God Bless our Police Officers!
They are probably the MOST under-appreciated and most abused segment of our society!!!

Around 700,000 full-time law enforcement officers are employed in the United States.
Every group in society will have a small percentage of individuals who will break the law (bad people) - even cops.
I only found one study on the Internet about cops who themselves break the law but when you hear that most cops are good and decent officers of the law, I would say that "MOST" isn't a sufficient enough description - more like "Super Vast Majority" are good human beings...the study showed that .002% of the total police force breaks the law themselves.
I have no idea how this compares to other groups of people - doctors, farmers, lawyers, military, race, religion, gender, etc. but .002% sure doesn't justify ending police forces in the US.
If those cities that are having the protests, riots, and violence want to get rid of their cops - go right ahead, but leave the rest of the vast majority of communities around the country out of it...we are getting along just FINE with our local cops.

Here are a few examples of snapshots of what our local officers of the law do in the community.


Officer Phinney checking in at a mid-1980s prom party.

Teaching young people about the dangers of drinking and driving at a 2016 STEM event at school.
Using special goggles to distort your eyesight that simulates being drunk.


Controlling traffic during the 2013 Children's Day


2005 Woman's club donates money for accessories in the K-9 car.
Janet McLaughlin, Officer Scott Girard, Dingo K-9, Joann Ohl


Leading the way during parades.


2019 STEM program - showing some equipment used by our police


2018 Using radar to show the kids how fast they can throw the ball during Kinderfest.

This is how trust is developed between our police officers and community - it has to start out when they are kids!

Kids get to see that cops are GOOD people too!

At times, many cops around the country are in situations as dangerous and deadly that our military personnel face during war time...and some will continue in this profession and do their jobs in these dangerous situations for decades - their families never knowing if they will be able to return home uninjured and alive after their duties are over each day.

I would say pretty much all of us have, at one time or another (probably more than we would admit), quipped back or griped to an officer when we were pulled over for a moving violation on the road that WE made - the cop not forcing us to break the law.

While MOST small town police officers never have to deal with thousands or into the tens of thousands of people who have formed into a large group that claims to be legitimately using their constitutional rights to peacefully protest but almost always have a percentage who have criminal and violent intent - our small towns cops can still easily run into a situation where their lives are at risk with one person bent on violently breaking the law.

Sadly, as I go about my daily documenting and photographing here in Manning and run into all ages of citizens, once in a while during my conversations I'll hear someone complain about our local police force - such as we don't need this many cops, or they do something that the complainer doesn't like - it's just human nature to complain about "the other guy" BUT we need to remember the old adage "before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes."

Over the years I've listened to various experiences by our Manning police officers but will only write about one situation which shows there is a lot more to being a cop than just giving out tickets and arresting people.

Several decades ago, one of our local cops told me of an interesting experience he had one late evening on a 911 call.
He got to the home and walked over to the bathroom where a very heavy lady had fallen off her stool - making a mess on the floor and had very little clothes on.
This was not only an embarrassing and awkward situation for the lady but also the officer.

This was just one of all kinds of unusual situations for this cop who went about his daily duties and had to deal with things most of us will NEVER have to deal with in our lifetime.

More speech, not less, is always the solution.

Nestride Yumga - video
"You want to change - start the change at home"

First Amendment

Book burning - "Mein Kampf" was banned in Germany until 2015.

"Firestorm" Walton's Mountain TV show - video
"Am Anfang schuf Gott den Himmel und die Erde."

Make sure to listen to the middle of the video above - the powerful scene about the Bible...
If I remember correctly, the lady who read it in German was Mrs. Brimmer - as it was explained in the series the "Brimmer" family had changed their name from "Brummer" to hide their true German ancestral name.
A number of German immigrants, even in Manning changed the spelling of their last names during WWI & WWII so it sounded "less" German.
This is how our FREEDOMS are taken away - when others force us to become something we are not and we should NOT have to become just because a few tell us to do so.

Figurative Book Burning
Below is another example of exactly why you do NOT destroy monuments, statues, and other historical structures, no matter what the past was.
The "protestors" who vandalized this monument were completely IGNORANT of history.
And they apparently can't even distinguish the difference between black American figures and white American figures.

Just like in the Bible Burning incident in the Walton's Mountain show linked just above, the Boston vandals were destroying what they claimed to be protesting against - racial inequality...but because our school systems (and especialy parents/grandparents in the homes) don't TEACH kids the basics today they don't have the slightest clue about respect for others and history, so these younger generations end up repeating the evil aspects of history...they are guilty of exactly what they self-righteously claim other people are doing.


