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MARIE FRANCINE
Iowa City

Marie Francine, 57, of Iowa City, died at her home on Monday, April 27, 2020.
For instructions for the visitation and services, a complete obituary and to share a thought, memory or condolence, please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com.

MERVIN L. CHAMBERLIN
Olin

Mervin L. Chamberlin, 89, of Olin, passed away quietly May 4, 2020, at the Clarence Assisted Living Center. Private graveside services will be held at the Olin Cemetery. Dawson Funeral Services of Olin is assisting the family at this time.
Mervin was born Feb. 17, 1931, on the farm between Stanwood and Olin to Clarence and Mae (Jackson) Chamberlin.
He graduated from Stanwood High School. On May 29, 1955, at the Olin Community Methodist Church, he married the love of his life, Mary Ann Hart.
He was a farmer at heart and loved spending time hanging around his farm. He enjoyed bird watching, hunting, fishing and telling a good sports story from the old days. He had a great love for horses and polka music and enjoyed spending his time watching both on TV.
Those left to cherish his memories are his wife, Mary Ann; his five children, Randy (Valerie) Chamberlin of Center Point, Rick Chamberlin of Webster City, Mitzi (Virgil) Matzen of Davenport, Rodney (Kathy) Chamberlin of Jesup and Melody (Chris) Rady of Poplar Grove, Ill., 16 grandchildren; and many great-grandchildren.
He has preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Theola; and a brother, Gerald.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.dawsonfuneral.com.
Memorials may be left in his honor to the Olin Community Methodist church.

PAULINE WYRICK ORRIS
Onslow

Pauline Wyrick Orris, 92, passed away Monday, May 4, 2020, at Shady Rest Care Center in Cascade, Iowa. Pauline was born on a farm north of Baldwin, Iowa, the daughter of Floyd and Elizabeth Hershberger Wyrick on July 6, 1927, where she lived until she married Robert M. Orris on Aug. 14, 1949.
She attended school in Monmouth, Iowa, for 12 years and received a state honorable mention in basketball in 1944 and valedictorian in 1945. She attended Iowa Sate Teacher's College for two years and taught elementary grades in Winthrop and LaPorte City. She substituted in the Midland school district for several years.
Pauline and Bob farmed on farms both north and south of Baldwin for 13 years and in 1963 moved to the farm west of Onslow. Robert passed away on June 6, 2005.
Pauline helped out with 4-H, church choirs, Presbyterian Women's organization, nursing homes, Jones County Historical Society, and RSVP. She was a member for over 50 years of both OES and the Altrurian Women's Club and a member of the Ever Ready Club for over 40 years. She was on the Maquoketa Nursing Home care review committee for over 20 years. She enjoyed the 63 card group and coffee club in Onslow as well as tending to the many berries that she grew and loved to give away. Feeding and watching the birds at her bird feeders gave her great joy.
She is survived by one son, Dennis (Julie) from Center Junction; one daughter-in-law Jane Orris of Dubuque; five grandchildren, Tim (Lindsay) Orris of Bettendorf, Dan Orris of Cedar Rapids, Pam (Jeff) VeDepo of North Liberty, Ray (Laura) Orris of Dubuque and Brittany (Giovanni) Demezier of Dyersville; great-grandchildren, Landon and Kaden Orris, Chelsea and McKenzie VeDepo and Claire Demezier.
Pauline was preceded in death by her parents; son, Kenneth Orris, in 1987; and one sister, Edith Licht, in 2008.
A private graveside service will be held at Monmouth Cemetery, Iowa. Dawson Funeral Services of Wyoming are caring for the family. Memorials may be directed to Camp Wyoming in Pauline's honor.
Online condolences may be left for the family at www.dawsonfuneral.com.

MARIE "MAMALAKI" FRANCINE KASIDI
Iowa City

On Monday, April 27, 2020, Marie "Mamalaki" Francine Kasidi was called home by God after a brave battle with cancer. She was 57 years old. Marie loved the Lord Jesus Christ and was a pillar in the community.
Visitation will be this Friday at 4 to 8 p.m. at Gay & Ciha Funeral and Cremation Service. The burial service will be noon this Saturday at St. Joseph Cemetery in Iowa City. For instructions for the visitation and services, a complete obituary, to share a thought, memory or condolence, please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com.

IRENE ELIZABETH SCHINDLER
Marengo


Irene Elizabeth Schindler, 90, of Marengo, passed away Wednesday, May 6, 2020, at the Rose Haven Nursing Home in Marengo. Funeral services will be held at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at St. John's Lutheran Church in Marengo, with Pastor Andrew Gray officiating. Burial will be in the Marengo Cemetery in Marengo. A memorial fund has been established. Kloster Funeral Home, Marengo, is assisting the family with arrangements.
Irene is survived by three nephews, Kevin (Pam) Dye of Cedar Rapids, John (Andi) Schindler of Marion and Bill Schindler of Cedar Rapids; two nieces, Deanne (Todd) Mumm of Parnell and Vera Dye of Williamsburg; a cousin, Will Klotz of Gibson; many great, and great, great-nieces and -nephews; and a sister-in-law, W. Irene Schindler of Marengo.
She was preceded in death by her parents; three brothers, Delmar, Calvin and Milver Schindler; and a sister, Shirley Dye.
Irene was born Jan. 10, 1930, in Marengo, the daughter of Charles and Katie (Klotz) Schindler. She graduated from Marengo High School in 1952. Irene worked at Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids from September 1952, until she retired in 1989 on the circuit board assembly line. She was a lifelong member of St. John's Lutheran Church and was a part of the quilting group. Irene enjoyed watching pro wrestling, going bowling, gardening baking, and was an Iowa Hawkeyes fan. She loved spending time with family and friends.
Online condolences may be left at www.klosterfuneralhome.com.

ADRIENNE EUGINA DOOLIN HOWARD
Cedar Rapids


Adrienne Eugina Doolin Howard, 75, daughter of Pearl A. Doolin and Emmitt Eugene Doolin, was born June 16, 1944. She departed this life Thursday, April 30, 2020, of complications from COVID-19, after a lengthy stay at Living Centers Nursing Home Facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
She was born in St. Louis, Mo., and had a passion for soul food, cooking, music
and her church. She reared four children in East St. Louis, Ill.
She was preceded in death by children, Howard E. Doolin, Sr. and Viola E. Howard; and siblings, Burdell M., Madeline and Regina Doolin.
Adrienne E. Howard is survived by two sons, Emmitt J. Doolin of Marion, Iowa, and David C. Washington of Carbondale, Ill.; siblings, Dedric, Aaron and Emmitt E. (Michelle) Doolin; Steven Bacon; Derek, Kyle and Lori Doolin; Louisia (Eric) Harrison, Donna Jackson and Stephanie Doolin Bacon; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren and many other relatives, family members and friends.
The family expresses a special thank you to her brother, Burdell's widow, Christine Arenas Doolin, who met our mother 18 years ago and touched her life in many ways.
A family memorial will be planned at a later date.
Service by Officer. www.officerfh.com.

