Remember When...
I realized that if you are younger than 25 or 26, you likely have no memories of September 11, 2001. I remember that day well.
(We marveled at what has now replaced destruction at the World Trade Center in New York City during our trip there over Labor Day weekend.)
A friend called and woke me up that day 23 years ago. It was 7:46 a.m. As a single guy who didn’t have to work that day, I wasn’t awake yet.
The Morning — I quickly turned on the “Today Show” on NBC and saw the aftermath of a plane — at the time we didn’t realize that it would only be the first plane — smashing into the World Trade Center’s North Tower.
We later saw a second plane head into the World Trade Center’s South Tower. And then the plane into the Pentagon. And then a fourth plane that crashed after heroic passengers charged the hijackers and the craft went down in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
The Mourning — 2,977 people died. Our country grieved their loss.
Jim Cleere had called his wife, Jean, on the morning of September 11th. Jim was an insurance executive from Newton with Seabury & Smith and had been in New York City for work. He was in a hotel room in the World Trade Center complex when the first plane hit.
He left Jean this voice mail message, “Just wanted to let you know I'm O.K.”
But after a second plane hit the other tower, the structure collapsed. Jim died in the rubble.
I later covered a remembrance ceremony for him about one month later.
(Jim Cleere’s name is engraved with the others who died on September 11th, 2001. I happened to stop right by his place on the memorial in New York City.)
Tim Haverland grew up in Ames but had been working as a computer programmer for Marsh and McLennan. I interviewed his parents, the Reverend Doug and Betty, in the weeks after their son’s death. I was struck by their kindness in the midst of such sadness.
(Tim Haviland’s engraved name was not far from Jim Cleere at the memorial site at the World Trade Center.)
The Days after the Attack — For those of us old enough to remember 9/11 when it happened, we also remember something else…how we treated each other afterwards.
Can’t we do that…at least some of that…again without the need for something evil pushing us to do something good? Surely, we can.
The Ruling — The chances of a Libertarian winning one of Iowa’s four Congressional races this November are about as high as my St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series this year. It’s mathematically still possible, but…
Wednesday, the Iowa Supreme Court ended the final hope of the candidates getting their names put back on the ballot.
To recap: the Libertarian Party didn’t follow state rules and held precinct caucuses and county conventions the same day.
The State Objection Panel (the two Republicans on the panel: Secretary of State Paul Pate and Attorney General Brenna Bird) removed the three Libertarians (Nicholas Gluba in the 1st District, Marco Battaglia in the 3rd District, and Charles Aldrich in the 4th District) from the ballot after several Iowa Republicans objected to their candidacies.
The Libertarians then appealed to a district court judge. They lost, so their names were still off the ballot.
The supreme court’s ruling keeps those names off for good this cycle. County auditors can now start printing ballots. The Libertarians can run as write-in candidates, where they may be less of threat to Republicans worried that they would siphon off votes in a close race.
Four Days, Not Five — Switching to four school days per week instead of five doesn’t save the district much money but does help attract and retain staff. However, it isn’t for all communities as some families are concerned about the additional challenges of finding child care for another day. Plus, there is the financial hardship to consider for lower income families who rely on meals at school for their children.
Those were the highlights from two rural Iowa school superintendents when I joined the panel on “Iowa Press” on Iowa PBS.
And here is the full conversation on “Iowa Press.” (Notice the views on this YouTube link. Far higher than other recent shows. A lot of interest in this idea?)
The Debate — Did you watch the presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris? I joined other contributors from the Iowa Writers Collaborative for the latest “Iowa Down Ballot podcast.”
Listen to that here. (Sorry, everyone. The link I initially posted didn’t work. This one should.)
There were several things that stood out to me during the debate.