SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 27, 2025
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/30/25
In this edition:
*VOTE!
*Happy Halloween!
*Remembering November 1st, 1991
*Supervisor Roots!
*Shadow Docket
*Swisher Family
*Did You Know?
*VOTE!
Early voting has already begun! Please swing by the Auditor’s Office (walk in or drive through) or check out the Auditor’s website for more details.
This election is incredibly important! Vote, and be sure all your friends and family do the same! Seriously! Get a couple additional people to join you!
*Happy Halloween!
Halloween is Thursday the 31st. I have been amazed in recent years by the amount of effort (and money) that goes into decorating homes for the season. When I was young, few homes displayed anything other than carved pumpkins. Now, there are huge blow-up characters, lights, and much more.
As a matter of fact, according to the National Retail Federation for 2024, 72% plan to celebrate Halloween. The planned spending per person is $104. And the total planned spending is $11.6 billion!
Regardless of how you view Halloween, we need to remember a few key things: First, be careful! One thing that has not changed is an abundance of young children in dark costumes excitedly crossing streets. Secondly, you may want to temporarily take down your campaign yard signs. Despite annual accusations to the contrary, I still think most signs that disappear are teen pranks. Finally, have fun! Halloween offers all of us an opportunity to be young again.
*Remembering November 1st, 1991
Thirty-four years ago on November 1, a UI post-graduate student named Gang Liu killed four faculty members, a student, and himself.
Faculty members Christoph Goertz, Dwight Nicholson, Robert Smith, T. Anne Cleary, and Linhua Shan were all slain. Student Miya Rodolfo-Sioson was shot and survived but was left paralyzed from the neck down. She died several years later from complications due to her injuries.
If you ask longtime residents of Johnson County, most can tell you where they were that fateful day. (I was working my second job - a Friday night shift in a Systems Unlimited group home. The residents of the group home were supposed to go out to dinner that night, but we quickly cancelled those plans.)
I wish I could say that in the decades that passed, something good had come from this horror. Frankly, I simply do not see it. Even bigger mass killings have occurred on other campuses across the nation. Heck, it happens in elementary schools! Our mental health system is not really any better, and our gun laws are even worse. The killings make no more sense today than they did thirty years ago.
I hope you will take a moment to reflect upon one of the saddest days in Johnson County history, pray for the many survivors whose lives were touched by the people we lost that day, and pray that we can do better as a state and country.
If you want to help, please check out the local chapter of Moms Demand Action. They are very active here.
*Supervisor Roots!
(This ran last year in Salvos.)
I have had a wonderful thing happen recently. I have connected with my first cousin once removed, a very nice gentleman named Rich Sullivan who lives in Iowa City. Rich’s dad, Don, was the oldest of a huge Sullivan clan. My grandfather, Tom, was the second oldest.
The generations get a little wonky; Don had children very late for back in those days. So Rich is about 11 years younger than my Dad would be, and about 15 years older than me.
I have really enjoyed reading some family history he left me. One of the cool things I learned? I’m not the first Sullivan to serve as a County Supervisor!
My Dad was Robert Sullivan. His father was Tom Sullivan. Tom’s father was Frank Sullivan. Frank’s father – also Tom – was my great-great-grandfather. That Tom Sullivan served as a Howard County Supervisor from 1881-1888!
I had no idea! How cool is that?
*Shadow Docket
There are *SO* many things about which we need to be concerned right now. It is truly difficult to keep up. But I would be remiss if I failed to mention the so-called “Shadow Docket” of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).
This really makes me sad, because ever since I was a young boy, I have been fascinated by SCOTUS. I still read and listen to everything I can get my hands on. And the current Conservative partisanship of the Court hurts me deeply. (Though it certainly does not hurt me as much as it hurts those more directly affected by their decisions!)
In case you don’t know what the “Shadow Docket” is… Wikipedia says: “The shadow docket (or non-merits docket) refers to motions and orders in the US Supreme Court in cases which have not yet reached final judgement, decision on appeal, and oral argument. This especially refers to stays and injunctions (preliminary relief), but also includes summary decisions and Grant, Vacate, and Remand orders.”
Here is a very real recent example. An Appeals Court Judge issued an injunction preventing Trump from firing a whole class of Federal workers. An injunction, in this case, makes a lot of sense. *IF* the employees lose their jobs, they lose health insurance, and so do their dependents. They may lose their houses and cars. They may be forced to move to find other work. People’s lives are profoundly affected. That is exactly the type of situation where an injunction is warranted – by failing to intervene, the Court would allow irreparable harm to be done.
In this case, SCOTUS overturned that injunction and allowed firings to proceed. But because it is on the Shadow Docket, they do not have to explain anything. They simply overturn it, period.
Obviously, this leads to a lot of questions. Does this ruling apply everywhere? Does it apply to other classes of workers? Are the fired workers entitled to unemployment? Do they have a right to appeal? The list goes on. And no one is more upset than Appellate Judges. They cannot use precedent if the precedent is not explained.
I recently learned that both the George W. Bush and Obama Administrations went to the Shadow Docket about 25 times each over the course of 8 years. The Biden Administration did so about twice as often – approximately 25 times over the course of 4 years. (Much of that relating to COVID.) The Trump Administration has already been on the Shadow Docket 24 times in 8 months! They are doing this at a rate 5 times that of any Administration in history!
This is a bad, bad process, and it needs to be used sparingly if ever. I hope the current SCOTUS majority will curtail this practice. But I am not holding my breath.
*Swisher Family
The Swisher family has been prominent in Johnson County, Iowa, since the area's early settlement. Their contributions include establishing the town of Swisher, playing significant roles in farming and business, and serving in public office.
Early settlement and founding the town of Swisher
- Benjamin Swisher, an early pioneer, arrived in what would become Monroe Township in March 1841.
- He settled along the Iowa River and purchased a land claim, a cabin, and a blacksmith shop from a discouraged pioneer.
- His marriage to Elizabeth Whitmore in 1841 was the first wedding in the township.
- The town of Swisher was later named for Benjamin Swisher, who helped establish the farming community.
Prominent Swisher family members
- Scott Swisher (1919–1972) was a notable attorney in Iowa City and a Democratic state representative for Johnson County from 1955 to 1964. During his tenure, he served as minority floor leader and received recognition from the news media as an outstanding state representative.
- Benjamin F. "Frank" Swisher (1849–1925), the son of the early settler Benjamin Swisher, made his mark as a master farmer. He developed a new variety of corn known as "Swisher Corn" through selective breeding.
- George Swisher (1949–2019) was a longtime Iowa City resident and service technician who served on several city and county commissions. He was also a charter member of the American Motorcycle Association.
- Sarah Swisher (Scott’s daughter and my friend) helped to organize SEIU 199 at UIHC, and served on the ICCSD Board from 2009-2013.
*DID YOU KNOW? Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of winter. The Celts believed the boundary between the living and the dead blurred on October 31, allowing spirits to roam the earth, so they lit bonfires and wore costumes to ward them off. This pagan holiday was later incorporated into the Christian calendar as All Saints' Day (November 1), with the evening before becoming "All Hallows' Eve," which eventually became Halloween. (Source: Wikipedia.)
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.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan29@gmail.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 12:36 PM
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