TIPTON
Ann E. Hinkhouse, 74, died Tuesday May 5, 2020. Henderson-Barker Funeral Home, West Liberty.

BERNADINE "BERN" CAROLINE MCDONALD ROUSHAR
Cedar Rapids

Bernadine "Bern" Caroline McDonald Roushar, 86, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, May 2, 2020. A private graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 9, at Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Cedar Rapids. A Funeral Mass will be held at a later date.
Bern was the second oldest of six daughters born to John and Mary McDonald in Victor, Iowa, where she grew up. She married John E. "Jack" Roushar on Aug. 12, 1953.
She was preceded in death by her husband, parents, two sisters and several in-laws.
Jack and Bern founded Roushar Pharmacy in Cedar Rapids in 1970. She volunteered and was a gift shop buyer at Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids for 30 years.
She is survived by her daughter, Brenda Roushar (John) Cooney and five grandchildren, Jacklyn Caroline Cooney, Julie and Darryn Records, and John and Candace Cooney; three sisters and spouse's; and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the Mercy Hospital Volunteer Auxiliary. Condolences may be directed to the family at www.cedarmemorial.com under obituaries.

KARINE HATESA LEOTA-EVANS
Cedar Rapids

Karine Hatesa Leota-Evans, 16, of Cedar Rapids, passed away on April 20, 2020 at St. Luke's Hospital. Home going services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 17, at Cedar Memorial Park Cemetery, Garden of Serenity.
Karine was a sweet, loving, well-mannered and soft-spoken daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece and cousin.
She loved to watch and take pictures of sunsets, road trips to her aunts and uncles in Missouri and Wisconsin, sing, dance, connecting on social media, shopping and her cat Miss Samoa. She will be greatly missed by her family and everyone who knew and loved her.
Karine was preceded in death by her mother/grandmother, Karine Hatesa Apineru-Evans.
Left to cherish Karine's memories are her parents, Jennifer and Nofoasaefa Leota; sisters, Fagaeolemasina "Mary" and Taofegauia'i "Amayah"; brother, Rapi Quincy; father/grandfather, Shawn Evans; her Apineru Family; and her Leota Family.
Condolences may be left at www.cedarmemeorial.com under obituaries.
Messages from your sisters.
A message to my little sister:
Karine, this was such unexpected timing, I was hoping to go see grandma first, but I guess you beat me to it. You were such a special girl, beautiful and always full of imagination and the resemblance between the two of us is uncanny. This year 2020, I am to graduate high school, and I was hoping to finally get to meet you in person, I loved our long phone calls but I wanted the real life version of everything but I guess that shall wait till it is my turn to join you up there. It has been four years since I have heard your sweet voice, and it pains me to say I was not able to hear it again one final time before your departure. Here on Earth everything feels different, there is an emptiness. I hope you're dancing in the sky; I hope you're singing in the angel's choir, and I hope the angels know what they have. It must be so nice up in Heaven since you arrived. Never had I ever cried a river of tears, but when you decided to leave there was no holding back, the 4 oceans could not withstand the flood of tears that ran quickly down my face. But I am sorry, I never told you all I wanted to say, never had I imagined living without you, but I know you're shining down on me from Heaven. Tell grandma, Mama Susie, Pops, Nana, Pago and everyone we love up there with you that I said I hope one day I can make all of them proud, and that I miss all of them very much. I am your big sister Rine, and I hope you know how much I love you uso! Always and forever, till no end.
-- Taofegauiai Amayah Leota

To my dearest beloved baby sister,
No words can explain how much I love and miss you, it's even harder for me to write this to you because I never thought of losing you in such a short period of time. Ever since I heard the news of your loss I didn't know what to do or how to feel but deep inside there's a pain that I never felt in a long time, especially losing my own baby sister it was something really unexpected and heartbreaking. I was really looking forward to seeing you one day and spending time with you and have a sisterly bond with you that I will cherish every moment of it. But now without you, my life will be like a book without page numbers. The story will go on, but it might feel out of order. I miss her, my sister, her spirit dulled to a whisper. My sister was a gift I never asked for, but I always wanted. A lost sister is like the missing piece in the game of life. When she was alive, I didn't always miss my sister - now I can't stop missing her. See you when I see you ok, kisses to the sky to you uso. I love you with every beat of my heart and I miss you every day of my life.
--Your older sister, Fagaeolemasina Mary Leota.

KENNETH ROBERT MARTIN
Iowa City

Kenneth Robert Martin, our loving father and mentor, paddled off from the dock for the last time on May 8, 2020, joining Raymond and Inez, his parents, brother, Arnold, and dear wife, Alice on the big lake.
He leaves behind many stories of a life well-lived that will be retold in our family for generations. Among them: Just after World War II, he was stationed in Guam as an Army Air Corps staff sergeant, where he adopted a stray dog. Unwilling to abandon the pup after the tour was over, he smuggled him aboard ship in a duffle bag, which was discovered by brass before reaching Hawaii. Though denial of on-shore leave in Honolulu was the consequence, dad didn't forsake the dog, and after the pair crossed the ocean together they lived happily in Gary, Ind., for many years. Such is the compassion, devotion and fortitude (and mischievousness!) Ken would demonstrate over and over in his life. While we will miss his warmth and humor terribly, his legacy is plain to see in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. We are nature lovers as Ken was. We turn over rocks just to see what lies beneath as he taught. We gaze at the stars with the same awe and wonder he showed us. We bless him for these gifts, which will never be forgotten.
To share a thought, memory or condolence with his family, please visit the funeral home website at www.gayandciha.com.

ANN E. HINKHOUSE
Tipton

Ann E. Hinkhouse, 74, passed away Tuesday May 5, 2020, at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
Graveside services will be held 11 a.m. Monday, May 11, at the Sharon Cemetery in rural Wilton. Visitation will be held from
9 to 10 a.m. Monday at the Henderson-Barker Funeral Home in West Liberty. Memorials may be made to Cedar County Friends of the Animals and Iowa City Hospice.
Ann Elaine Hinkhouse was born Sept. 25, 1945, in Iowa City, Iowa, the daughter of Nevin and Belle (Walton) Hinkhouse. She was a graduated from Lutheran Hospital Nursing School, received her B.A. from Cornell College and M.B.A. from St. Ambrose University. She was active in nursing all her life, working at Genesis Hospital in Davenport, University of Iowa, Crestview Care Center in West Branch, Cedar Manor Nursing Home in Tipton, Simpson Memorial Home in West Liberty and, most recently, at the Wilton Care Center. She enjoyed the family farm where she spent most of her life up until the sale in 2017, moving to Tipton. Ann worked as parish nurse for Zion Lutheran Church in Wilton for many years. She enjoyed raising sheep, gardening and embroidery work. She was a member of St. Paul's Lutheran Chapel in Iowa City, Tipton Rotary Club and Cedar County Historical Society Board.
Ann is survived by many cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and brother, Steve, in 2017.

