A winning slice

Plus, whether our economy is really that bad

The rules were simple: bakers had to create a pie that contained at least two types of berries and use a homemade crust. Those were the rules that baking aficionado/business owner/public relations guru Jamie Buelt created for the contest that she sponsored at the Iowa State Fair called “Tribute to Bessie: Scrumptious Berry Pie.”

“Bessie” was Buelt’s grandmother, Bessie Heiliger, who owned Bessie's Bus Depot in Bloomfield and was heralded for her homemade baking skills (and embroidery that she entered at the State Fair).

(Marianne Carlson of Jefferson holds what is left of her five berry pie after the judges finished sampling. Photo courtesy: Lori Leonard Reyman.)

Marianne Carlson of Jefferson would have made Bessie proud. Two types of berries? No way. Her pie included 5! (black raspberries, red raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries).

The berry combination was spectacular. And the lattice crust with crystalized sugar was perfection.

(Marianne Carlson’s contest-winning five berry pie.)

How do I know? I was one of the judges (and may have sampled this one three different times).

The top prize of $200 was well-deserved.

(P.S., there were so many amazing pies in the contest. One had a remarkable combination of berries that included mulberry. Another one was a key lime pie topped with berries. So good. Judging pies is a pretty incredible way to spend an afternoon.)

All around us — After the contest ended, the kids and I walked around the fair. There were people everywhere. It has been that way every day that I went there this year (I went seven days).

It wouldn’t surprise me if the fair’s attendance this year breaks the 2019 record of 1,170,375.

I looked around the massive crowd of visitors around me and wondered, what about the economy?

Is it dire like some Republicans claim as Americans deal with sticker shock at the grocery store and inflation remains above the Fed’s 2 percent target?

—More than a million people walking around the Iowa State Fair don’t provide a backdrop of economic calamity.

Is the economy revving forward like some Democrats want to project as the stock market has set numerous daily highs this year and wages outpace inflation?

—That might depend on how your finances have fared overall after COVID 19’s assault on our country.

I’m not an economist (and don’t play one on TV).

But I do have questions about the causes of our country’s economic current condition:

Did we get a slice…of overspending in federal pandemic aid by the Trump and Biden administrations (writing checks to nearly everyone instead of only to those suffering economic hardship from the pandemic)?

And a slice…of corporations keeping prices elevated after initial supply chain problems, which make inflation and consumers’ costs higher?

Plus a slice…of higher paychecks, especially for lower-income workers, that make those families’ lives better but also add to the overall inflation because businesses raise prices to make up for the higher wages?

Followed by a slice….of overall pessimism due to everything that we have experienced over the past several years (racial justice marches, riots, COVID 19, inflation)?

Like I said, I am not an economist. But I wonder if we feel like our economic situation is worse than what it really is due to the heavy burdens our communities have endured so far this decade?

What do you think? (I would be happy to discuss over a piece of pie:)

1 on 1 with Governor Kim Reynolds — She told me from the fair what she thinks of a Congressional candidate’s criticism that Republicans are mixing too much religion with their policies, whether she will help Donald Trump to carry out mass deportations of undocumented migrants if he becomes president again, and what she is doing to find out why Iowa has the second highest cancer rate in the country (plus, an update on how her husband, Kevin, is doing with his battle against lung cancer).

Watch the latest “Inside Iowa Politics” show here (and tell me what you think of her response in the “Final 5” segment when I asked her whether she believes that Trump really thinks that he lost the 2020 election because of fraud or whether it is just to keep his MAGA followers riled up.)

From the Iowa State Fair — I heard Iowa 1st District Congressional candidate Christina Bohannan criticize President Joe Biden for being “too slow” on the southern border. Watch that here.

• Here are four questions about Governor Reynolds’ plan to feed Iowans who could use the help next summer (instead of using a federal program like she could have chosen). See that here.

• Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver told us that he won’t sign a budget that raises the federal debt by one penny. I reminded him about when another former presidential candidate, Ron Paul, talked about massive cuts in federal spending all at once. Watch that here.

• And Iowa 4th District Congressional candidate Ryan Melton made his pitch to Iowans from all political parties on how they should join him because of his opposition to a carbon sequestration pipeline. See that here.

Farm and fashion — I met Kate Stephens, a fascinating 20-year-old farmer and entrepreneur from Montana, who uses YouTube to share what life on her family farm is like and to inspire other young women to become leaders in agriculture. She also created her own fashion line. She is busy!

And she did the interview with me while she drove the combine to harvest wheat as the sun set. It was like a scene from a movie. Watch that interview for American Farmland Owner here.

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