My annual holiday letter: Get with it, Fred

Fred just emailed telling me to do something that is not in the offing this soon after prostate surgery, otherwise I would.

And Merry Christmas to you, too, Fred old pal.

I have reached an audience large enough to attract lurid email suggestions but not enough to make bank or even rent. An attitude of gratitude is essential to surviving against the gray. We broke even again this year. Lost a little here, found a little over there thanks to generous friends. We squeak by. Which is sort of frustrating, honestly. It should not be as difficult as it is. 

We do great work. Journalism rocks. Fred can suck eggs.

The year began with a scary aortic aneurysm repair at Iowa City in February. Hail Marys were said, along with a fairly sincere Act of Contrition. The weather outside was frightful. Brother John drove because Dolores was down with the crud. What a trooper. He could drive to Afghanistan. Stents were installed and my aorta purrs like a kitten. I am grateful to the University of Iowa. We should quit attacking it. They may be queer-loving liberals but they are handy with a knife when you need it.

Summer found me floating in the backwaters of the Mississippi River with cinematographer Jerry Risius cobbling together videos on some tough Iowa issues: water pollution, cancer, agricultural resilience and rural consolidation. The water video was just released and is getting a lot of attention on YouTube. The cancer video will be finished in a few weeks, featuring Storm Lake native Bill Toohey and local Dr. Sabrina Martinez. The editor for the video series is Rachel Hardy of Invictus Media in Des Moines, a graduate of Buena Vista University. We produced the series in collaboration with Teamsters Local 238 in Cedar Rapids, led by Storm Lake native Jesse Case. Cool people from Storm Lake are everywhere. I was fortunate to spend time with Jerry. He shot the movie “Storm Lake” and I wanted to work with him on an Iowa project. This is it. We could not have done it without the generosity of Iowa donors. This series will make a difference in the civic debate leading up to the 2026 midterm elections.

Dear Marty, We Crapped In Our Nest: Notes from the Edge of the World, rolled out in September. The book is an easy read at under 200 pages, readily adaptable to the bathroom, and a real value at just $20. It makes a perfect holiday gift: Hey, everybody, we are polluting what should be the sweetest spot on Earth! Democracy is imperiled! “Sweet Jesus help us!” is the message. It’s funny that way.

More recently, I was treated for prostate cancer at Mayo Clinic. I had a relatively easy outpatient procedure that involved freezing out the tumor. I’m relieved that the catheter was retired quickly. I also got an education on trying to manage your own health care. We need a single-payer system, Santa.

We paid the IRS, the printer and the banker. There was enough left over for supper at Plaza Mexico for the crew. We missed no meals and can afford two pairs of shoes. The stubborn fact is that it is a helluva lot harder to make a living out in the sticks trying to tell the truth than it is crunching numbers in West Des Moines.

Dolores is helping organize the pet rescue Caring Paws and chronicling the silo fire. Tom is hounding City Hall. Jamie Knapp is on the sidelines for every game. I’m laying by in the bullpen thinking about things, like how not to work. Brother John minds the books.

We get by. We need more subscribers. Please tell your easy friends to lighten their load on us because we don’t get paid enough to take crap from Fred. Please sign up at www.stormlake.com.

We also appreciate your donations. Please send them, big or small and tax-deductible, to the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation, 15302 140th St., Breda, IA 51436. We depend on it.

If you believe that news about your schools, property taxes, sports and community life is important, we appreciate your support. Advertising with us works, and it is a lot cheaper than Facebook. Please tell your legislators to protect legal notices in newspapers — you have a right to know how your government operates.

We are so lucky to live in Iowa, but it becomes more apparent as time flies by that we are wasting our opportunities. Fear should find no harbor In Storm Lake, but it prevails. It became clearer than ever this year how the government reins in freedom. The Holy Family was on the run, remember. So stuff it this holiday season, Fred, and get your priorities in order before your aorta blows.