Watch my video about the incremental approach—the cheapest, smartest, and easiest way to build a website (and a business!) One thing that’s always annoyed me about contract web design and development is this idea that you can actually pay for a finished product to be delivered within a particular time frame. Nothing actually works this […]

Watch my video on how I’m changing my approach with Thesis to include a lot more Focus. When I launched Thesis 2 in October of 2012, my goal was to create something that could serve as the foundation for any WordPress design. That’s why I spent the next 2 years working on Skins, which are […]

Tthink about the great relics of human civilization—the pyramids, the magnificent castles of Europe, the Great Wall of China, meticulously detailed sculptures from different eras, the awe-inspiring churches and temples that dot almost every landscape we’ve ever inhabited… All made of stone. All hundreds of years old. All crafted with the intention of permanence and […]

It’s simple—I don’t like recurring payments. And I don’t know about you, but with most recurring payments, I feel anxiety around this need to “get my money’s worth.” In other words, I often feel like I under-utilize the product and thus overpay to some extent. So why do I sell my software under a recurring […]

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We are in the same storm, but not in the same boat. Your ship could be shipwrecked and mine might not be. Or vice versa.

For some, quarantine is optimal: a moment of reflection, of reconnection, easy in flip-flops, with a cocktail or coffee. For others, this is a desperate financial & family crisis.

In some homes a sole occupant faces loneliness. In others, family members are getting peace and time with each other — in others, quarantine means an increased danger due to domestic violence.

Some families of four just received $3,400 from the stimulus while other families of four saw $0.

Some were concerned about getting a certain candy for Easter while others were concerned if there would be enough bread, milk and eggs for the weekend.

Some want to go back to work because they don’t qualify for unemployment and are running out of money. Others want to punish those who break the quarantine.

Some are home spending a few hours a day helping their child with online schooling while others are educating their children on top of a 10-12 hour workday.

Some have experienced the near death of the virus, some have already lost someone and some are not sure if their loved ones are going to make it. Others don’t believe this is a big deal.

We are not in the same boat. Our perceptions and needs are completely different.

We are all on different ships during this storm experiencing a very different journey.

Diane LaDuke

Iowa City

“It is hopelessness even more than pain that crushes the soul.”

-William Styron.

In my 35 years on earth I’ve heard the term “unprecedented” used only a handful of times to describe global events. I don’t know about you, but as I write this tucked away in my basement where I’ve been working from for the last two months, I’m pretty darn sick of the word “unprecedented.”

All of us are now experiencing the culmination of a global pandemic, a painful economic reality and the challenge of stay at home orders.

Social connectedness is one of the most important aspects of the human condition. During times of crisis we come together, not apart. Time spent with friends and family is immensely important to our well-being, heck, even time spent with co-workers has its benefits. Physical proximity to our supports matters, it matters a lot.

For those of us with a history of mental health struggles (and without), this “unprecedented” crisis has presented unique challenges to our well-being: uncertainty, fear, and a sense of hopelessness. The daily loss of life, the 24-hour news cycle with its constant focus on the pandemic, and a massive economic crisis. Good news is hard to come by.

The psychologist and suicidologist Edwin Schneidman coined the term “psychological pain” to describe “how much you hurt as a human. It is mental suffering; mental torment.”

All of us hurt right now.

During times of stress, it is not uncommon to experience thoughts of suicide.

The vast majority of individuals who experience suicidal thoughts or behaviors go on to live healthy and full lives. During this time where many of us have already felt financial impacts or experienced increased depression, the possibility of experiencing suicidal ideation or behavior increases.

Support is available, help is out there.

1. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) to immediately speak with a counselor (24/7/365). If you are thinking about suicide, are worried about someone else, or would like emotional support, the Lifeline network is available.

2. Mobile Crisis Outreach: If you live in Eastern Iowa you can call the Iowa Helpline (855-581-8111) to receive free telehealth services from a mobile crisis counselor. Counselors will connect with you via telehealth to provide screening, immediate intervention and guidance.

There are several warning signs that can help you determine if you or a loved one is at risk for suicide. These include:

• Talking about wanting to die or to kill themselves

• Looking for a way to kill themselves, like purchasing a firearm

• Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live

• Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain

• Talking about being a burden to others

3. Social distancing does not mean social isolation. While we can’t be physically with many of our friends and family, we should still make an effort to connect with them. If there is someone you’ve worried about in the past, a friend or family member with a history of depression, now is an important time to reach out and see how they are doing.

4. Take care of what you can. I’ve noticed with many of the clients I work with (and myself) that as social distancing and stay at home orders have been in place for nearly two months now, sleep habits and routines have started to change. I find myself staying up later and sleeping in later. Sleep and mental health go hand in hand. It’s hard to feel good when we are not sleeping, or if our sleep cycles are significantly disrupted. Depression can drive us to want to sleep away the days. This is something to be avoided and tends to compound our feelings of loneliness.

5. Connect with your mental health providers. Connecting with a mental health provider remains an important component of support. Let your provider know that you’ve had thoughts of suicide so you can work collaboratively on treatment and support.

6. Know that you matter. Individuals who experience thoughts of suicide and/or depression will often report that they feel or think their lives don’t matter. As Kevin Hines, the motivational speaker and suicide prevention advocate says “You matter to people you haven’t even met yet.” Treatment for suicide ideation and behavior is very effective. You are worth it. The vast majority of people who experience suicide ideation go on to live healthy and fulfilling lives.

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength which will always spring up if thou wilt always look.”

-Marcus Aurelius, The Meditations.

Drew Martel (LISW, CADC) is the director of crisis services at Foundation 2 and has been involved in several suicide risk assessments, as well as provided trainings across the state on suicide intervention and treatment. Drew also provides individual therapy at Meadowlark Psychiatric Services and is an adjunct instructor at the University of Iowa School of Social Work.

I am a longtime resident of Johnson County, currently in my 25th year of law enforcement. I worked for the Coralville Police Department in the late 1990’s and transferred to the Cedar Rapids Police Department in 1999 where I am a sergeant of the patrol division. I have degrees in criminal justice and organizational leadership and have advanced leadership training from Northwestern University in the School of Police Staff and Command.