Yellow paint thrown on the monument.
Protesters and rioters destroyed at least 16 memorials and statues in Boston on May 31, 2020, including one dedicated to black soldiers.
The Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial, a sculpture dedicated to black soldiers who fought in the Civil War, was damaged after thousands of protesters descended on Boston Common to protest police brutality against black people, according to Boston NPR affiliate WBUR.
"This monument is considered one of the nation's greatest pieces of public art and the greatest piece to come out of the Civil War," Liz Vizza, the executive director of the Friends of the Public Garden, said. "It was, amazingly enough, dedicated 123 years ago on May 31 - the day it was defaced."
The Shaw memorial depicts likenesses of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, the first black volunteer infantry unit in the Civil War, which fought after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

I would guess these ignorant protestors also don't know that Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States during the Civil War...a white man who prevented the nation from dividing into 2 different countries and whose leadership ended slavery.

It is becoming obvious that many of the protestors are nothing more than violent morons...
Note the word "colonizer" on the statue - Baldwin was born in the US in 1795 - long after the original 13 colonies began in the early 1600s.


Matthias W. Baldwin - early abolitionist - statue vandalized in Philadelphia in early June 2020.
Baldwin was an outspoken supporter for the abolition of slavery in the United States, a position that was used against him and his firm by competitors eager to sell locomotives to railroads based in the slaveholding South.
Baldwin was a member of the 1837 Pennsylvania State Constitutional Convention and emerged as a defender of voting rights for the state's black male citizens.
One of his last philanthropic efforts was the donation of 10% of his company's income to the Civil War Christian Mission in the early 1860s.

Monument vandalized in Philadelphia that honors thousands of Unknown Soldiers who died during the Revolutionary War.



The U.S. Marine Corps has issued details on its ban of public depictions of the Confederate battle flag on Marine installations.
Historic statues & names are being removed in the US today.
Just as John Boy enlightened the ignorant townspeople that they were about to burn the Holy Bible (which happened to be printed in German and they couldn't read), where does it end and who decides what you and I can read or display and say today in the US???
This attack by a few self-appointed and self-righteous politicians and radical groups needs to STOP!!! Or we'll ALL lose every right we have. It can and will happen faster than you think and even if you agree with these particular people, your rights will soon be infringed upon because those power-hungry fools want to control everyone in the end.

Why the confederacy stood for slavery, some of you will retort --- how can anyone defend anything connected to its history?
But destroying all aspects of that past history dooms us to repeat it.

In similar manner you never hear about the 300,000+ white Union soldiers who gave their lives to save the Union and end slavery during the Civil War.
While slavery was big business during the early history of the south in the US, the Civil War ended it and also helped to end slavery as an accepted manner of human trade around the world.

Manning citizens had a part in ending that slavery and saving the Union...
There are some direct descendants living in Manning today - ancestors who fought and even died during the deadliest war the US has endured.

Around 70 Manning men served during that war. One family (Moore), had a son & father serve - the father died at Andersonville.
So even a little town like Manning has been involved with a lot of major historical US events - citizens who loved our country and were willing to die to defend our freedoms.

Second Amendment

Warner Brothers removes the use of guns in its cartoons - No more of Elmer Fudd shooting Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck.
Now cartoon characters aren't exactly covered under the 2nd Amendment but this is another low-level attempt to erode the rights of people.
I also don't believe that kids watching Elmer Fudd shoot off Daffy Ducks beak will turn them into gun-toting criminals...I watched Elmer shoot Daffy hundreds of times as a kid and NOT once have I even had the slightest desire to hunt ducks & rabbits, for sport or food. But I'm also not against those who do hunt.

Elmer Fudd on the hunt - video
"It's Duck Season"


Elmer now will chase Bugs with a Scythe.

I first heard about the change in cartoons on a news show a few days ago.
What amazed me the most was all 3 broadcasters didn't have the slightest idea on how to pronounce scythe or exactly what it was.
The first newsperson pronounced it something like "skite" which I thought was just a fumbling of their tongue, but then the other 2 also pronounced it "skite" and one was baffled as to what its purpose is.

Even more amazing are the geniuses at Warner Brothers (who have never had to do a day of old fashioned physically hard work in their lives) who think that somehow a scythe is less "dangerous" than a gun.
Ever hear of the people who are hacked to death by certain gangs in the US?

