good things are happening on the SE side of Iowa City. And if you look closely, you will likely find Anji Jordan right in the middle of it! From helping families navigate COVID to getting a beautiful community mural painted to getting kids bikes to helping pass a Self-Supported Municipal Improvement District (SSMID) to knitting to Chairing Better Together to well… basically doing everything, Anji is an irresistible force for good! We are SO lucky to have her as a part of our community! Keep up the great work!

Tracy Jon Sargeant: Tracy Jon is the founder of MDC Iowa. I will use his own words to describe his efforts: “The Multicultural Development Center of Iowa (MDC Iowa) is determined to create opportunities for Black, Indigenous, People of Color to pursue a STEM-related degree or career even if it is only one student of color at a time. MDC Iowa exists to create a more diverse workforce and increase the pipeline of BIPOC students interested in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, that will get us one step closer to STEM more accurately representing the communities that it serves." Tracy Jon is a cool guy. He’s going to get this done!

Crissy Canganelli: It is never easy when your job is to address the problem of housing and homelessness. It is a challenge made even more difficult when a small but vocal portion of our community decides to attack everything you do. We are lucky to have Chrissy Canganelli, folks! She is ethical, dedicated, smart, and has put Johnson County ahead of 99% of all the counties in the country when it comes to addressing homelessness. We have not eradicated this problem; we likely never will. But we are making great strides! Thank you, Crissy, for leading the charge!

Donna Brooks, Allison Wells, and Ray Forsythe: The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) is a huge, complex piece of legislation, the likes of which we have not seen since the FDR Administration tackled the Great Depression. While it offers great opportunities to local governments, it requires – as Allison said – “building the plane while you are flying it.” These three County staff people have stepped up and met the ARPA challenge, and done a fantastic job. If the task wasn’t hard enough, a sickening collection of local trolls has attempted to make these staff people miserable in and out of public meetings. But staff have not allowed the trolls to get them down. I am so impressed with the their positive, can-do attitudes! Thanks, all!

Cecilia Norris: We are 50 years in, and the Free Medical Clinic just keeps serving people who have no other access to heath care. One of the key players there is Dr. Cecilia Norris, who has done yeoman’s work in her 16 years as Medical Director. While her direct service is critical, Dr. Norris gets this Salute for her tireless efforts to combat misinformation around COVID-19 and the vaccines. Dr. Norris was constantly trying to correct misinformation and put out the correct info, whether at work, on social media, or whenever asked. It may seem futile, Cecilia, but I know you have saved lives. Please keep up the great work!

Tom Larkin (again): Mr. Larkin is a rare two-time winner of a Salvos Salute! Last time, Tom was honored for his excellent work representing US Senator Tom Harkin. This time, Tom is being recognized for being a great friend and a great realtor! As I have noted, my family and I are moving after 21 years in the same place. We couldn’t do it without Tom’s knowledge, kindness, patience, persistence, and friendship. Thanks, Tom!

*DID YOU KNOW? 225 individuals/groups have received a Salvos Salute since they were started in 2006.

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

December 16, 2021

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday!

If you have the opportunity, tune in to the Disney streaming service for the “Beatles-Get Back” documentary. It is about 8 hours of barely edited video from the Fab Four as they put together what ended up being their final album.

The footage is fascinating for many reasons: it is interesting to see John and Paul interact, still caring deeply for each other yet knowing that their time together is ending.

But really, the thing for me is watching Paul McCartney work. Over the course of three weeks, he just sits down and writes an album’s worth of music, all the while being distracted and interrupted, and unable to get much help from the others. Not to mention the fact that he creates four incredible songs (Two of Us, The Long and Winding Road, Get Back, and Let it Be) in the process.

It is so rare that average people get to see a genuine genius at work. That is on display in this documentary, and it is truly amazing to behold. Watch it if you get the chance!

It is not a popular position to hold in Iowa, but I think we need to reimagine the way we do agriculture. And there are opportunities to act now that would be to the benefit of us all.

For starters, look at the ongoing droughts in the American west. Why divert millions of gallons of water to agriculture in the west when most of those crops could be grown right here? That would allow westerners to respond to the drought, while we use our great soil to produce more actual food.