Working in the second-largest city in the state has offered me many opportunities to lead. I have taught in the police academy and defensive tactics and as a field training instructor. I was the director of the Eastern Iowa Heroin Initiative, where I founded CRUSH of Iowa (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin). CRUSH is a community-based, grassroots organization helping all those affected by substance abuse disorder.

My passion has been community outreach. Currently I am a member of the Johnson County Human Trafficking Coalition and the Johnson County Prevention Partnership. Through these partnerships I will create a criminal interdiction team to fight the trafficking of humans, weapons and narcotics.

As sheriff, my top three concerns are substance abuse, mental health and human trafficking. I believe in creating long-lasting relationships with the community. I believe in common sense solutions without the haze of political bias. I believe that every citizen has a voice and should be heard. I believe in building a proactive and progressive law enforcement agency that serves with professionalism, compassion and dedication to the citizens. I believe we need to place the community back into community policing.

I am ready to be sheriff of Johnson County. I am a proven leader who is determined to build bridges with the citizens of the county and lead with accountability, trust and transparency. I will fight for all of Johnson County as sheriff because I have done so all of my life. This election is not just about me, it is about us. We, together, will make a positive impact on Johnson County. The status quo is not working. It’s time for change!

I would love to have your vote on June 2. We work better when we work together. People before politics!

Al Fear is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County sheriff. alfearforsheriff.com

I was happy to read Joe Coffey’s article in Sunday’s paper (“The birth of news in Linn County”) about the history of newspapers in Linn County. But I was disappointed that Mr. Coffey did not include mention of the Metro Libraries’ historical newspaper databases. All of the papers mentioned and pictured in his article (and many more!) are available in scanned, full-text, searchable versions, through the websites of the Cedar Rapids and Marion Public Libraries. There is no charge to browse or search these delightful old editions, and in fact, you don’t even need a library card.

I encourage anyone with an interest in local history, or just with a little time on your hands, to look at some of these old newspapers. It’s a delightful adventure to read about lives in other times.

Jo Pearson

Marion

I’m Admiral Mike Franken, and I’m a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Months before COVID-19 gripped the world, and what feels like an eternity before it began to run roughshod over Iowa, I decided to run for U.S. Senate. Why? Because Iowans deserve experienced leadership in Washington.

Now, Iowa suffers one of the worst outbreaks in the nation; currently, three Iowa cities are the home of the second, forth, and fifth worst outbreaks in the country.

During a crisis, especially a crisis of this severity, there is no alternative to leadership, experience, and vision. Unfortunately, political decisions have taken precedence over workers and their families. Our governor is insistent on opening the state as local experts and the CDC frantically urge otherwise. Sen. Chuck Grassley has said little.

And, indefensibly, Sen. Joni Ernst is declaring that “Iowa has fared pretty well” despite what we know to be true: Iowa still is in a crisis. And the worst still is to come.

Iowa doesn’t just suffer from a pandemic, we suffer from a profound failure of leadership. The question that voters must ask ahead of the June 2 primary is clear: Where can an Iowan look for leadership?

A lack of leadership may come from a lack of experience, as well. I’m no stranger to dealing with disasters, pandemics, or other crises. Hurricanes have slammed economies, and, working for the Department of Defense, I helped rebuild them. Ebola decimated communities and, working in the Pentagon and in Africa, I helped rally the international efforts to save them. I’ve been here before.

My plan is to win this race by offering a showcase of leadership. Recently I began a Daily Coronavirus Briefing on Facebook Live to fill the vacuum of leadership left by Joni Ernst and others. I use these daily opportunities to set the record straight, to discuss what is best for Iowa, how to recover from this pandemic, and kick start our economy, and ultimately build a new America. In short, I will lead to achieve these opportunities.

On June 2, we have a close race for the U.S. Senate. Let’s chart a new course. I am the only candidate with the experience to lead Iowans out of this crisis. Let’s cast a vote for principled, experienced leadership for Iowa.

Michael Franken is a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

“Past performance is no indication of future results.”

That’s a favorite mantra of many business analysts. It may be true when pondering statistics. But when considering people, it’s a false positive. You certainly can predict how people will perform, based on what they’ve said and done.

For example, if a business owner has historically forced employees to work in hazardous conditions for minimum wage, it’s no surprise that now, they are compelling workers to choose between risking their health even further or go without a meager paycheck.

If elected officials have historically favored those business owners over working people, it’s no surprise that now, they are threatening to deny unemployment benefits to those workers who don’t return to their hazardous jobs.

Those historically silent about this and other injustices are remaining silent now — and we shouldn’t expect anything different from them.

I have been a business owner for nearly three decades, but I am pro-people.

Because I made personal concessions during the Great Recession, no one at UIG, the property and casualty insurance agency where I am president, lost their job. I have done the same this year with COVID-19. And will do it again to put my employees first.

Because I believe in workers’ right to organize, I supported my campaign staff’s successful effort to unionize with the Campaign Workers Guild, becoming the first senate campaign in Iowa to do so. This guarantees they receive a dignified living wage, get paid time off, unlimited paid sick leave, and fully paid health insurance. We did this together. Which is the way business should work.

On the contrary, the lobbyist-backed candidate, Theresa Greenfield, bankrupted her company in 2013, and went on to evict several small businesses with Colby Interests so she could replace their storefronts with an Aldi. We all have seen what happens with a real estate developer in power, and it has certainly not benefited hardworking Iowans.

COVID has revealed fissures in America’s bedrock. To fix the cracks, we need leaders who have proved they can craft solutions to assure every worker of a dignified wage, a safe workplace, paid time off and sick leave, and affordable, accessible health care.

These days have taught us that past performance certainly is an indication of future results. We need to look closely at what someone has said and done when considering what they may say and do in office.

Eddie Mauro is a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate.

I have been a Johnson County resident since 1977. I grew up in Clear Lake, a small farming community in North Central Iowa. I came to Iowa City after being recruited by Dan Gable to wrestle for the University of Iowa Hawkeye wrestling team and placed 3rd place in the 1980 NCAA Division I.

I met my wife Teresa and we settled in Iowa City. I have two children, Melissa, 36, and Anthony, 25; and grandchildren Emma, 9, Ellie and Emilia, 4-month-old twin girls, and Jack, who passed two just before his 2nd birthday. I am a cancer survivor and support cancer research and patient support.

I was a maintenance supervisor at the old Cantebury Inn, I owned and operated Advance Property Management for 23 years and drove a school bus for First Student, Inc. While working at First Student I was one of the driving forces in the campaign for the workers to unionize with the Teamsters. I was asked to join the Teamsters as a full-time organizer after the campaign, which I did for 13 years. I found my calling as an organizer because I was able to help others stand up for themselves and really change their lives.

