Slice of Life Post for March 17, 2025 (1:31-2:03 p.m.) by Barb Edler

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! This afternoon’s bright sun cannot diminish the incredible wind. If you’re walking in my neck of the woods, you best be wearing a jacket and something to hold onto your hat. The lawns are beginning to look much greener after our recent rains and this weekend’s snow, and since this is St. Patrick’s Day, I am wearing a little green to avoid a pinch or two.

Green is one of my favorite colors, and as I finish cleaning my kitchen, something I tend to do during this slice of day, I am reminded of an article I read this morning that begged the question, “Who wants to shovel dung?” Shoveling manure is a must for any farmer who has livestock in Iowa.

As a child, I grew up in Marion, Iowa in a neighborhood full of kids. I didn’t have farm chores to do each day before arriving to school. My father, on the other hand, grew up on a farm and his entire immediate family farmed throughout their lifetime. I can easily recall playing in hay barns, smelling and stepping into manure, and singing to my Aunt Lorraine’s cows. Dad always said that manure was the smell of money when we proclaimed our distaste during a country drive and screamed, “Ooooohhhhh, what is that smell!” Manure definitely has a “rich” smell. 

Iowa is a rural state for the most part, but city life is attractive for our young people. We have something called “The Brain Drain” because most educated young people move to cities such as Kansas City, Minneapolis or Chicago, etc. Young people want to have culture experiences, shopping stores and restaurants readily available to them. Furthermore, farming has become big business and the small farming families have disappeared.

Iowa’s landscape has also changed dramatically as some of the surrounding areas of urban communities continue to expand to provide housing for newcomers such as in North Liberty which is located near Iowa City. But who will shovel the sh#t? Iowa needs workers to fulfill several agricultural-type jobs. Unfortunately, due to our current political leadership, I believe the majority of farmers will soon be in a world of hurt due to Trump’s desire to deport immigrants.

Art Cullen, the editor of Storm Lakes Time Pilot, is the one who asked the question, “Who wants to shovel dung?” What a provocative question because I definitely do not want to, and I doubt there are many people I know who want to shovel it either. The focus of Cullen’s editorial is an examination of Reynolds, our Republican governor, actions. She is part of a group called Common Sense that publicized how important the migrant population is for Iowa business. In fact, a decline in immigration would cost our state 35,000 people and forty million dollars a year. “That is the bottom line presented by authors Andrzej Wieciorkowski, who used to work for the conservative Heritage Foundation, and Ben Murrey, who used to work for Ted Cruz. Not snowflakes” (Cullen).  Of course, our governor does nothing to support immigrants. The irony is palpable. Iowa relies heavily on migrants to work at meat packing plants, etc. Plus, I do not believe Iowa cannot afford to lose 35,000 people! What will be the term for an entire state’s people departing due to deportation and for greener pastures? When will the citizens of Iowa see how destructive Reynolds’ leadership is and recognize her own stinky b.s.?

Cleaning my kitchen is a relatively easy job to do considering what many migrant workers do. As I stew about the current state of affairs, I can’t help but think of the many reasons migrant workers are appreciated. I cannot imagine being afraid to go to work because of an ICE raid. I also think of Green and what it represents: St. Patrick’s Day, envy, grass and money. I pray that a little green and a little luck will come my way, but I am praying more fervently for the people of my state. I sure wish our leaders would practice some common sense rather than bending the knee to corporate greed and whichever way the wind blows from the king of blowhards in D.C.

Iowa winds blow
a putrid stench
called money