No Kings — Venezuela Edition

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Paul Deaton
Ed Flaherty of Veterans For Peace addressing about 75 people gathered on Jan. 4, 2026, at the University of Iowa Pentacrest to protest the U.S. military action in Venezuela over the weekend.
University of Iowa Pentacrest Jan. 4, 2026.
University of Iowa Pentacrest Jan. 4, 2026.
University of Iowa Pentacrest Jan. 4, 2026.
We the People.
Rule of Law.
Congress Stand Up..
No war.
Jim Throgmorton.
No war. No billionaires above the law.
Newman Abuissa.
Save our democracy.
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2025: Third Hottest Year On Record

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Dave Bradley
From WION (World Is One News) (4 minutes)

Upper 40s to middle 50s in early January? Early January used to be some arctic blasts. Looks like climate change is really here. This has happened in decades, not centuries or millennia. The rise in temperatures continues as we diddle around and do nothing. Republicans make it worse as their  pro-fossil fuel policies exacerbate the warming.

There is no miracle contraption or policy to mitigate the heat or to cool our only nest (the earth) down.

Climate change worsened by human behaviour made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record, scientists said.

It was also the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 1.5 C since preindustrial times. Experts say that keeping the Earth below that limit could save lives and prevent catastrophic environmental destruction around the globe.

The analysis from World Weather Attribution researchers, released Tuesday in Europe, came after a year when people around the world were slammed by the dangerous extremes brought on by a warming planet.

Temperatures remained high despite the presence of a La Niña, the occasional natural cooling of Pacific Ocean waters that influences weather worldwide. Researchers cited the continued burning of fossil fuels — oil, gas and coal — that send planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“If we don’t stop burning fossil fuels very, very quickly, very soon, it will be very hard to keep that goal” of warming, Friederike Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution (WWA) and an Imperial College London climate scientist, told The Associated Press.

“The science is increasingly clear.”

Posted in #trumpresistance, 2026 election, Climate Change | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Sunday Funday: Dry January Edition

Posted on January 4, 2026 by Dave Bradley

2 minutes:

 

Tuesday is the last of the holidays surrounding the end of the year festivities that celebrate the return of the undying sun or as the old Romans would call it, Sol Invictus (the unconquered sun). For americans it is the fifth anniversary of a president led attempted takeover of our democracy. I cover it elsewhere, but don’t ever forget it.

 

A story on the radio on New Year’s Day reminded me of the new tradition of Dry January – a 31 day challenge to those who feel they may be abusing alcohol to try living without alcohol for a month. As someone who lost both parents to alcohol and was fortunate to shuck the habit myself, I heartily encourage everyone to try a dry January. In the marketplace of ideas, sobriety is a great idea.

 

I used to wonder how alcohol got such a grip on humanity the I realized until recent history, drinking water with its unseen pathogens could kill you. Alcohol and vinegar were about the only things safe to drink. Alcohol wins that race every time. So we shall have some questions on alcohol and maybe the Epiphany as life returns to normal. {remember FIWH is the Felon In the White House}

 

A) Well, one bit of good news is that federal troops are being removed from what cities where the FIWH had illegally sent them?

 

B) January 1, 2026 citizens who get medical insurance through the ACA lost what, thanks to Republicans?

 

C) A fire in a bar in what European country left over 40 people dead on new Year’s Eve and day?

 

D) Any idea who is given credit for beginning Dry January? {hint: it was a woman from Great Britain}

 

E) In another attempt to provide cover for the release of what material, the DOJ did a huge document drop on New Year’s Eve?

 

F) Which country is the US threatening to invade due to its treatment of Christians?

 

G) Which country is the US threatening to invade due to its supposed support for drug trafficking to the US?

 

H) Which country is the US threatening to invade due to its treatment of its own citizens?

 

I) What country has warned the US to stop threatening that country’s territory, Greenland?

 

J) Alcohol tends to have worse effects on which sex?

 

K) What special prosecuter gave testimony behing closed doors last week concerning the January 6th insurrection?

 

L) Who is Nick Shirley?

