Author Archives: Marty Ryan

“You’re in the wrong place!”

Each year, for a period of about four or five years straight, a group of nine guys from around Denison, Iowa, traveled in a van to Kansas City to watch a Kansas City Royals game on a Saturday afternoon. I … Continue reading

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Caught off guard

In 1997, when I was lobbying for the Iowa Civil Liberties Union (the forerunner to the ACLU of Iowa), a bill was introduced in the Iowa House of Representatives that would have allowed school officials to randomly conduct searches of … Continue reading

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The Big Ten

Six of the nine United States Supreme Court justices are Catholic. Even Neil Gorsuch, who identifies as an Episcopalian, was raised Catholic. This is an important demographic because of at least one case that could make it to the High … Continue reading

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George’s cherry tree

George Powers had two cherry trees on his property. He had a few other fruit trees, but those trees didn’t produce like the cherry trees. George lived two houses south of us. I would walk through Johanna Scanlon’s property next … Continue reading

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Water woes

“Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.” Well (no pun intended), you can drink it, but water in the Des Moines area is as priceless as – well, water. Central Iowa has a water problem, but it’s not … Continue reading

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Flaws in the laws – Part VII

Apparently, research at the Iowa Capitol is a thing of the past. Senate File 397 passed the Iowa Senate and House with a total of two[1] “nay” votes between the two chambers and is waiting for the governor’s signature. SF … Continue reading

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