I made the decision to run for Johnson County supervisor because we need to bring some common sense back to Johnson County government, and run a smarter government that works for all. The supervisors need to oversee the county departments better to stop wasting county funds paying settlements to individuals because of illegal action by department employees. Rules are for everyone and if you work outside the rules there will be costs and consequences.

I want to bring new blood to the board as well as new ideas. County supervisor is a public service position of honor and trust. Being a supervisor is about following through on jobs you were elected to do for the people. The supervisors need to finish jobs that they started but never completed. You should never leave a job half done!

I hope the voters agree the Johnson County Board of Supervisors need to answer to the public for their actions and their employees. We can no long just “sweep issues under the rug.”

Dean Phinney is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Johnson County Board of Supervisors.

The upcoming primary election is a pivotal moment for Iowa City. For the past several months, I have talked to people throughout the district who are ready for change. They believe their Democratic representative should show up for people throughout the community, especially those in need. They expect a legislator from Iowa’s bluest district to be a leader in the party, raising money to support Democratic candidates up and down the ticket and making the strongest possible case for progressive legislation. They are ready to start now in building the future of the Democratic Party and state government in Iowa. And I am honored that they are putting their trust in me.

There is a lot at stake in this election. The coronavirus has laid bare and magnified preexisting inequities — inequities brought about by the Legislature’s disinvestment in education, health care, and worker rights and safety. Small businesses are now struggling to survive, when for years the state has been giving large corporations hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits. Water quality, climate change and gun violence still need our attention, even as we continue to invest in keeping people safe from COVID-19. We have never needed strong leadership more than we do now.

I will be a champion for progressive values because I have lived them. I know how hard it can be for people to get by even when they work hard. I grew up in a trailer in rural Florida. Neither of my parents graduated high school. My dad was a construction worker who suffered for years with emphysema. When his health insurance was canceled, my family had to choose between paying for his medicine and everything else. Fortunately, public education gave me the opportunity for a better life. My teachers taught me well and helped me to apply to college. Public university tuition was affordable then, and I was able to work my way through engineering school and law school.

Today, I am a law professor, an environmental engineer and a mother. I believe I have the skills, energy and passion that Iowa City needs at this critical point in time. I will show up for every member of our community and fight for a better future for all of Iowa.

It’s time for change in Iowa City. Please vote for me in House District 85 and help to build the future that Iowa deserves.

Christina Bohannan is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Iowa House District 85.

Serving as state representative of House District 85 for the past few years has been a privilege and an honor. I have worked hard to stand for the people of my district fighting for issues that are important to them and to the voters of Iowa City. I want to continue that advocacy and am running for another term in the Iowa House and ask for your vote.

I vigorously support adequate funding for education from pre-school to our community colleges and universities. Our young people are Iowa’s future and deserve the best start available through our excellent education system in Iowa. But we need to provide the dollars necessary to keep our teachers in the classroom so our children are prepared for whatever may lie ahead of them.

I have advocated for the fair treatment of workers in Iowa and support their right to organize. I have worked on laws for equal pay for equal work and whistle blower protection.

I am for essential funding for mental health services for Iowans of all ages. Children and adults who are struggling with mental health issues should have services available to them no matter where they live in this state.

I have fought to keep government open and accessible to Iowans. I support open records and open meetings laws to ensure that availability and transparency to all Iowans.

Keeping voting easy and accessible to voters has been a priority of mine. I support a fair and balanced redistricting system for voting in Iowa.

I have advocated to keep the bottle deposit law in place and expand it to cover the many new types of containers available.

I have worked on oversight legislation after several investigations into defrauding government which involved boarding homes, government agencies and pharmacy benefit managers (the “middleman” between pharmacies/Medicaid and the healthcare insurance companies.)

I cannot avoid mentioning the challenge of the coronavirus in Iowa. It has impacted our health, jobs, families and businesses. No one could have predicted this pandemic but as Iowans, we need to do our best to limit contact and the spread of this disease. My sincere appreciation goes to those workers on the frontlines of this crisis: the healthcare workers, store owners, businesses, farmers, teachers and workers who show up every day to keep this state moving forward. Thank you all!

There is still much work to be done to keep Iowa the great place where we live, work and raise our families. I am asking for your vote to allow me the privilege of continuing that work.

Vicki Lensing is a candidate in the Democratic primary for Iowa House District 85.

Gov. Kim Reynolds has put Iowa on the map, and not in a good way. Sioux City and Waterloo/Cedar Falls are now on the list of communities in America with exploding cases of COVID-19. Both communities are now fighting to protect meatpacking workers and the community because company efforts to protect their workers have failed.

The alarms started going off at Iowa’s meatpacking plant in Tama and Columbus Junction in late March. Packing plants in those communities closed on April 6 due to rampant worker sickness from the deadly virus. Now, after repeated complaints, state OSHA inspectors were finally forced to visit Tyson’s plant in Waterloo. Sadly, however, they still have not conducted a single in-person inspection of any other Iowa plants to make sure that workers have protective equipment and are practicing effective infectious disease control.

Instead, Gov. Reynolds has repeatedly praised company executives for their efforts. trust packing plant CEOs without independently verifying what they were doing is now causing sickness, death and supply chain calamity.

Her ideologically motivated decision to block state inspectors from visiting and helping the plants has thrown Iowa livestock farmers into financial and management turmoil.

Now the president says all packing plants must remain open. This is a disaster. Forcing Iowa workers to work in unsafe conditions without state enforceable protections is cruel and will make all Iowans unsafe while further delaying our economic recovery.

Iowans deserve better.

State Sen. Joe Bolkcom

Iowa City

Republican voters in the Iowa 2nd District have a pretty simple choice on June 2.

On the one hand, there’s my opponent, Mariannette Miller-Meeks. She’s the establishment darling, and she’s got plenty of experience campaigning! This is now her fourth time running for Congress (She lost the first three times).

The problem with Miller-Meeks is that, like too many career politicians, she will say or do anything to get elected. Miller-Meeks claims to be pro-life, but here’s what she told a 2018 League of Women Voters candidate forum:

“I am pro-choice, but it’s a very sensitive issue. … Ultimately as a doctor and a health care provider, I think these are decisions that are best left to providers, to doctors, and to patients.”

After that video clip surfaced, I called on Miller-Meeks to either endorse the heartbeat bill — a bill that would ban abortion after the moment a baby’s heartbeat could be detected — or drop out of the race. She has no plans to do either, but in the meantime she’s going to continue to run ads telling you how pro-life she is!

Voters have another option on June 2. I’m Bobby Schilling. I’m a Catholic, pro-life, pro-family, pro-free market, former union member, Trump-supporting Republican. I own a few pizza restaurants in the Quad Cities area. And my wife, Christie, and I have — count ‘em — ten kids!