 

M) What grandchild of President Kennedy died last week from leukemia?

 

N) How long is dry January?

 

O) The media says we should all be paying close attention to the football playoffs. Can you name the four teams left in the playoffs?

 

P) What new mayor of New York was sworn in to office on January 1st?

 

Q) Billionaires in what state are squealing loudly over a new wealth tax?

 

R) What city in the US has the highest rate of alcoholism?

 

S) Among all the holidays this time of year, January 5th is known as what?

 

T) What third party said this week it will try to field a candidate for president in 2028?

 

Seems like a good day to remind everyone that Trump has sued over jokes, tweets, interviews, and news articles but not once over any of the countless accusations of child rape. — That silence says everything. – Andrea Junker

 

tip of the hat to all-hat-no-cattle.com

 

Answers:

 

A) Los Angeles (ordered out by a judge), Portland and Chicago

 

B) government subsidies that helped people pay for the insurance. Some peoples cost will more than double

 

C) Switzerland

 

D) A lady named Emily Robinson from Great Britain who was training for a half marathon

 

E) The Epstein files

 

F) Nigeria which also has a huge amount of oil

 

G) Venezuela which also has a huge amount of oil

 

H) Iran which also has a huge amount of oil

 

I) Denmark. The Danish territory Greenland has huge amounts of rare earth menerals

J) women – while women drink much less, their bodies process alcohol much more slowly which leads to more serious consequences.

 

K) Jack Smith. A tape of his testimony was released on new Year’s Eve

 

L) the far right wing you tuber whose video gave a distorted view that child care centers were taking money for services not performed. The FIWH is withholding money based on Shirley’s videos

 

M) Tatiana Schlossburg

 

N) seems like years and years, but only 31 days

 

O) Miami, Mississippi, Oregon and Indiana

 

P) Zohran Mamdani

 

Q) California

 

R) Milwaukee 

 

S) 12th night

 

T) the Working Families Party. Sadly if they do it may pull just enough votes from the Democrat in certain states to let a Republican win again. wiiol we ever learn?

 

Nearly every social event in my parents life revolved around alcohol. Alcohol was constantly consumed in our house. Every TV show showed adults constantly drinking. A large number of shows were sponsored by beer and cigarette companies. And we wonder why Americans drink to excess?

 

Why we may go to war

tip of the hat to all-hat-no-cattle.com

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Promising Progress On Alzheimer’s

Posted on January 3, 2026 by Dave Bradley
Alzheimer’s Disease is in the cross hairs of science. In recent years there have been some really great steps forward. Unfortunately, the policies of the current administration have done all they can to stop such progress. Yet, progress may be slowed but not stopped.
From Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio came this announcement just before Christmas. I am publishing the full story, hoping that I am not violating internet protocol with this story that is so positive and important:

New study shows Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed to achieve full neurological recovery—not just prevented or slowed—in animal models

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals and the Cleveland VA showed restoring brain’s energy balance led to both pathological and functional recovery

For more than a century, people have considered Alzheimer’s disease (AD) an irreversible illness. Consequently, research has focused on preventing or slowing it, rather than recovery. Despite billions of dollars spent on decades of research, there has never been a clinical trial of any drug to reverse and recover from AD.

A research team from Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals (UH) and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center has now challenged this long-held dogma in the field, testing whether brains already badly afflicted with advanced AD could recover. 

The study, led by Kalyani Chaubey, from the Pieper Laboratory, was published online Dec. 22 in Cell Reports Medicine. Using diverse preclinical mouse models and analysis of human AD brains, the team showed that the brain’s failure to maintain normal levels of a central cellular energy molecule, NAD+, is a major driver of AD, and that maintaining proper NAD+ balance can prevent and even reverse the disease. 

NAD+ levels decline naturally across the body, including the brain, as people age. Without proper NAD+ balance, cells eventually become unable to execute many of the critical processes required for proper functioning and survival. In this study, the team showed that the decline in NAD+ is even more severe in the brains of people with AD, and that this same phenomenon also occurs in mouse models of the disease. 

While AD is a uniquely human condition, it can be studied in the laboratory with mice that have been genetically engineered to express genetic mutations known to cause AD in people. 

