Amazing Hwy. 1 Marching Band ClassicKudos to the four excellent Marching Bands who performed at the Highway One Marching Band Classic on October 11. Anamosa, Lisbon, Mount Vernon and Solon can be proud of the young people who represented their communities that evening and throughout the season. For those of you unable to attend, just imagine a football field filled with bands from four “rival” schools joining together in the national anthem. That was the way the evening began. It was impressive and moving.
Thanks to the directors and other adults who have spent countless “extra” hours preparing their young musicians and to the musicians who memorized music and practiced routines for hours on end to produce such well-executed shows. The energy and enthusiasm were as impressive as the sound and precision of the bands. Special thanks to LIsbon Director Joseph Arch for creating and organizing the event. We truly hope that this Classic becomes a tradition on Highway One.
Jay and Arlie Willems
Mount Vernon
Grassley no longer has my voteIn the recent senate debate between Charles Grassley and his challenger Admiral Mike Franken, Grassley attempted to blunt Franken’s military career bona fides by touting his own service in the war against Chief Blackhawk right before his first term in the Iowa House. Not true of course, but a recurring GOP slight of President Biden is that he is too old to serve at 79, yet Senator Grassley is in his prime at nearly 90?
Mike Franken is a man of demonstrated principle and integrity. Charles Grassley, in a pathetic display of fealty “bent the knee” before Trump at the state fairgrounds to gain Trump’s endorsement. This after Grassley correctly stated on February 13 that “President Trump continued to argue that the election had been stolen even though the courts didn’t back up his claims,” and “He (Trump) encouraged his own, loyal vice president, Mike Pence, to take extraordinary and unconstitutional actions during the Electoral College count,”
Grassley has had few other jobs than that of “Politician” and managed to enrich himself in the process, with a net worth of almost $8 million. He and his family have collected over $1.5 million in Ag subsidies in the last couple decades, even as he condemns forgiving student loan amounts that wouldn’t cover a set of tires on one of his government subsidized tractors.
I voted for Grassley over the decades, but he has demonstrated that his “honest farmer schtick” is political theater, and that he has no core principles except re-election.
Kevin Woods
Mount Vernon