According to experts at Iowa State, all of the following vegetables thrive in Iowa and could do so at scale: kale, spinach, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, beets, green onions, lettuce, arugula, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, beans, and radishes! We can grow just about everything!

My guess is that farmers in the west would hate the idea of ending production. But how much are we willing to spend to keep them in business? They are being heavily subsidized either way. So why use up all the water? It would be cheaper and better for the planet to pay them NOT to grow anything.

Farmers in the Midwest would hate it, too. 1) People dislike change. 2) Farmers would need some new equipment. 3) Growing the crops would be more labor intensive. 4) It would be viewed as Communist.

But, Midwest farmers may NEED to consider something different soon. Because we are quickly moving to electric vehicles. What does that mean for farmers in the Midwest? Well, 33% of all corn goes toward ethanol. That ethanol will not be needed in electric vehicles. The market for a third of our corn could disappear. Shifting that cropland to food production makes a lot of sense.

Or, farmers can get on the solar train! Consider the following stats from Bill Nussey:

If you compare the energy utility of an acre of solar panels to an acre of corn, the acre of solar wins by a landslide.

Each year, one acre of corn produces 551 gallons of ethanol, which is the equivalent of 386 gallons of gas. Using the average miles per gallon of a US automobile, this equates to 9691 miles driven per acre of corn per year.

In Iowa, an acre of solar panels produces 198,870 kilowatt hours each year. A typical EV drives approximately 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour. So, each year, an acre of solar panels produces enough energy for an EV to drive 710,250 miles. This is over 70 times the distance the same acre producing corn could provide.

Unlike ethanol, an acre of solar can power anything attached to the grid. The same Iowa acre, for instance, could also be used to provide 18 average US homes with electricity for the year.

The financial utility of replacing corn with solar also promises huge gains for farmers. For example, it is not uncommon for a farmer to make two to three times more money per acre leasing to solar rather than planting corn. Solar also guarantees a steady stream of revenue, unlike corn which stands the risk of crop failure and price volatility.

Nussey doesn’t even talk about the environmental benefits of less nitrogen and phosphate in the water supply, and more of our precious soil remaining in place. And the red herrings that are constantly brought up about taking up farmland? If we simply exchange the amount of land dedicated to ethanol for land dedicated to vegetables and solar? Plus solar panels are easy to remove. What a huge win!

It is well past time that we consider doing some things differently when it comes to agriculture. Let’s get ahead of the curve and put our land to work in a better way!

In our fifth and final installment of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) series, we will discuss where the money is actually going.

The following breakdown is based upon the US Treasury Department guidelines for categorically reporting expenditures:

Johnson County chose to put nothing into Premium Pay for Workers, and nothing in Revenue Replacement.

To get more specific, we put approximately $5.5m in poverty programs, $4.7m in childcare, $4.4m in affordable housing, $3.5m in Conservation, $2.3m in Public Health, $2m to excluded workers, $1.3m to minority benefit, $1.2 to local nonprofits, $700,000 to local food and the Poor Farm, and $200,000 to local arts organizations.

As you can see, the vast majority of the ARPA funding has been designated to the people who need it most. I am very proud of that. I stand by it.

While we were presented with some great proposals for new programs, I tried to steer us away from new programs. The reason is simple – I have doubts that we could maintain these programs after the ARPA money goes away. I tried to apply that same logic when it came to the expansion of existing programs. I know we can operate these programs, because we already do so. But can we afford to double the size of a program? Should we instead look at a smaller increase? That was certainly part of our discussion.

It is pretty wild; I never expected getting $29 million dollars in federal money to be a negative. But the complaints that have come in from all directions have been kind of shocking. It must be like winning the lottery, then having all your second cousins descend upon you.

I hope we can all work to change this narrative. The $29 million in ARPA money is going to make some very positive impacts that will be felt for a long time to come.

We live in a GREAT county! Why? Because of the great people that live here! Unfortunately, we rarely do enough to acknowledge these wonderful people and the wonderful things they do.

That is why I really look forward to Salvos Salutes. It provides an opportunity to mention just a few of these cool people and the good things they do. I hope you look forward to it as well!

Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-

"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.

These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.

If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.

If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan29@gmail.com with "subscribe" in the subject line.

As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!

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