The researchers used two of these mouse models: One carried multiple human mutations in amyloid processing; the other carried a human mutation in the tau protein. 

Amyloid and tau pathology are two of the major early events in AD. Both lines of mice develop brain pathology resembling AD, including blood-brain barrier deterioration, axonal degeneration, neuroinflammation, impaired hippocampal neurogenesis, reduced synaptic transmission and widespread accumulation of oxidative damage. These mice also develop the characteristics of severe cognitive impairments seen in people with AD. 

After finding that NAD+ levels in the brain declined precipitously in both human and mouse AD, the research team tested whether preventing loss of brain NAD+ balance before disease onset or restoring brain NAD+ balance after significant disease progression could prevent or reverse AD, respectively. 

The study was based on their previous work, published in Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences USA, showing that restoring the brain’s NAD+ balance achieved pathological and functional recovery after severe, long-lasting traumatic brain injury. They restored NAD+ balance by administering a now well-characterized pharmacologic agent known as P7C3-A20, developed in the Pieper lab.

Remarkably, not only did preserving NAD+ balance protect mice from developing AD, but delayed treatment in mice with advanced disease also enabled the brain to fix the major pathological events driven by the disease-causing genetic mutations. 

Moreover, both lines of mice fully recovered cognitive function. This was accompanied by normalized blood levels of phosphorylated tau 217, a recently approved clinical biomarker of AD in people, providing confirmation of disease reversal and highlighting an objective biomarker that could be used in future clinical trials for AD recovery.

“We were very excited and encouraged by our results,” said Andrew A. Pieper, the study’s senior author, a professor at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and director of the Brain Health Medicines Center, Harrington Discovery Institute at UH. “Restoring the brain’s energy balance achieved pathological and functional recovery in both lines of mice with advanced Alzheimer’s. Seeing this effect in two very different animal models, each driven by different genetic causes, strengthens the new idea that recovery from advanced disease might be possible in people with AD when the brain’s NAD+ balance is restored.” 

Pieper also holds the Morley-Mather Chair in Neuropsychiatry at UH and the CWRU Rebecca E. Barchas, MD, DLFAPA, University Professorship in Translational Psychiatry. He serves as psychiatrist and investigator in the Louis Stokes VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. 

The results prompt a paradigm shift in how researchers, clinicians and patients can think about treating AD in the future. 

“The key takeaway is a message of hope—the effects of Alzheimer’s disease may not be inevitably permanent,” Pieper said. “The damaged brain can, under some conditions, repair itself and regain function.” 

“Through our study, we demonstrated one drug-based way to accomplish this in animal models, and also identified candidate proteins in the human AD brain that may relate to the ability to reverse AD,” Chaubey said.

Pieper emphasized that current over-the-counter NAD+-precursors have been shown in animal models to raise cellular NAD+ to dangerously high levels that promote cancer. The pharmacological approach in this study, however, uses a pharmacologic agent (P7C3-A20) that enables cells to maintain their proper balance of NAD+ under conditions of otherwise overwhelming stress, without elevating NAD+ to supraphysiologic levels. 

“This is an important factor when considering patient care, and clinicians should consider the possibility that therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring brain energy balance might offer a path to disease recovery,” Pieper said. 

This work also encourages new research into complementary approaches and eventual testing in patients, and the technology is being commercialized by Cleveland-based company Glengary Brain Health, which Pieper co-founded.

“This new therapeutic approach to recovery needs to be moved into carefully designed human clinical trials to determine whether the efficacy seen in animal models translates to human patients,” Pieper said. “Additional next steps for the laboratory research include pinpointing which aspects of brain energy balance are most important for recovery, identifying and evaluating complementary approaches to Alzheimer’s reversal, and investigating whether this recovery approach is also effective in other forms of chronic, age-related neurodegenerative disease.” 

