I defintely raised the ire of countless Iowans the other day; nobody likes it when their home turf is poo-pooed, especially when one speaks from experience. It's impossible to fight stereotypes, isn't it? :) But it seems that I was partly right. An old fraternity brother sent word:

“On the Iowa post I agree with you seeing as how our state congress is still in session trying to figure out if they want to actually pay to have our kids educated or not.”

I'm not sure what's going on there, but I had a subsequent email exchange with a good friend, Jan Michelson – and you can tune in to AM 1040 WHO on Tuesday the 24th of May at 11AM (CST) if you'd like to hear us discuss it (amongst other things). I opened the can of worms, and there's a reason I did. Take a read:

Maytag Corp. To Be Acquired By Investor Group – “This is obviously a time of uncertainty for the many families who have worked so hard over the years at Maytag to produce the quality products so many of us use every day. I am hopeful Newton's long history of supplying Maytag with hardworking Iowans will be fully understood by the new ownership should this transaction take place,” Boswell said in a statement.

Translation: “Hold onto your hats, kiddies… you're about to get Flint'ed.” As much as you may hate what I had to say, there's a large amount of truth in it (if you can look past emotion). What happens when Principal Financial Group decides that Des Moines ain't its cup of tea?