I wonder if the executives at Warner Brothers have ever heard of the "Grim Reaper" character that appeared in the 14th century during the "Black Death" which was a plague that is thought to have caused the deaths of 1/3 of the population of Europe.
So maybe a scythe isn't exactly the best thing to replace Elmer Fudd's gun to make people feel more "safe" for viewing purposes.

Technically it is pronounced sīṯh but more informally sounds like sī (as in sigh)

This style scythe was used to cut mature small grains such as oats, wheat, or rye during harvest. Then the stems with seed heads were tied into bundles and stacked to dry.
I have a newer style straight handled scythe with a smaller blade that we used mostly to cut down musk and bull thistles in the pasture and to cut grass from under electric fence lines years ago, but on occasion I used this much larger scythe shown above.

How many of you knew what this tool was?
How many of you have actually used this tool, and I'm not talking about a "weekend warrior" where you maybe happen to have one from your parents/grandparents and go out and play around with it once in a while.


For about a decade I've been saying that the younger people today are now at least 2 generations removed from the reality of what hard work is actually like...they have absolutely no clue as to how good they have it in 2020.
A pitchfork, washboard, scythe, pick axe, maul, hand tools, etc. are pretty much things of the past.
Even those jobs today that demand physical labor are not even close to the hard work done by their predecessors of the pre-power tool "hand-powered" generations of the past.


If you listened to the national media and many politicians, the whole country was burning and protestors were everywhere…in every corner…every state…and every community across this vast expanse known as the United States of America.
But let's see how much of the country is doing just fine and the citizens are going about their daily business at the same time the "WHOLE country is supposedly raging," according to the so-called experts.
I thought I would use Iowa and its towns as an example for what is actually going on as normal life right now in the USA.
Toward the bottom of this feature story, I'll include some other information and recent pictures to show various normal activities going on daily in Manning, and pretty much every other small town/community in the USA.
Below are the Iowa communities which are mostly TOWNS (just a few are cities) and the year they were incorporated.