I served as a member of Congress after winning my race in 2010. I know how Congress works. And I know how to stand up for conservative principles even when liberals, RINOS and fake news journalists are trying to get you to vote the wrong way.

We need someone who can be tough in the face of political pressure and remain firm in their convictions. We need a fighter who is willing to work with President Donald Trump to make America great again, even if it means upsetting the establishment in Washington. Unfortunately, my opponent has shown herself to be very wishy-washy. We don’t know how she’ll vote. We just know she wants to be there. We can absolutely do better than that.

I want to go to Congress to fight for America — and fight for Iowa families. That’s why I’m in this. I hope you’ll consider voting for me on June 2.

Bobby Schilling is a candidate in the Republican primary for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District.

As death rates from COVID-19 rise, the state is beginning to open back up. And with that the expectation is that Iowans get back to work. Iowans who don’t go back to work will lose unemployment benefits, leaving thousands of workers forced to expose themselves and their families to a potentially deadly virus, which experts say could have a second wave in the fall.

The rush to reopen the state has left many questions about the health and safety of Iowans unanswered. Among those questions, “Who will watch the children?” is especially crucial.

Schools are closed for the rest of the year. The future of summer camps is uncertain. Half of the child care centers in America currently are closed. Using elderly parents for child care can be risky since grandparents are in the age bracket with the highest risk for death and complications from COVID-19.

This leaves families, mothers especially, at risk of losing their jobs and unemployment benefits.

Nationwide, women still carry the heavy burden of child care, despite the fact that most families are dual income homes. Two-thirds of minimum wage workers in America are women which puts them at risk for unemployment and illness because of exposure to the virus.

Already, the child care gap for women contributes to the wage gap. Women earn 80 cents to the male dollar. And the inequality is compounded when segmented by race.

Congress has tried to pass a paid leave policy, but those attempts have failed. And Iowa’s governor has so far not commented on the looming child care crisis as she declares victory over the virus and opens up the state.

Before the pandemic, a quarter of Iowa families lived in a child care desert, and child care in the state does not even come close to meeting the national definition of affordable. Experts estimated that the Iowa economy loses more than $1 billion each year because of a lack of child care. And with the reality of the pandemic sinking in, it will only get worse.

The Department of Human Services received $31.9 million in aid from the federal CARES Act that was dispersed to child care centers to help care for the children of essential workers. But as more people go back to work, that aid will be spent very quickly. Leaving the children of everyone else without answers to this fundamental question. If Reynolds wants to open up the state, her team needs to formulate a comprehensive plan that addresses the lack of child care and offers paid leave and works to reopen child care centers.

But rushing to open an economy when there is no child care is an attack not just on families but specifically mothers.

(319) 398-8262; editorial@thegazette.com

In August 1919, the Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette opined in favor of the passage of a $5 million congressional appropriation to “investigate influenza, its cause, prevention and cure.”

“We all remember without effort the darkness and terror which engulfed the land last fall and winter as death stalked swiftly from seaboard to seaboard, into crowded city and unto lonely plain, sparing not the cottage of the poor nor the mansion of the rich,” the editorial said. “In four short months, influenza claimed a half million lives and pressed millions of others onto beds of sickness, suffering and helplessness. The nation’s mortality rate leapt high and with astounding speed. The nation was unprepared to cope with a disease calamity such as it has never known.”

The Gazette lamented that billions of dollars in loss were wrought by the pandemic of so-called Spanish influenza, compared with only $5 million being spent to investigate the virus.

“More has been spent in studying diseases of hogs,” the editorial argued.

Just less than a year earlier, The Evening Gazette did not see “darkness and terror” coming. A front page, above-the-fold story Sept. 25, 1918, asked: “Spanish Influenza just the old-fashioned grippe?” “Grippe” is an old-time term for the flu, by the way.

“As a matter of fact, in the opinion of City Physician Beardsley, and a good many other Cedar Rapids men in the same profession, Spanish influenza is just another name for the regular old fashioned influenza and is no different from the influenza we have always had. A bad cold is a bad cold, and a worse cold is grippe, which covers a multitude of things ...,” The Gazette reported, optimistically.

An earlier strain of influenza in the spring of 1918 had been less virulent and deadly. But the second wave was no ordinary grippe.

By mid-October, according to reports in The Evening Gazette, influenza caseloads exploded. On Oct. 12, 1918, the local health board shut down pool rooms, billiard halls and bowling alleys. It pleaded with store owners to avoid allowing crowds to linger. On Oct. 16, stores were ordered to discontinue any special sales that might draw more shoppers.

Restrictions tightened as the pandemic worsened.

Death notices were stacking up on Gazette pages, in rows reminiscent of small tombstones. Many victims were cut down in the prime of life by a virus that struck young, healthy people hardest. Mothers and fathers died, leaving young children. Soldiers serving in World War I died far away from home. Visitors to town never returned home.

Young brothers died and were mourned at a double funeral. A sister who came to care for a sick brother died, and so did her brother.

Ray Franklin Minburn, 24, died of influenza, leaving behind six sisters and two brothers. “Mr. Minburn was a faithful son, a devoted companion, a good neighbor,” concluded his death announcement on Oct. 21, 1918.

On the same page that day came news, tucked among the tombstones, reporting that Iowa Gov. William Harding had recovered from influenza, in the midst of his reelection campaign, and was back in the office. You might remember Harding as the governor who banned German and other languages during World War I and who was nearly impeached for bribery in 1919.

Not far from Harding’s update came news from the prison in Anamosa that “whisky and quinine” were being deployed to attack the grippe.

The pages of The Evening Gazette also were dotted with advertisements for supposed cures and treatments.

“Danger of infection from influenza or any contagious disease can be eliminated by using preventive measures,” prescribed by Ruby S. Thompson, chiropractor and naturopathic physician. Those included “Sulphur-vapor baths, Carlsbad mineral bath.”

You could build up your blood using “Gude’s Pepto-Mangan,” the “Red Blood Builder.” Keep your strength up with Horlick’s Malted Milk.

One ad looked exactly like a news story, carrying the bold headline “Druggists still asked to conserve stocks of VapoRub needed in ‘flu’ districts.” In a tiny notation at the end of the “story” were the words “The Vicks Chemical Co.”

That August 1919 Gazette editorial I mentioned makes me wonder what we’ll be writing in a year or so after our current pandemic.

Death stalking us swiftly from seaboard to seaboard in an unprepared nation, preceded by the casual insistence it’s no worse than the seasonal flu, sounds eerily familiar in 2020. More attention is being paid to hogs than the health of humans working in meatpacking plants.

Will we be writing in 2021 how reopening states and counties too soon led to our own second wave? Here in Iowa, reopening began before we had a fully working predictive model to chart the pandemic’s course and before new testing efforts had a chance to ramp up. Will decisions made without crucial information look smart in 2021? Or will we wish we’d waited just a couple more weeks?