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Justice Delayed Begets Current Mess

Posted on January 3, 2026 by Dave Bradley

Here is hoping that no Iowans or any other Americans forget what Tuesday marks. Beyond the astronomical and the religious meanings, Tuesday marks the 5th anniversary of one of the darkest days in the history of this country. As most observers of history

 

Here is a reminder of what happened from a Canadian source. I chose the Canadian source because they were much more frank in their language. They called Trump out for inciting the insurrection. They did not mince words. As we watch from the distance of 5 years the anger that they got away with it stings deeply (45 minutes):

 

 

To add a proverbial slap in the face to good Americans who follow our laws and who believe in the rule of law, Republicans dragged Special Prosecuter Jack Smith in front of a congressional committee in a behind closed doors meeting a week ago to let the world know what they think of those who uphold the laws of our society.

 

After loud demands, the video and transcript were released by the committee. But in yet another spit in our eyes gesture, the release took place on New Year’s Eve in a brazen attempt to hide the hearing in plain sight. Trish Nelson posted the video here on Thursday. It is a long 8 hour video, but a valuable look inside Republican attempts to intimidate their perceived enemies.

 

Despite the attempt to hide the release of the committee hearing by the Republican leadership, some networks such as MS NOW did delve into what the release of the committee hearing material means and what Jack Smith had to say: (8 minutes):

 

 

The Canadian reporters correctly assigned the blame for the insurrection on Donald Trump then. Trump is still guilty of starting the insurrection. The fact that he has never been tried for his part in insurrection is perhaps the grossest micarriage of justice in our nation’s history. That miscarriage of justice coupled with the shameful SOTUS decision in 2024 that the president cannot be charged for crimes when the president is acting in their capacity of president.

 

Knowing that Trump would go so far as to incite an insurrection to maintain his hold on power must give us pause to think what he and his henchmen have planned to steal power in this year’s election. So far Trump has gotten away with on attempt to overthrow our government, so why not try again. We did nothing last time.

 

So you and I and every American has a huge role to play this election year. BE SURE TO CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION STATUS TO MAKE SURE YOU ARE REGISTERED. Be sure to check it to make sure you are not surprised when you go to vote.

 

I am sure more advice will be coming as the election gets close. We will try to keep you apprised of coming advice and warnings.

 

We are this [—] close to losing our democracy. This will be the most important election ever. Would you have stood for democracy 250 years ago? Well, guess what! Now is your time to show what you would do.

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Rejection And Repudiation of Trump In Iowa

Posted on January 2, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Simon Rosenberg

Veteran Political Analyst, Strategist and Commentator. 2 Presidential campaigns (incl Clinton War Room), senior roles at DNC, DCCC, NDN. Author and creator of Hopium Chronicles on Substack.   @simonwdc

From Simon Rosenberg’s Hopium Chronicles Substack posted December 31, 2025.

“It’s here. The end of 2025. This terrible year is finally coming to an end. I woke up this morning weirdly excited about it’s end, and the chance tomorrow to begin anew, and to work with all of you to build something better.

“We ended the year with another strong electoral over performance last night, this one in Iowa. Renee Hardman won a seat to fill a vacancy due to the passing of her predecessor this fall. She won 71%-28%, performing 26 points better than Kamala Harris did in this district last year. Hardman, the CEO of nonprofit Lutheran Services of Iowa and a member of the West Des Moines City Council, becomes the first Black woman ever elected to the 50-member Iowa state Senate.

Renee Hardman at her victory party (Lily Smith/Des Moines Register)

“In six state legislative special elections in Iowa this year we over performed our 2024 results by an average of 24 points. A remarkable achievement, and one that mirrors our strong electoral performances all across the country this year. Thanks to all of you who’ve contributed to our Audacious Expansion Fund this year. Your support helped fuel our encouraging win in Iowa last night.

“And that’s 2025, isn’t it? A year where Trump did so much damage to the country, extraordinary, unyielding, shocking levels of damage….

but also a year of intense rejection and repudiation of him and his rancid regime; and a year of strong and encouraging electoral performances by Democrats in races of all kinds all across the country.

Read more 

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Starting Off 2026 With Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt

Posted on January 1, 2026 by Trish Nelson

Newsweek.com

“The House Judiciary Committee released the transcript and video of former special counsel Jack Smith‘s deposition regarding his investigation into President Donald Trump Wednesday.