947 incorporated towns
Ackworth 1881
Adair 1884
Adel 1877
Afton 1868
Agency 1859
Ainsworth 1892
Akron 1882
Albert City 1900
Albia 1857
Albion 1870
Alburnett 1912
Alden 1879
Alexander 1902
Algona 1872
Alleman1973
Allerton 1874
Allison 1881
Alta 1878
Alta Vista 1894
Alton 1883
Altoona 1876
Alvord 1892
Ames 1869
Anamosa 1867
Andover 1910
Andrew 1863
Anita 1875
Ankeny 1903
Anthon 1890
Aplington 1877
Arcadia 1881
Archer 1902
Aredale 1920
Arion 1894
Arispe 1904
Arlington 1985
Armstrong 1895
Arnolds Park 1897
Arthur 1897
Asbury 1933
Ashton 1885
Aspinwall 1914
Atalissa 1900
Atkins 1917
Atlantic 1869
Auburn 1887
Audubon 1880
Aurelia 1879
Aurora 1899
Avoca 1874
Ayrshire 1895
Badger 1899
Bagley 1891
Baldwin 1881
Balltown 1933
Bancroft 1884
Bankston 1933
Barnes City 1899
Barnum 1894
Bassett 1896
Batavia 1868
Battle Creek 1880
Baxter 1894
Bayard 1883
Beacon 1874
Beaconsfield 1990
Beaman 1884
Beaver 1912
Bedford 1866
Belle Plaine 1868
Bellevue 1851
Belmond 1881
Bennett 1896
Benton 1900
Berkley 1912
Bernard 1897
Bertram 1914
Bettendorf 1903
Bevington 1916
Birmingham 1856
Blairsburg 1900
Blairstown 1868
Blakesburg 1900
Blanchard 1880
Blencoe 1891
Blockton 1890
Bloomfield 1855
Blue Grass 1903
Bode 1892
Bonaparte 1899
Bondurant 1897
Boone 1876
Bouton 1911
Botna - never incorporated but it once thrived (added by Dave Kusel)
Boxholm 1913
Boyden 1889
Braddyville 1880
Bradgate 1893
Brandon 1905
Brayton 1899
Breda 1883
Bridgewater 1905
Brighton 1870
Bristow 1881
Britt 1881
Bronson 1967
Brooklyn 1869
Brunsville 1911
Buck Grove 1906
Buckeye 1901
Buffalo 1875
Buffalo Center 1894
Burlington 1845
Burt 1893
Bussey 1895
Calamus 1875
Callender 1893
Calmar 1869
Calumet 1895
Camanche 1857
Cambridge 1881
Cantril 1874
Carbon 1903
Carlisle 1870
Carpenter 1880
Carroll 1869
Carson 1881
Carter Lake 1930
Cascade 1880
Casey 1880
Castalia 1901
Castana 1891
Cedar Falls 1858
Cedar Rapids 1849
Center Junction 1885
Center Point 1875
Centerville 1857
Central City 1889
Centralia 1933
Chariton 1874
Charles City 1869
Charlotte 1904
Charter Oak 1891
Chatsworth 1900
Chelsea 1878
Cherokee 1873
Chester 1900
Chillicothe 1881
Churdan 1884
Cincinnati 1875
Clare 1892
Clarence 1866
Clarinda 1866
Clarion 1881
Clarksville 1874
Clayton 1901
Clear Lake 1871
Clearfield 1882
Cleghorn 1901
Clemons 1903
Clermont 1875
Clinton 1857
Clio 1882
Clive 1956
Clutier 1901
Coburg 1875
Coggon 1892
Coin 1881
Colesburg 1893
Colfax 1875
College Springs 1875
Collins 1894
Colo 1876
Columbus City 1870
Columbus Junction 1874
Colwell 1921
Conesville 1874
Conrad 1886
Conway 1878
Coon Rapids 1882
Coppock 1901
Coralville 1873
Corning 1871
Correctionville 1882
Corwith 1886
Corydon 1867
Cotter 1912
Coulter 1909
Council Bluffs 1853
Craig 1911
Crawfordsville 1891
Crescent 1959
Cresco 1868
Creston 1871
Cromwell 1893
Crystal Lake 1898
Cumberland 1893
Cumming 1924
Curlew 1902
Cushing 1892
Cylinder 1900
Dakota City 1878
Dallas Center 1880
Dana 1907
Danbury 1881
Danville 1902
Davenport 1881
Davis City 1877
Dawson 1908
Dayton 1881
De Soto 1875
De Witt 1858
Decatur City 1875
Decorah 1857
Dedham 1884
Deep River 1887
Defiance 1882
Delaware 1915
Delhi 1909
Delmar 1876
Deloit 1900
Delphos 1920
Delta 1877
Denison 1875
Denver 1896
Derby 1901
Des Moines 1851
Dexter 1871
Diagonal 1896
Dickens 1909
Dike 1901
Dixon 1909
Dolliver 1902
Donahue 1909
Donnellson 1892
Doon 1892
