(November 14, 2021 at 8:21 pm)Rev. Rye Wrote:(November 14, 2021 at 3:36 pm)Jehanne Wrote: Iowa is really interesting, politically. Just to my south is Iowa City, which is very liberal (the home of the University of Iowa), but the rest of the county (Johnson County) is staunchly Republican. As one goes south of Johnson County on US218, there is somewhat a "no man's land", and just south of Riverside (future birthplace of Captain James T. Kirk), things basically turn into Missouri and Southern Culture begins to take over. (One can tell by the change of restaurants, hotels, etc.) The other major cities in Iowa (Waterloo, Des Moines and Dubuque) are liberal, but west of I35 it's all conservative, sometimes radically so. Steve King, one of the most bigoted congressman in recent history, was elected out west, representing the Sioux City region. As one goes north, things are still conservative, until one gets close to Minnesota, and there, one begins to encounter the "conservative tolerant" culture; those folks are conservative, but not the in-your-face type; significant numbers of Amish and Mennonites up in that area. I have "spooked" some Amish women on occasion, but other than that, have gotten along with them just fine.
And so, I take it Ottumwa is part of where Southern culture starts to take over?
You know, funny thing, before Illinois decided to legalise gay marriage and Iowa (of all states) was one of a handful of states to do so, I toyed with the idea of traveling there and performing a same-sex marriage (As a ULC minister, I am legally empowered to do so), although I admit, some of my ideas for the ritual would be strange (like saying your vows while the brides clasp one of each hand like they're arm-wrestling and having the other hand on a taxidermied horse strange). Looking over Iowa, Ottumwa was the only place that seemed interesting, and that's mostly for M*A*S*H-related reasons.
Tom Arnold (Roseanne's ex is also from Ottumwa.) There is a documentary about his sister called 'Queen of Meth' for rather obvious reasons.
“If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room.” — Confucius