In the transcript, Smith told lawmaker his investigators had “developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”

Bring the new year in right. It’s only eight hours long. You can listen to it while doing other things or you can read the 255 page transcript in this PDF file.

Happy new year, patriots!

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Democracy Hangs On In 2025

Posted on December 31, 2025 by Trish Nelson

December sunset

Happy new year’s eve, BFIA followers!

If we make it to midnight tonight, American democracy will have lived to see another day. The sun will not have set on democracy just yet.  It seems we have survived a year of the felon in the white house (tip of the hat to Dave Bradley) posing as a president. This is cause for celebration! Trump fever is breaking.

Much credit goes to Indivisible who along with 50501, MoveOn and other groups, organized millions of Americans from everywhere in the country to hit the streets for protests in their home towns.  Iowa had over fifty #nokings2 protests on October 18 and over 7 million Americans showed up nationwide that day to voice their disapproval of MAGA.

In a nobody saw this coming moment, former MAGA rising star Marjorie Taylor Greene has flipped on MAGA saying this:

“I’m going to live in reality from now on.”

I couldn’t find a link to the quote but I remember hearing her say it when she made her announcement that she was resigning from congress awhile back.  Cynics are skeptical but the smartest one amongst all of the DC politicos I know of is Simon Rosenberg whose framing about MTG is this:

“…part of what is happening is she’s going through the equivalent of deprogramming from a cult where she’s trying to extricate herself and restore her sense of self having given that over to Trump and the MAGA cult. The reason this is so important is that she’s creating an example of somebody who can now create distance between her and Trump and the cult and to criticize it and to be open about it and to expose the core corruption and the betrayal..”    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIIfGM8Nb24

He added it will take some time for her to redeem herself, like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger who actively have been doing their best to alert the country to the danger of Trump and tried to remove him from office. But that is his take on what is happening with MTG and I agree. He spoke of her sense of betrayal.  I also observed that once she realized the boys were never going to let her into the inner circle of power, that was it for her.  When you have that kind of eye-opening, you can’t unsee it. This week she told the New York Times Magazine how naive she “was.”  Here is a gift link to the article.

MTG leaving the cult and the public backlash that kept Jimmy Kimmel on the air were two of our most important wins in my opinion. The Jimmy Kimmel win was a spontaneous uprising from citizen-consumers, not necessarily politicos or even liberals.  Citizens forced the network to back down, not the courts or congress. Free speech is still alive for the time being, thanks to ordinary American citizens.

Here in Iowa things that just a few months ago no one thought would ever happen are happening:

– Communities are standing up to ICE in support of their immigrant neighbors and successfully preventing illegal deportations without due process.

– Iowa’s cancer problem is in the political conversation, finally.

– Our poisoned water is in the political conversation.

– All eyes are turning toward Big Ag and its ravages on our environment.

– Angry Iowans have been packing GOP town halls and demanding to know why their so-called representatives have been doing nothing about the lawless administration.

– Chris Jones could be our next Agriculture secretary.

– Democrats are winning elections in Iowa.

– A Democrat could be our next governor.

– Joni Ernst is out.

– Kim Reynolds is out.

I’m not saying we’re home free, far from it. We have so much work to do, but Democracy is still alive so let’s celebrate for now, then together we must keep on keeping on.

Thank you all for everything you have done and will continue to do in the fight to save America from fascism.  From helping local legislative campaigns to contacting congress, attending protests and town halls, running for office, writing  letters to the editor, donating to pro-democracy causes, singing songs and carrying signs, we have no choice but to fight on.

Onward to 2026!

And this happened yesterday!

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Follow Your County Government

Posted on December 30, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Rod Sullivan, Johnson county supervisor

Do your county supervisors send out weekly newsletters? Johnson county supervisor Rod Sullivan does. It’s not a cookie cutter newsletter, either. It is his personal take on issues of interest to Johnson county residents and is available to anyone who wants one. Sometimes the newsletter touches on issues that all Iowans have an interest in. As stated, the newsletter is “solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.”

