Mike Ladehoff

Tomorrow we will be celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and I wish you and your family a happy and safe holiday.

Luisa Ortega and the Red, White and Blue Committee plus the 13th Street District have been hard at work raising money and planning for all the festivities for us to enjoy. We owe them all a huge thank you for making our lives better, complete with memories to treasure. Yes, a carnival this year!

America? It’s doing ok. There seems to be a cloud above us or something not quite right. We seem to forget what we have in the United States and focus on the negatives in our lives.

There will always be issues (new and old) that need to be addressed, problems that pop up and constant pressures like inflation, housing, wages and insurance etc.

It is never going to be 1975 again, or when you think the best years were. Believe it or not, there were problems in 1975 too. But we tend to remember the good things, but not the bad things as much. Humans are wired that way to survive as a species. It’s scientifically proven.

If you want to know how America is doing? Just watch the soccer teams and fans coming to the U.S. and having a blast! They have been amazed by what we have here. Air conditioning, delicious BBQ, the Scottish team and fans drank ALL the beer in multiple bars in Boston. (They didn’t touch the Bud Light though, LOL!) Ranch Dressing is now considered “The nectar of the Gods” for so many visitors from overseas. We are also learning from them. How to row up an escalator in the mall, the Japanese fans picking up all the trash left in the stadium after a match and their team leaving the locker rooms spotless after the match. We have much to be thankful for.

Perhaps we need to lighten up a bit. Proof?

Lately, I have been fielding more complaints about the City fixing streets. I am not joking. In conversations and other contacts, some people are growly about this being done. Our reliable Facebook warriors are all over it. Why now? (it’s been in the financial and planning stages for over two years.) Why not grind a street and asphalt then move to another? Why so many?

The best explanation I have heard is this: The City is doing it this way for the same reason that items cost less at Costco than they do at a convenience store. Biggest bang for the buck.

Inconvenient for a few weeks? Absolutely, but necessary. We will live through it.

Enjoy your holiday!

“I like to see a man proud of the place in which he lives. I like to see a man live so that his place will be proud of him.” — Abraham Lincoln

Olivia from Mrs. Meraz’s class wants “Bowls that can click on plates.” Smart girl that Olivia…

Mike Ladehoff is the mayor of Marshalltown.