Dougherty 1900
Dow City 1884
Dows 1892
Drakesville 1866
Dubuque 1857
Dumont 1896
Duncombe 1893
Dundee 1917
Dunkerton 1899
Dunlap 1871
Durango 1933
Durant 1867
Dyersville 1872
Dysart 1881
Eagle Grove 1882
Earlham 1870
Earling 1892
Earlville 1882
Early 1883
East Peru 1897
Eddyville 1900
Edgewood 1899
Elberon 1893
Eldon 1872
Eldora 1895
Eldridge 1900
Elgin 1892
Elk Horn 1910
Elk Run Heights 1951
Elkader 1900
Elkhart 1904
Elkport 1896
Elliott 1882
Ellston 1895
Ellsworth 1893
Elma 1891
Ely 1903
Emerson 1875
Emmetsburg 1877
Epworth 1879
Essex 1876
Estherville 1881
Evansdale 1947
Everly 1902
Exira 1880
Exline 1904
Fairbank 1891
Fairfax 1930
Fairfield 1875
Farley 1879
Farmersburg 1902
Farmington 1841
Farnhamville 1893
Farragut 1878
Fayette 1874
Fenton 1903
Ferguson 1906
Fertile 1908
Floris 1913
Floyd 1899
Fonda 1884
Fontanelle 1871
Forest City 1878
Fort Atkinson 1895
Fort Dodge 1869
Fort Madison 1895
Fostoria 1912
Franklin 1874
Fraser 1904
Fredericksburg 1894
Frederika 1896
Fredonia 1874
Fremont 1883
Fruitland 1972
Galt 1913
Galva 1889
Garber 1907
Garden Grove 1879
Garnavillo 1907
Garner 1881
Garrison 1883
Garwin 1890
Geneva 1903
George 1890
Gibson 1954
Gilbert 1882
Gilbertville 1917
Gillett Grove 1974
Gilman 1876
Gilmore City 1887
Gladbrook 1880
Glenwood 1857
Glidden 1873
Goldfield 1885
Goodell 1893
Goose Lake 1908
Gowrie 1881
Graettinger 1893
Graf 1933
Grafton 1896
Grand Junction 1872
Grand Mound 1884
Grand River 1899
Grandview 1901
Granger 1905
Grant 1912
Granville 1891
Gravity 1882
Gray 1894
Greeley 1892
Greene 1879
Greenfield 1876
Greenville 1916
Grimes 1894
Grinnell 1865
Griswold 1885
Grundy Center 1877
Gruver 1913
Guernsey 1906
Guthrie Center 1880
Guttenberg 1857
Halbur 1902
Hamburg 1867
Hamilton 1900
Hampton 1870
Hancock 1891
Hanlontown 1902
Hansell 1918
Harcourt 1896
Hardy 1915
Harlan 1879
Harper 1879
Harpers Ferry 1901
Harris 1903
Hartford 1913
Hartley 1888
Hartwick 1912
Harvey 1903
Hastings 1879
Havelock 1892
Haverhill 1968
Hawarden 1887
Hawkeye 1895
Hayesville 1916
Hazleton 1892
Hedrick 1883
Henderson 1893
Hepburn 1883
Hiawatha 1950
Hills 1906
Hillsboro 1916
Hinton 1908
Holland 1897
Holstein 1883
Holy Cross 1898
Hopkinton 1874
Hornick 1896
Hospers 1890
Houghton 1962
Hubbard 1881
Hudson 1893
Hull 1886
Humboldt 1874
Humeston 1881
Huxley 1902
Ida Grove 1878
Imogene 1881
Independence 1864
Indianola 1863
Inwood 1893
Ionia 1891
Iowa City 1853
Iowa Falls 1869
Ireton 1890
Irwin 1892
Jackson Junction 1897
Jamaica 1901
Janesville 1895
Jefferson 1871
Jesup 1875
Jewell Junction 1880
Johnston 1969
Joice 1913
Jolley 1895
Kalona 1890
Kamrar 1896
Kanawha 1902
Kellerton 1881
Kelley 1900
Kellogg 1874
Kensett 1894
Keokuk 1848
Keomah Village 1973
Keosauqua 1851
Keota 1873
Keswick 1912
Keystone 1893
Kimballton 1980
Kingsley 1884
Kinross 1898
Kirkman 1892
Kirkville 1883
Kiron 1900
Klemme 1899
Knierim 1901
Knoxville 1855
La Motte 1879
La Porte City 1871
Lacona 1881
Ladora 1879
Lake City 1887
Lake Mills 1880
Lake Park 1892
Lake View 1887
Lakeside 1933
Lakota 1918
Lambs Grove 1952
Lamoni 1885
Lamont 1892
Lanesboro 1903
Lansing 1867
Larchwood 1892
Larrabee 1896
Latimer 1901
Laurel 1903
Laurens 1890
Lawler 1873
Lawton 1906
Le Claire 1855
Le Grand 1891
Le Mars 1881
Le Roy 1904
Ledyard 1895
Lehigh 1883
Leighton 1909
Leland 1895
Lenox 1875
Leon 1867
Lester 1892
Letts 1877
Lewis 1874
Libertyville 1916