Sullivan’s Salvos 1/1/26

In this edition:

*RIP Gary “Smiley” Bloore
*Welcome to 2026!
*Grace
*January 6
*Workday
*Congrats to JCSO!
*Contributors to the Housing Crisis
*Did You Know?

*RIP Gary “Smiley” Bloore
I was sad to see that local legend Gary “Smiley” Bloore passed away. I always had a bit of extra insight into Smiley. One of my favorite high school teachers was in his class at the small school they attended. The school was called Delwood, which was a combination of the names of the two towns – Delmar and Elwood. Delwood was in our conference for some sports when I was in high school, but a couple decades later, the school got absorbed by Maquoketa. Anyway, my teacher shared Smiley’s life story, so when I first met Smiley, I told him about our mutual friend, my teacher.

Smiley began cleaning dishes at Oakdale Hospital in Coralville in 1970. The next year he took a similar job for UI residence halls, doing dishes at the dining rooms of Currier and Hillcrest Halls before ending up at Burge, where he stayed until his retirement in 2016. He moved back to Maquoketa in 2019.

Gary Bloore was just one of those people who brightened up the days of others. He was a huge sports fan, and will be long remembered for his buttons and his “Woo woo!” RIP, Smiley.

*Welcome to 2026!
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 2026 is good to you and yours!

*Grace
I have mentioned that I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions. There is one thing I have been attempting to do more of, however, and I invite you to join me.

I am attempting to show others more grace. Forgiving mistakes. Assuming the best rather than the worst. Trying to be kind.

In Christianity, grace is not earned. It is given. You get it even though you do not deserve it. That can be a tough concept to put to work in today’s world. We tend to blame, complain, and point out faults. I do it. We all do it. Frankly, that is part of why we do not deserve the grace we get from God.

I know my readers include many non-Christians. I honor all belief systems. I also think the idea of giving people grace can help all of us, regardless of our individual beliefs. It need not be viewed through the prism of religion. So please join me in offering a bit more grace to those you encounter every day.

*January 6
January 6 marks the 5th anniversary of one of the lowest points in US history. The defeated former President riled up a bunch of insurrectionists who then broke into the US Capitol, killing cops along the way. It remains the only coup attempt in American history (unless you include succession.) January 6 is the most shameful day in American history.

Has there been any accountability? Some. Hundreds of people have been charged, and 378 individuals have been convicted thus far. But all were pardoned by Trump. None of the US Congresspeople nor US Senators who conspired have been charged. And most importantly, Trump himself has thus far avoided all accountability.

Please – do not treat January 6 as yesterday’s news! We still can and must demand accountability! Traitors attempted to overthrow the US government on that day. They killed cops. We must not let this go! Acknowledge what happened this January 6 and every January 6 until the end of time!

*Workday
This ran about three months ago in Salvos. I am reprinting it here because this really is a big deal, and has profoundly impacted a lot of Johnson County employees. So you ought to know about it.)

Johnson County recently went live with Workday, a platform for managing HR, Capital, and Finances. Workday is used by thousands of entities around the world, and comes highly recommended.

Implementing Workday is the type of thing that has been a *very* big deal to County employees, but if our implementation goes well the public will never know anything happened.

Workday essentially takes a lot of the daily tasks of HR and Finance and moves them from paper to online. It is going to ultimately save Johnson County a lot of time and money, and many employees will see processes that used to take them a couple hours each week reduced to minutes. In addition, it makes all sorts of data readily available; something we have been sorely lacking.

Getting started, however, has been a huge investment of time and money. Some employees are *really* stressed. And not everything has gone as well as hoped. I am cautiously optimistic that we will get everything figured out.

My sincere thanks to the folks who have led this charge, and my thanks to the County employees who have had to adapt to new ways of doing things. I believe is going to be a good thing for taxpayers once we get it fully implemented, but I also know getting there is difficult.

