SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
September 8, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 9/11/25
In this edition:
*Thank you, Laurie Haag!
*Wilson’s Orchard
*Caucus Versus Primary
*United Way Community Needs Assessment
*Good Work by Johnson County!
*Did You Know?
*Thank you, Laurie Haag!
My friend Laurie Haag recently announced her retirement from the University of Iowa, and I did not want to let that pass without a shout out.
Laurie has been a longtime stalwart presence at the Women’s Resource and Action Center (WRAC), and is a longtime local musician. She founded the Iowa Women’s Music Festival and kept it going for over 20 years. She created Girls Rock! Iowa City. And so much more.
Personally, I will always cherish Laurie as a person who showed patience and understanding with me. I was fresh off the farm, and very naïve when I hit Iowa City. I was naturally inclined to be an ally in her LGBTQ+ work, but I did not know how. Rather than noting that I was a fool and shoving me aside, she gently taught me how to do better. I think Laurie did that with hundreds of people over the years, and our community is better for it.
Thank you, Laurie, for all your good work, and congratulations on your retirement!
*Wilson’s Orchard
I’d like to encourage you to visit my friend Paul Rasch at Wilson’s Orchard. Paul is a great guy doing great things with a great place!
Located just a few miles north of Iowa City, just off Highway 1, Wilson’s Orchard has been around a long time. If you have never been there, go! There are 120 types of apples, but much, much more. It really is a local treasure, and people of all ages should visit! It is particularly a “must-do” for the kids and grandkids!
For more information, see: http://www.wilsonsorchard.com.
*Caucus Versus Primary
I have written this before, but I feel very strongly that the Iowa Democratic Party needs to give up on the idea of caucuses.
First, let me be clear – I am not talking about the issue of First in the Nation. As far as I am concerned, the two issue need to be separate.
The argument is simple: in order to participate in the caucuses, you need to be at a set location, at a set time, and be prepared to stay for several hours. It is crowded, hot, you can’t hear, and it is often not fully accessible. There is no system of absentee voting, so anyone who cannot be there for any reason is excluded. The process is clearly undemocratic when compared to a primary election.
This makes caucuses bad for seniors, people with disabilities, people who lack transportation, single parents, second shift and on-call workers, people who are claustrophobic, and anyone else who cannot stand there for two hours.
Additionally, I *hate* the public nature of the vote! If your vote is public, anyone with power over you (abusive spouse, boss, etc.) can manipulate your vote.
Finally, many precincts simply lack public buildings where 200-1200 people can move around. It just doesn’t work, and frankly, it creates dangerous situations.
Democrats simply cannot any longer claim to be the party of voting rights, then endorse a process that systematically prohibits a big part of the population from participating. So why do it?
I’m tired of fighting like crazy for better absentee voting rules – including a longer window – only to have the party big wigs pretend that does not matter when it comes to our own process. We need a full-fledged Presidential primary in Iowa. There is no amount of “tweaking” the caucus process that will ensure Iowans have the right to vote.
We are either for open, accessible voting or we aren’t. It is a version of the old labor question – “Which Side Are You On?” I am for voting. And I hope my party will join me! There is no excuse for anything less. The Democratic Party should never find itself on the side of making it harder to vote.
Here is a dirty little secret: being first never helped Iowa Democrats. It hasn’t helped us get the Governorship or the Statehouse. We have lost ground in courthouses across the state. Even city councils and school boards have moved the wrong direction. The caucuses are *supposed* to be this important organizing tool. But what they really are is a distraction.
Yes, a lot of money flowed into the state. But that money never came close to covering the very real costs – both monetary and human. Being first helped power brokers meet candidates. (I’ll be honest – it helped me meet candidates!) But it never did a damn thing for poor people in this state. Iowa Democratic Party mucky-mucks continue to be worried about going first. They need to start worrying about winning elections.
Trust me, I understand the luster of the Iowa Caucuses. I have written at length about my own participation, dating back to the very first one, when I was just a kid. I love the caucuses. I have fond memories of the caucuses. I have only missed one Iowa Caucus since the event started in ’72. But it is time for them to go.
Let me also comment briefly on the idea of “first.” Going first has been fun. It has allowed me to get to hang out with Dick Gephardt, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and countless other well-known politicians. I have met hundreds of really cool campaign staff people. So it has been good for me personally. But has it helped Iowa?
ISU economist Dave Swenson has pointed out that the caucuses have surprisingly little economic impact. (Most media are owned by out-of-state corporations that do little to recycle ad dollars through Iowa’s economy.)
More importantly, are we better organized? I would say no. I believe the caucus takes our eye off the ball. We are worried about being first, when we should be worried about organizing.
It is time to replace the Iowa Caucuses with a Presidential primary.
*United Way Community Needs Assessment
Johnson County is one of several organizations that collaborated with the United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties on a Community Needs Assessment. I am going to spend four weeks of Salvos highlighting four different areas of community need. This week: Community Resilience.
Some alarming stats:
*Iowa had 27 billion-dollar disasters between 2020-4; by far the most ever in any 5 year span.
*6% of Johnson County residents lack reliable transportation.
*Johnson County trails the state and nation in social associations.
*20% of Johnson County residents are limited in their ability to speak English.
Community Goals:
1. Residents are prepared for and able to recover from disasters.
2. Residents feel connected to their neighborhood and the broader community.
*Good Work by Johnson County!
September 2, 2025 (JOHNSON COUNTY, IA) – Today the United States Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit held that the government has satisfied its burden to show that a lifetime restriction on the right of forcible felons to possess firearms, subject to a gubernatorial pardon, is consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearms regulation.
Anthony Browne was convicted of a forcible felony in Iowa in 1991 and was thereafter prohibited by Iowa law to possess firearms, apply for restoration of firearms rights, or to receive a permit to acquire a handgun. Browne sued Iowa Governor Reynolds and Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel on the grounds that his Second Amendment rights had been violated.
Chief Judge Stephanie Rose of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa ruled that Iowa Code § 914.7 does not violate the Second Amendment and dismissed his complaint for failure to state a claim, and the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld this judgment. Assistant Johnson County Attorney Dave Van Compernolle argued the case on behalf of Johnson County.
*DID YOU KNOW? A record 240,000 Democrats turned out for the 2008 Iowa Caucuses, which were won by Barack Obama.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
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---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 7:30 PM
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