Lidderdale 1905
Lime Springs 1876
Lincoln 1913
Linden 1893
Lineville 1871
Linn Grove 1912
Lisbon 1875
Liscomb 1874
Little Rock 1894
Little Sioux 1883
Livermore 1882
Lockridge 1913
Logan 1876
Lohrville 1882
Lone Rock 1915
Lone Tree 1890
Long Grove 1912
Lorimor 1892
Lost Nation 1903
Lovilia 1933
Low Moor 1897
Lowden 1869
Lu Verne 1887
Luana 1911
Lucas 1887
Luther 1903
Luxemburg 1912
Luzerne 1895
Lynnville 1875
Lytton 1911
Macedonia 1892
Macksburg 1876
Madrid 1883
Magnolia 1909
Maharishi Vedic City 2001
Malcom 1872
Mallard 1895
Maloy 1901
Malvern 1872
Manchester 1864
Manilla 1887
Manly 1898
Manning 1882
Manson 1877
Mapleton 1870
Maquoketa 1857
Marathon 1892
Marble Rock 1881
Marcus 1882
Marengo 1859
Marion 1865
Marne 1892
Marquette 1874
Marshalltown 1923
Martelle 1899
Martensdale 1920
Martinsburg 1887
Marysville 1875
Mason City1869
Masonville 1901
Massena 1887
Matlock 1897
Maurice 1891
Maxwell 1883
Maynard 1887
Maysville 1909
McCallsburg 1901
McCausland 1909
McClelland 1904
McGregor 1859
McIntire 1894
Mechanicsville 1867
Mediapolis 1875
Melbourne 1895
Melcher-Dallas 1986
Melrose 1882
Melvin 1901
Menlo 1881
Meriden 1881
Merrill 1894
Meservey 1893
Middletown 1914
Miles 1893
Milford 1892
Millersburg 1911
Millerton 1915
Millville 1967
Milo 1880
Milton 1878
Minburn 1892
Minden 1880
Mingo 1903
Missouri Valley 1871
Mitchell 1879
Mitchellville 1875
Modale 1882
Mondamin 1881
Monmouth 1894
Monona 1897
Monroe 1897
Montezuma 1868
Monticello 1889
Montour 1883
Montrose 1875
Moorhead 1900
Moorland 1902
Moravia 1881
Morley 1925
Morning Sun 1867
Morrison 1884
Moulton 1869
Mount Auburn 1906
Mount Ayr 1875
Mount Pleasant 1856
Mount Sterling 1907
Mount Union 1904
Mount Vernon 1869
Moville 1889
Murray 1880
Muscatine 1851
Mystic 1889
Nashua 1857
Nemaha 1915
Neola 1882
Nevada 1869
New Albin 1895
New Hampton 1873
New Hartford 1883
New Liberty 1909
New London 1860
New Market 1882
New Providence 1893
New Sharon 1871
New Vienna 1895
New Virginia 1901
Newell 1876
Newhall 1912
Newton 1857
Nichols 1884
Nodaway 1900
Nora Springs 1874
North Buena Vista 1907
North English 1891
North Liberty 1913
North Washington 1904
Northboro 1902
Northwood 1875
Norwalk 1901
Norway 1894
Numa 1909
Oakland 1882
Oakland Acres 1875
Oakville 1902
Ocheyedan 1892
Odebolt 1878
Oelwein 1887
Ogden 1878
Okoboji 1922
Olds 1900
Olin 1879
Ollie 1892
Onawa 1859
Onslow 1888
Orange City 1884
Orchard 1913
Orient 1882
Orleans 1895
Osage1871
Osceola 1866
Oskaloosa 1875
Ossian 1876
Osterdock 1904
Otho 1954
Oto 1888
Ottosen 1909
Ottumwa 1888
Owasa 1920
Oxford 1881
Oxford Junction 1884
Oyens 1909
Pacific Junction 1882
Packwood 1894
Palmer 1901
Palo 1905
Panama 1886
Panora 1872
Panorama Park 1953
Parkersburg 1874
Parnell 1891
Paton 1884
Patterson 1877
Paullina 1883
Pella 1868
Peosta 1933
Perry 1875
Persia 1891
Peterson 1886
Pierson 1891
Pilot Mound 1897
Pioneer 1910
Pisgah 1904
Plainfield 1895
Plano 1916
Pleasant Hill 1956
Pleasant Plain 1900
Pleasanton 1884
Pleasantville 1872
Plover 1916
Plymouth 1900
Pocahontas 1892
Polk City 1875
Pomeroy 1880
Popejoy 1908
Portsmouth 1883
Postville 1873
Prairie City 1874
Prairieburg 1905
Prescott 1890
Preston 1890
Primghar 1888
Princeton 1857
Promise City 1901
Protivin 1894
Pulaski 1893
Quasqueton 1902
Quimby 1906
Radcliffe 1891
Rake 1908
Ralston 1903
Randalia 1896
Randall 1940
Randolph 1881
Rathbun 1894