*Congrats to JCSO!
The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office is proud to announce they are the first Sheriff’s Office in the State of Iowa to achieve the Iowa Law Enforcement Accreditation Program’s (ILEAP) Law Enforcement Accreditation. The accreditation went into effect as of December 17, 2025, and will be effective for a period of four years. The ILEAP Accreditation Program was developed by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association and the Iowa Sheriffs and Deputies Association, and was made available for application near the end of 2024 with the goal of helping law enforcement agencies to:

  • Establish and maintain standards that represent current professional law enforcement best practices.
  • Increase the effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement services.
    Establish standards that address and reduce liability for the agency and its members.

Major Randy Lamm, JCSO Chief Deputy, led the agency’s efforts in applying for the ILEAP Accreditation and ensuring the agency’s strict adherence to the accreditation’s numerous standards and requirements. Major Lamm and Johnson County Sheriff’s Office personnel spent nine months pursuing the successful completion of 21 different areas of assessment, including (but not limited to) use of force; professional standards; recruitment and selection; training and career development; and property and evidence control.

Johnson County Sheriff Brad Kunkel said, “Professionalism is a priority at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office. To meet this standard every day, we ensure that we have the policies in place to fulfill this expectation. The Iowa Law Enforcement Accreditation Program has taken our policy to a new level and reinforces our commitment to providing quality public safety. When this opportunity became available, Major Lamm took this project on without hesitation and never took his foot off the gas. He worked with key staff to move this project across the finish line in just a few months. I’m very proud of all the hard work by everyone involved.”

*Contributors to the Housing Crisis

We all know affordable housing is a crisis in Johnson County. I am often asked about the “cause” of the crisis. The vast majority of the US has an affordable housing crisis, so obviously most of the “causes” are not unique to our community. But there is one thing that contributes a bit that is somewhat unique to Johnson County that I would like to see addressed.

The University has about 23,000 undergraduate students, and another 10,000 or so graduate students. Of those 23,000 undergrads, only about 25% live in the dorms. This is not really unusual, and is quite similar to the UI’s peer institutions. But what if the UI required two years in the dorms, and built enough housing units to cover it? What if another 4,000 students lived on campus?

The impact would be pretty huge. Opening 4,000 bedrooms would make a meaningful dent in the availability of housing in Johnson County, and probably help to reduce some increases in the ever-rising rents. There would be additional benefits accruing to the students themselves – undergraduate students who live on campus graduate at higher rates, get better grades, have less law enforcement contacts, have better mental health outcomes, and generally fare better by almost every metric of well-being.

Remember – although college costs have risen precipitously, the cost of college has not risen as much as the cost of rent. Students are taking out loans in part to enrich private landlords. Is that the model we want?

The decision by the UI (that started in the early 60s) to outsource student housing has had tremendous impacts on Johnson County. It made a few people extremely wealthy, and saddled hundreds of thousands more people (over decades) with huge student debts and lower qualities of life. Was that a good trade off? I’d say no.

We are not likely to reverse this now. But the UI could decide to house a few more of its own students, rather than externalizing this responsibility. It would be better for students, and better for Johnson County.

Would this solve our affordable housing crisis? Nope. But it would be a very positive step.

*DID YOU KNOW? Within 36 hours of January 6, 2021 five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police; another died of a drug overdose; and three died of natural causes including a police officer who died of natural causes a day after being assaulted by rioters. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack died of suicide within seven months. Damage caused by attackers exceeded $2.7 million. (Source: Wikipedia.)

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.

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Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Follow Your County Government

Art Cullen: “It’s Not Easy Making A Living In Rural Iowa”

Posted on December 29, 2025 by Trish Nelson

Iowa’s own Dr. Robert Leonard interviews Pulitzer Prize winner Art Cullen, editor, Storm Lake Times Pilot.

Art Cullen’s new book, We Crapped In Our Nest and Bob Leonard’s book, Deep Midwest are available at icecubepress.com

This was an amazing conversation I hope you don’t miss.

“American democracy has survived this long, through the revolutionary war, the civil war, through the cold war, WW II, the McCarthy era.. we can survive this guy… And as long as we have a free press we can self-correct. And I think that’s the secret is a free and independent press that America will always self-correct.” – Art Cullen

 

Posted in Blog for Iowa | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments