By Prairie Dog

Viivi Shirley, mayor of Perry, serves a mostly rural population of 8,000, more than a quarter or which is Latino. Somehow the fear of immigrants has passed her by: “I don’t care whether these people are legal or illegal because when you look at their determination, the guts, the courage and stamina, the belief in something better and what they endured to get here – my gosh, now we are saying we don’t want these people?”

The Iowa House passed unanimously a bill to create a prescription drug database which threatened to invade the privacy of thousands of innocent Iowans. Although touted as a way to improve services for patients, the bill drew an unusual amount of hungry looks from law enforcement folks. Enter State Senator Jack Hatch, who insisted that access to data for law enforcement should only be allowed with probable cause in specific c investigations of specific c individuals. In other words, No Fishing Allowed. Thanks largely to Hatch, HF 722 contains no references to law enforcement, with only the prescribing doctor and the dispensing pharmacist allowed access to the database. In addition – with help from the American Civil Liberties of Iowa – an advisory council was charged with “ensuring that patient confidentiality, best interests, and civil liberties are at all times protected and preserved.”

Alice Weick, a soft-spoken registered nurse of 31 years at Finley Hospital in Dubuque, was fired for exercising her freedom of speech during a 3-day nurses’ strike. After devoting her entire adult life to her employer, Weick dared to publicly state her belief that Finley knowingly underpaid its nurses. For this, hospital management claimed that she failed to ‘represent the organization positively in the workplace and the community’ as called for in her contract. Apparently her leadership in SEIU, the nurses’ union, had nothing to do with it. Weick continues to support her fellow nurses, but now works in a hospital in Wisconsin. It’s a long commute, but worth the better pay and respect in her workplace.

Tax increment financing is a handy governmental mechanism for diverting taxes from public infrastructure, like schools and services, to rebates for businesses. Peter Fisher of the Iowa Policy Project profusely punches holes in the arguments of free-market fanatics who perversely promote TIFs as a legitimate tool to boost local commerce. ‘I always like to ask,’ said Fisher, ‘couldn’t you have got there some other way? The truth is, they get someone else to pay a greater share of the cost of government so they can put the money toward economic development.’ Johnson County Supervisor Rod Sullivan has been equally outspoken (and nearly alone in local government) on the inequities and hypocrisies of TIFs gone wild in Iowa. Sullivan is also the most passionate public voice against the regressive sales tax that cities and schools increasingly rely on. Dennis Harbaugh and Juanita Williams of Waterloo can afford to send their two sons to college. Why, they wondered, couldn’t less privileged kids have the same opportunities? Instead of just wondering, the retired UNI administrator and nurse mortgaged an apartment building they own and started a scholarship fund for all 17 students in a second-grade class at Cunningham School. Former Black Hawk County Supervisor Robert Smith made the first individual contribution and pledged to raise $85,000 (matching Harbaugh and Williams’ initial contribution) from local African-American –owned businesses. Contributions to the Harbaugh-Williams Education Promise Fund can be sent to Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1176, Waterloo 50704.

Five Cedar Rapids police detectives were promised a substantial raise if they withdrew from their union. When the raise never came, they sued the chief and his assistants for fraudulent misrepresentation. The Iowa Court of Appeals threw out the lawsuit, ruling that the detectives ‘were not justified in relying on any promises made by [management].’

U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt ruled that taxpayer funding of Iowa’s Prison Fellowship Ministries program at the Newton Correctional Facility is unconstitutional. Pratt didn’t settle for a slap on the wrist. He ordered the Fellowship to repay $1.5 million to the state for “the severe nature of the violation,” including a reliance on conversion to Evangelical Christianity as a requirement for behavior change. Too bad the judge couldn’t also fine the legislators who voted to use public money for religious indoctrination.

Denise O’Brien defied mainstream predictions by handily winning the Democratic nomination for Secretary of Agriculture, then managed to come within 2% of winning the general election despite a well-funded smear campaign by the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Jeff Strottman, Health and Safety Committee head of AFSCME 12, held University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics accountable after several violations involving mishandling of blood. Iowa’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, responding to a complaint filed by Strottman, cited and fined UIHC for leaking containers, improperly cleaned equipment, and other blood-related dangers to workers.

Trish Nelson, activist jack-of-all-trades, was a quiet but powerful force in many grassroots efforts, including Iowans for Better Local TV, Democracy for America, and Iowa’s Rapid Response Network, as well as volunteering for numerous local candidates.

David vs. Goliath: He kept the faith, stayed on message, and rode the tide to an astonishing victory over Jim Leach. Congressman-elect Dave Loebsack made the most of being in the right time and the right place while not shying away from support for a single-payer health care system, re-writing US trade agreements harmful to workers and communities, and getting the hell out of Iraq.

David vs. Goliath, Part II: Rare is the pair that makes Prairie Dog’s Honor Roll two consecutive years, but the daring duo of Gary Sanders and Wally Taylor deserves it. The two were victorious in keeping Iowa City from becoming even more complicit in supporting the Wal-Mart juggernaut that destroys small-town culture, exploits low-wage workers, relies on taxpayers to provide health coverage for its employees in the form of Medicaid, contributes to our national deficit through its massive trade with China, ad nauseam. Thanks to their legal skill and a knack for public relations, Wal-Mart will not be building a Super Center on public land within the city limits.

David vs. Goliath, Part III: No one gave her a chance a year ago, but Elesha Gayman knocked off a long-term incumbent in Davenport to become the youngest female state representative in the history of the Iowa House. The 28-year old grad student ran like an old pro, with important grassroots help from members of Progressive Action for the Common Good, Quad City Federation of Labor, and Iowa for Health Care.

Prophet of the Year: “Some people are…afraid to bring in a business model. But at the end of the day it’s the economic formula that will make us great. And that’s the most important thing to get right. And that’s what all these activities are really focused on, is to get that right.” –Teresa Wahlert, Board of Regents (Cedar Rapids Gazette, 6/16/06)

Most tortured metaphor of 2006: “Many of those people [who opposed Wal-Mart’s purchase of public property in Iowa City] are overzealous Boy Scouts who want to help the old lady cross the street when she may not want the help. Will we come down on the next big sports store because they sell weapons that kill animals?” —Bob Elliott, Iowa City City Council

Most tortured metaphor of all time: “They overplayed their hand….the goodwill bank hasn’t run dry, but it’s been bruised.” —State Senator Mike Gronstal” 

From the January 2006 issue of the Prairie Progressive, Iowa's oldest progressive newsletter, available only in hard copy for $12/yr. to PP, Box 1945, Iowa City 52244.  Co-editors of The Prairie Progressive are Jeff Cox and Dave Leshtz.