Raymond 1956
Readlyn 1905
Reasnor 1912
Red Oak 1869
Redding 1882
Redfield 1881
Reinbeck 1878
Rembrandt 1901
Remsen 1889
Renwick 1891
Rhodes 1882
Riceville 1964
Richland 1868
Rickardsville 1964
Ricketts 1902
Ridgeway 1894
Rinard 1914
Ringsted 1900
Rippey 1896
Riverdale 1950
Riverside 1882
Riverton 1876
Robins 1910
Rock Falls 1882
Rock Rapids 1885
Rock Valley 1886
Rockford 1878
Rockwell 1881
Rockwell City 1882
Rodman 1899
Rodney 1892
Roland 1891
Rolfe 1884
Rome 1869
Rose Hill 1876
Rossie 1922
Rowan 1901
Rowley 1920
Royal Clay 1910
Rudd Floyd 1900
Runnells 1903
Russell 1887
Ruthven 1885
Rutland 1907
Ryan 1901
Sabula 1864
Sac City 1874
Sageville 1933
Salem 1855
Salix 1893
Sanborn 1880
Sandyville 1905
Scarville 1904
Schaller 1883
Schleswig 1900
Scranton 1880
Searsboro 1876
Sergeant Bluff 1904
Seymour 1874
Shambaugh 1903
Shannon City 1892
Sharpsburg 1905
Sheffield 1876
Shelby 1877
Sheldahl 1882
Sheldon 1876
Shell Rock 1875
Shellsburg 1874
Shenandoah 1871
Sherrill 1933
Shueyville 1968
Sibley 1876
Sidney 1870
Sigourney 1858
Silver City 1883
Sioux Center 1891
Sioux City 1857
Sioux Rapids 1882
Slater 1890
Sloan 1883
Smithland 1889
Soldier 1901
Solon 1877
Somers 1902
South English 1892
Spencer 1892
Spillville 1894
Spirit Lake 1878
Spragueville 1912
Spring Hill 1881
Springbrook 1897
Springville 1882
St. Ansgar 1876
St. Anthony 1897
St. Charles 1876
St. Donatus 1964
St. Lucas 1900
St. Marys 1923
St. Olaf 1900
St. Paul 1895
Stacyville 1900
Stanhope 1897
Stanley 1914
Stanton 1883
Stanwood 1887
State Center 1867
Steamboat Rock 1875
Stockport 1903
Stockton 1902
Storm Lake 1873
Story City 1881
Stout 1909
Stratford 1883
Strawberry Point 1887
Struble 1895
Stuart 1887
Sully 1901
Sumner 1894
Superior 1895
Sutherland 1883
Swaledale 1892
Swan 1884
Swea City 1895
Swisher 1933
Tabor 1868
Tama 1887
Templeton 1883
Tennant 1915
Terril 1899
Thayer 1894
Thompson 1894
Thor 1900
Thornburg 1883
Thornton 1892
Thurman 1879
Tiffin 1906
Tingley 1884
Tipton 1857
Titonka 1900
Toledo 1866
Toronto 1909
Traer 1875
Treynor 1904
Tripoli 1894
Truesdale 1917
Truro 1902
Turin 1900
Udell 1903
Underwood 1902
Union 1874
Unionville 1922
University Heights 1935
University Park 1909
Urbana 1892
Urbandale 1917
Ute 1892
Vail 1875
Valeria 1912
Van Horne 1883
Van Meter 1877
Van Wert 1891
Varina 1901
Ventura 1960
Victor 1868
Villisca 1869
Vincent 1898
Vining 1913
Vinton 1869
Volga 1895
Wadena 1895
Wahpeton 1933
Walcott 1894
Walford 1954
Walker 1891
Wall Lake 1880
Wallingford 1913
Walnut 1877
Wapello 1856
Washington 1864
Washta 1890
Waterloo 1868
Waterville 1912
Waucoma 1883
Waukee 1878
Waukon 1883
Waverly 1859
Wayland 1890
Webb 1901
Webster 1909
Webster City 1874
Weldon 1902
Wellman 1885
Wellsburg 1896
Welton 1908
Wesley 1892
West Bend 1884
West Branch 1875
West Burlington 1883
West Chester 1899
West Des Moines 1893
West Liberty 1867
West Okoboji 1924
West Point 1858
West Union 1879
Westfield 1903
Westgate 1896
Westphalia 1919
Westside 1871
Westwood 1982
What Cheer 1880
Wheatland 1869
Whiting 1883
Whittemore 1891
Whitten 1896
Willey 1912
Williams 1883
Williamsburg 1884
Williamson 1922
Wilton 1878
Windsor Heights 1941
Winfield 1882
Winterset 1857
Winthrop 1886
Wiota 1884
Woden 1904
Woodbine 1877
Woodburn 1878
Woodward 1883
Woolstock 1895
Worthington 1893
Wyoming 1873
Yale 1901
Yetter 1904
Yorktown 1899
Zearing 1883
Zwingle 1900