What of the protesters demanding liberation? What about the president, running for reelection in a nation harmed by his crisis mismanagement? What will a new normal look like?

Will there be newspapers around to editorialize in the aftermath? After all, most of the pitches for fake cures are online now, some even extolled at White House briefings.

And will we be better prepared next time? I bet editorial writers in 1919 figured we’d have this pandemic response thing down to a science by now.

Little did they know that in 2020 we’d have so little respect for science. And after a century-plus, the darkness and terror apparently slipped our minds.

(319) 398-8262; todd.dorman@thegazette.com

With over 11,000 positive COVID-19 cases in Iowa and a mounting death toll, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds went to Washington DC. to declare her approach to the pandemic a success.

Her victory lap included a sit down with the president and a Washington Post op-ed. The op-ed was co-authored with four other GOP governors and declared, the “common-sense approach helped keep our states on track and have set us up to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever.”

On May 8, Vice President Mike Pence came to Iowa to celebrate Iowa’s success. But what does Iowa’s success actually look like?

Well, two of our counties are national hot spots for the disease.

Experts from the University of Iowa project that Iowa has yet to reach it’s peak for cases and warn that without proper measures a new wave of infection will hit the state in the fall.

Iowa’s success looks like the TestIowa initiative getting off to a slow start due to problems with the test machines and thus far, failing to achieve it’s promise of 3,000 tests per day. And mounting concerns about the accuracy of the tests, after the Des Moines Register reported that several test samples were unable to be processed.

Success looks like Minnesota having 3,000 fewer positive COVID-19 cases with 2 million more residents and nearly 40,000 more tests completed.

The week of Reynolds victory lap was the week that Iowa saw a 28 percent increase in hospitalizations, a 51 percent increase in ICU admissions, and a 39 percent increase in patients needing ventilators.

Reynolds declaring victory now is like crowning yourself the winner in Monopoly before you even made it all around the board. It’s like demanding your marathon medal on mile 13. It’s like declaring you are flattening the pandemic curve, before your COVID-19 cases skyrocket by thousands. OK, that’s not a metaphor, that’s something our governor actually did. Just weeks ago.

This is what Reynold’s success looks like: 231 deaths and vulnerable being forced to return to work before it's safe. And these are not just numbers, these are people.

Perhaps the most damaging thing that this pandemic response has done was to turn individual lives into a chart on a scoreboard. A game of chess, where we are willing to sacrifice some pawns to keep winning at making money.

AP reporter Ryan Foley noted on Twitter that those dead from COVID-19 in the state include a Bosnian refugee who left behind a heartbroken husband and a Latino father who was raising three kids on his own after their mother died of cancer last year.

Those lost include Willi Levi, one of the men who escaped servitude from the Atalissa turkey processing plant.

But as state Rep. Steve Holt argued in an op-ed this week, if we have enough room in our hospitals, why not open the economy? The logic was repeated during Reynolds May 7 news conference — our hospitals can handle it so we move forward. This is what success looks like: Enough hospital beds for us all to die in.

Before the pandemic came to the state, Holt and Reynolds were both pushing an amendment to the state constitution that would strip protections for abortion.

The Venn diagram of those people telling you COVID-19 isn’t that bad and so what, some people will die, and the people who call abortion murder is just one flat circle of hypocrisy.

Holt has even been tweeting about how shut down orders violate our personal liberty. But where is all that personal liberty when it comes to my uterus, Holt?

Our success didn’t have to look like this. Our success could have involved fewer deaths, fewer infections and a reduced risk for a resurgence, if we had just waited two more weeks.

Dr. Eli Perencevich, professor of internal medicine and epidemiology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and one of the authors of a report for the Iowa Department of Public Health, which warned against reopening too soon. He spoke to me in an interview last week, where he explained that if Iowa could have remained closed just a little longer, we’d be closer to safety. Ideally, explained Perencevich, if Iowa had truly shut down immediately and decisively for two weeks in the beginning, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Absent that, shutting down for two more weeks would ensure greater safety.

This pandemic didn’t have to be a choice between the economy or lives. We are the world’s richest nation, we could have come up with a solution. But doing so would mean that we’d have to face America’s deep inequality, we’d have to enact social change and pump money into food benefits and health care, two things Reynolds has slowly been defunding during her tenure as governor. Each of these deaths was preventable not inevitable. But our governor and federal government have given up the fight, and called it success. They’ve accepted that some people will die, and even more will get sick and lose their livelihoods and income and be forced to bear mounting medical costs.

It’s easier to say you win, before you’ve even played the game. And so here we are, dying from all this success.

lyz.lenz@thegazette.com; 319-368-8513

The next ten years will prove to be one of the most challenging eras in Iowa history.

Whether we meet those challenges with Iowa-smart, progressive responses will depend largely on the quality of legislators we elect to office.

Christina Bohannan, Democratic candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives, would be a remarkably talented and hardworking legislator, if given the opportunity to serve.

The daughter of blue-collar parents.

Trained as an environmental engineer.

A professor of law at the University of Iowa College of Law.

The former president of the Iowa Faculty Senate.

A mother.

These life experiences inform Christina Bohannan’s pragmatic progressivism.

If elected, she has the skill set to get good things done for Iowa.

Please join me in supporting Democrat Christina Bohannan for the House District 85 seat in the June 2 primary election.

Jim Larew

Iowa City

VOTE411 provides voters with information about the candidates on the ballot in the June 2 primary election. The League of Women Voters created the election-related website as a one-stop location for nonpartisan information for the public.

Each candidate was invited to respond to a set of questions. You can see their responses online at VOTE411.org. If you don’t see responses from every candidate running in your house or senate district, please contact them asking that they participate in VOTE411.

For this primary election, we are asked to vote absentee if possible. Input your address in the VOTE411.org website and get information about how to get your absentee ballot, register to vote, and who will be on your ballot.

The League of Women Voters of Iowa wants you to educate yourself and then vote in the June 2, 2020 Primary Election.

Cathy Eisenhofer

LWV Johnson County

Coronavirus provides a chilling lesson about crowding. The disease originated in a densely packed Chinese City. As it moved worldwide it struck most heavily in crowded places where people live and work in proximity.

Medical experts advise us to stay home and keep fellow humans at a distance. Isolation works. If a pathogen can’t reach us it can’t cause harm.

The same holds true for food. Years ago farmers planted diverse crops in relatively small fields, and raised modest numbers of chickens, pigs, and cattle. One cornfield or chicken coop was, essentially, isolated from the next closest counterpart, making it hard for a disease to jump from one farm to the next.

