Message from Lynn Heuss (Formerly Message from Ed Fallon)
By Lynn Heuss, I'M for Iowa
I’d like to introduce myself, Lynn Heuss, and tell you why I’m involved with I’M for Iowa.
I
met Ed three years ago while serving as director of a free meal program
for the homeless, low-income and working poor in downtown Des Moines.
He was one of a handful of “dignitaries” that attended the event and
the only state elected official. I was a political cynic at the time,
but because Ed showed up, I thought it earned him the right to question
my cynicism …which he promptly did! We had a spirited conversation
that eventually (over a period of several months) led to my own
re-engagement with the political system because he convinced me that it
wasn’t the system that didn’t work, but it was the people in it that
created the problems.
My greatest cause of frustration was the
seeming lack of compassion and concern by those in politics for the
well-being of the poor. I had, up until my conversation with Ed,
simply believed that one could work more effectively for justice
through religion. Naively, I didn’t anticipate the level of politics
involved in our religious institutions. That, then, is what led me to
jump back into governmental politics with both feet, including working
on Ed’s gubernatorial campaign, as his clerk for the 2006 session, and
now in I’M for Iowa. If it takes getting involved with the system to
change it – I decided I wanted to be part of the solution, not part of
the problem.
ACT!
VOICE (Voter Owned
Iowa Clean Elections) legislation is currently is the early phases of
consideration and even though it is overwhelmingly supported by most
Iowans, your legislators need to hear from you. In order to get this
bill passed out of the House State Government committee, it needs at
least 11 votes out of 21. We are currently unsure of how Rep. Dawn
Pettengill (District 39 – Benton, Iowa counties), Rep. Brian Quirk
(District 15 – Chickasaw, Howard, Winneshiek counties) and Rep. Paul
Shomshor (District 100 – Pottawattamie county) will vote. If you live
in any of these counties, please write or call your legislator and ask
them to support VOICE.
Local control is another issue that is
currently up for discussion. There are two Senate Study Bills (1140
and 1165) that present some possibility for local control, but they
don’t yet offer real opportunity for a vehicle through which local
authorities can deny permits and construction of CAFOS (confined animal
feeding operations). Again, if this is an issue that concerns you (and
we hope it does!), please contact your local Representative or Senator.
Even if they have been supportive in the past, they need to hear from
you now to assure them you still feel it is important.
If you’ve never written or called your elected official, or if you don’t know who your elected official is, you can go to: www.legis.state.ia.us to get that information.
Finally,
one of the guiding principles of I'M for Iowa is the following:
“Through supporting local businesses and Iowa farmers, and through
using more community- and environmentally-friendly technologies, set
personal examples of the many ways in which individuals can lead lives
that are more sustainable and truly independent.”
Yesterday we
traveled to Iowa City to participate in the Johnson County Local Food
Summit. A diverse crowd of about 75 people, including educators,
farmers, local restaurant and business owners, listened to a sobering
but still hopeful presentation by Ken Meter called, “Finding Food in
Farm Country.” In it he shared facts that indicate subsidies aren’t
nearly as helpful as they appear to be (33% of farms still reported
losses in 2002) and consumers spend well over 80% of their food budget
on items that come from outside Iowa.
On a positive note he did,
however, report there has been a significant increase in direct sales
from farmers to consumers and there are 402 organic farms in the state
selling $13 million in products. BUT, the WallStreet Journal reported
in 2004 that the United States has become a net food importer. We have
incredible potential to make many positive changes by supporting local
food systems: promoting food choices that lead to healthy eating,
opportunities for meaningful livelihoods and for many more food and
farm workers, food security by knowing where, how and by whom our food
is produced, and a reduction of petroleum use with reduced need for
transportation.
We broke into small groups to discuss ideas
about what could be done in order to encourage a sustainable, vibrant
local food system. There were many suggestions specific to the Iowa
City group, but several that we think would be valuable for you to
consider: buy a share in a Community Supported Agriculture farm, shop
at your local farmer’s markets, start your own garden and support
restaurants and grocers who buy local. These are just a few
suggestions – if you have others, please let us know.
You can learn more about their group and the summit yesterday at: www.jclfa.org.
In addition there is an article today, February 8, in the Iowa City
newspaper today The Press Citizen. Two other organizations that are
working to be part of the solution are a new publication, edible Iowa
River Valley, which can be ordered by visiting their website at www.EdibleIowaRiverValley.com and Local Foods Connection (www.localfoodsconnection.org), a group of Iowa City community activists who donate fresh produce to low income families in southeast Iowa.
We
truly believe that at least one of the most prohibitive factors to
shopping locally or supporting local businesses may be because you
simply don't know where they are or what they offer. Our new website
is nearly completed and we are considering having a link with a
statewide list (broken down by counties) of businesses that support
local economy or are themselves a locally owned business. If you think
this would be helpful, we’ll need your help. Please send us the
information for such businesses (not just related to food), and we’ll
work to make it available as soon as possible.
Sorry this update is longer than usual, but there’s a lot of information to be shared and much to be done!
Lynn Heuss
ATTEND!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Monday, February 12, 6:00 p.m.
Linn and Johnson County DFA Meeting
Unitarian Universalist Church
600 3rd Ave. SE
Cedar Rapids
Contact: Dick Stater (319) 361-5629
Tuesday, February 13, noon
Edwards for President Office Opening with Elizabeth Edwards
712 E. 2nd St.
Des Moines
Everyone is welcome to come and meet Elizabeth
Tuesday, February 13, late afternoon
Elizabeth Edwards in Sioux City
For details see: www.johnedwards.com
Thursday, February 15, 7:00 p.m.
Lecture:
Join photographer Peter Feldstein and writer Steven Bloom as they
discuss their work on the internationally acclaimed exhibition, The
Oxford Project.
Des Moines Art Center Levitt Auditorium
4700 Grand Ave.
Des Moines
No charge, reservations requested by not required (515) 277-4405
Saturday, February 17, 1:00 – 6:30 p.m.
Chinese New Year Celebration
Ed will be presenting awards at 3:00 p.m.
Northview Middle School
1010 NW Prairie Ridge Dr.
Ankeny
For more information go to: www.iowaasianalliance.com/news_events.php
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