So what does listing all of the towns in Iowa have to do with anything, let alone the violence going on in JUST a FEW United States cities?
I like to use perspective and actual statistical facts to understand how very very little of the nation was actually BURNING & Rioting & protesting over the last month.

Some numerical comparisons to show how MOST of the United States is actually very peaceful!!!
New York City is 470 square miles with a population of 8,400,000
The state of Iowa has 56,300 square miles with a population of 3,047,000
There are a total of 947 towns in Iowa.
The TOTAL number of strictly cities with protests/riots in the US are around 30.
These 30 cities have a rough figure of 12,000 total square miles combined.
Iowa ALONE has 916 more total towns that are going about their daily business, compared to ONLY 30 total cities rioting/protesting in the WHOLE USA.
All of the "real estate" those 30 rioting cities takes up will fit in Iowa and our state will still have 44,300 square miles of area that is completely normal and riot free.

There are 49 more states I could do this same analysis!!!

So was the VAST MAJORITY of our country actually burning, rioting, and pitting one person, one group, one race, one creed against the other, OR is the VAST MAJORITY of the greatest nation on earth actually very peaceful and its citizens just want to go about their daily lives and NOT be accused of as racist/evil by a very small number of protestors/rioters/activists/radicals/anarchists/criminals?
Let's use a rough figure (for the sake of argument) of 50,000 protestors for each of the 30 cities that are "RAGING."
This figure equals 1,500,000 total protestors.
This is 1,547,000 fewer people than the total population of Iowa.

The 2020 population of the USA is 333,546,000.
The group of protestors is .005% of the total US population.
So are the protestors/rioters who are crying racism, the VAST majority of the US population like the news media, many politicians, and race hustlers would have all of us believe???


To borrow a phrase.
ALL TOWNS MATTER!!!
We actually do exist out here in "flyover country."


I challenge just ONE major news media outlet to drive around Iowa for one week and make quick video stops in as many of the 99 counties as possible to film the little towns and show what it REALLY looks like in AMERICA right now.

Feature 10 towns EACH day - ALL day on the national news & NOTHING ELSE.
Let's see if the citizens of those 30 cities get a reality check and maybe figure out that they need to "clean up their own act" first, and stop telling the VAST majority of US citizens how we need to change our lifestyle.


BUT, I know that no media or anyone for that matter will showcase all of the peaceful and hard-working little towns so I'll do what I always do and have done with my web pages since 1996 - at least show what we do in Manning and have been doing during this so-called nation-wide crisis.


Continued upgrading of the main trunk and lines up to each home/business with fiber optics.

East Street


Snyder Construction - remodeling the old Max & Marge Detlefsen home for the new owners.


Continued renovation on the old Hansen & Bunz building - new location for Home Mutual.

Pouring concrete parking area behind the old Bunz building.


Remodeling the old American Legion building - now owned by a local citizen.
Fortunately the historical structure is being preserved - not just torn down and replaced with a new building.


Preparing to replace the old Center Street bridge.


New roof on what was the original Lutheran Church that once stood on Second Street.

Original location of the church built in 1901 that stood on the east end of Second Street.

View looking west from the bell tower


Future site of the Manning splash pad and water slide

West wall of the indoor swimming pool.

Fire Department drill

Experimenting with the city boom truck to provide high elevation fire-fighting capability.

I was taking pictures of the bridge demolition and just happened to catch the end of the drill when I drove up on Main Street before heading home.

Manning, like most small community fire departments are ALL VOLUNTEER!!!
Way too many people around the country today live off the government - they won't even work for wages - BUT the great volunteerism in small towns like Manning is always astounding...one of the reasons why we love our communities and take care of them.
A person appreciates their community when they put blood, sweat, and tears into taking care of it!!!

May jobs report:
US economy unexpectedly adds 2.5 million payrolls, unemployment rate falls to 13.3%

I'm not an economist - don't even pay attention to it but I'm not the least bit surprised how quickly things can turn around in the US - especially where work ethic is the number one principal. Two more local Manning businesses are expanding by constructing buildings for their equipment and to work in.


Industrial Park expansion


Another old home torn down and cleaned up.


Iowa corn field quietly growing on the north edge of Manning.


Work and repairs never end on a farm - I've been replacing some rotten wood posts with steel posts.


As farming methods change over the decades, so does the weed population.
Here I'm experimenting with a herbicide to test the effectiveness on Scouring Rush.

So these are just SOME of the day to day activities in small-town America - peaceful and building things up - NOT tearing things down.


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