Modern Agriculture, in contrast, raises hundreds of thousands of chickens and turkeys crowded together in single buildings. Hogs and cattle are also crammed together, as are crops. Essentially the Midwest is one continuous cornfield stretching from Ohio to Nebraska. Once a pathogen mutates a new disease can easily sweep across vast fields or through crowded growing buildings, leaving a path of death and food shortages in its wake.

Modern mass agriculture is efficient, providing consumers with inexpensive eggs, milk, vegetables and meat, but it is vulnerable. Today’s farmers recognize disease potential and practice scrupulous biosecurity to keep pathogens away from their crops and animals. Still, all it takes is one mutation or introduction of a foreign microbe and a high percentage of American food is lost.

Families can reduce their vulnerability to mass food production by growing some at home. During The Second World War the government encouraged families to plant victory gardens and keep one to two hens per family member. Many households were able to grow up to 40% of their annual dietary needs, even in small yards. It freed commercially produced food for the military. Yards remain capable of growing significant quantities of nutritious food using three techniques.

Gardening: An amazing quantity of nutritious food can be grown in even a small sunny backyard, especially when intensive gardening techniques are used.

Foraging: Delicious wild foods grow in unsprayed yards and are free for the picking. Our family, for example, enjoys nettles, lambsquarters, purslane, acorns and dandelions. Learning to identify, harvest, and process them is not difficult. Ironically spraying a yard kills plants people can eat to favor inedible grass.

Chickens: A six hen backyard flock will produce two dozen eggs a week. They need some commercial feed but recycle kitchen scraps and garden weeds into eggs. Cedar Rapids and other towns allow families to keep chickens with a few restrictions.

Families unable or unwilling to grow backyard food can boost food security by buying vegetables, meat and eggs from small local producers.

Coronavirus has taught us about contagion and helps clarify the threat that mass production poses. Raising backyard food enhances resilience. It’s satisfying and helps ensure there will be something to eat.

Rich Patterson of Cedar Rapids is a writer, former nature center director and ecological consultant who co-owns Winding Pathways LLC with his wife, Marion.

One in five people will have some kind of mental illness in their lifetime. Yet despite how common these conditions are — as common as silver cars, and more common than being left-handed — stigma remains the greatest barrier to individuals seeking help regarding their mental illness.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. This serves as a great opportunity for our community to begin eliminating stigma by starting conversations and increasing understanding about mental illness.

Now, more than ever before, it is important to talk about mental illness. Many of us could be feeling increased anxiety, stress and feelings of isolation due to the COVID-19 outbreak and social distancing requirements. For those Iowans who already live with a mental illness, this pandemic could be causing symptoms to compound.

A recent study released by a team at Iowa State University states that increased unemployment and social isolation measures related to COVID-19 could result in an increase in suicide rates of close to 50,000 individuals.

Despite the challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic, there still is help available: Telehealth services during this crisis is critical. Our state leaders, Iowa Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen and Gov. Kim Reynolds responded immediately by encouraging health providers, insurers and businesses to work together to remove barriers and ensure telehealth is accessible.

Your Life Iowa, a state-operated service, offers referrals for problems related to alcohol, drugs, gambling, mental health or suicidal thoughts and can be contacted by phone, text or online chat 24/7.

Between March 1 and April 19, Your Life Iowa received nearly 500 contacts related to COVID-19 and traffic on the website — YourLifeIowa.org — is up 27 percent. Crisis lines and mental health counselors around the state and country are also reporting an uptick in patients reaching out for resources or virtual counseling. This is important progress.

However, the greatest barrier for those in need of mental health services is stigma.

If you know someone who is struggling, be a voice of support. The silence around mental illness is preventing our fellow Iowans — our friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members — from feeling better. By breaking down the stigma around mental illness, we can help them access the resources and treatment they deserve.

If someone opened up to you about their mental illness, would you know what to say? Do you have a general understanding of the most common mental illnesses? Do you know how to support loved ones dealing with mental illness? There are free resources available at MakeItOK.org/Iowa to learn more.

You can also read stories of Iowans who live with mental illness, take a pledge to end mental illness stigma and learn more about how you can get more involved with Make It OK through ambassador trainings, upcoming events and workplace programming.

Together, we can end the stigma and Make It OK.

Jami Haberl, Iowa Healthiest State Initiative; Lori Weih, UnityPoint Health — St. Luke’s Hospital; Tricia Kitzmann, Linn County Public Health and Mona McCalley-Whitters, Ph.D., NAMI Linn County.

When Andrea Wilson approached me five years ago with her idea of creating a space for writers in our community separate from any offered by the University of Iowa, I must admit I was a bit skeptical, if not defensive. Over a long coffee discussion, I shared with her a detailed look at the literary landscape of Iowa City and all of the things my organization, the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature was doing to make those assets more visible and accessible.

• Coronavirus closes the Iowa Writers’ House - for now

Despite this, Andrea mentioned the need for an “on ramp,” a way for people who don’t feel a part of that community to find their path, to access those riches. It was there, I thought to myself. She just hadn’t looked in the right place.

Then she built that ramp in the form of the Iowa Writers’ House. As she and her team defined what that ramp should look like, what role it should play, the Writers’ House evolved from being an idea with promise to a vital part of our literary infrastructure. She showed that people were hungry for further instruction. They desired more and different ways to connect with one another. These were things beyond the scope and mission of the UI and the City of Literature. She had found her niche, and filled it, nicely complementing what was offered by my organization and others.

But those services do not come without cost. Andrea and her team scrambled, using the house as a literary bed-and-breakfast that was used by many visiting writers. They scheduled workshops. They held fundraisers. But that thin margin disappeared with the onset of COVID-19. Unable to hold those workshops, to serve as a bed-and-breakfast, to provide meaningful in-person connections, the Writers’ House was unable to carry on in its current configuration.

We have every hope and expectation that the Iowa Writers’ House and Andrea will continue to be a part of our literary landscape in the future. This will come perhaps in another form, another space. Conversations have been underway for months about the needs of the literary community beyond the UI. Andrea has been a key part of those discussions, and the work that she and her team has done offer vital information about where those conversations need to go. Gaps have been identified, and while they won’t be filled in the same way, they will be filled.

These conversations join those that have been taking place in our community for decades about the need for space and support for writers and artists. As we all have realized over these past few weeks of isolation just how much we miss when we are not able to gather to create and to celebrate those creations, perhaps those conversations will accelerate and gain focus once we reconvene. The newly formed Iowa City Downtown Arts Alliance, of which we are proud to be a part, is an additional voice in that conversation.

In the meantime, we want to thank Andrea, Associate Director Alisha Jeddeloh, and the team at the Iowa Writers’ House, not just for identifying a need, but for taking the rare and valuable step of actually rolling up their sleeves and doing something to meet it.

John Kenyon is executive director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature.

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