Latest / Grow Clinton Podcast / GCP273 - A Conversation with Iowa House District 70 Candidate George Pickup

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GCP273 - A Conversation with Iowa House District 70 Candidate George Pickup · Grow Clinton Podcast

0:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, there's a big one point four billion dollar debt right now that the state has.
0:04
SPEAKER_01: You're listening to the Grow Clinton Podcast.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: Grow Clinton is a 501c6 nonprofit, economic, community development, and tourism organization based in Clinton, Iowa.
0:14
SPEAKER_01: For more information, visit growclinton.com.
0:17
SPEAKER_01: Again, that's growclinton.com.
0:19
SPEAKER_01: Now, back to the show.
0:21
SPEAKER_01: What's happening, all you beautiful people out there in Podcast Land?
0:24
SPEAKER_01: Hey, thanks for tuning in for another episode of the Grow Clinton Podcast.
0:27
SPEAKER_01: This is episode 273.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: Grow Clinton is a nonprofit organization nestled in the eastern side of the great state of Iowa, right along the mighty Mississippi, where we focus on economic development, community development, and tourism.
0:39
SPEAKER_01: As always, I'm your host, Andy Sokolovich, for this episode.
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Join in the studio by none other than Jenny Home, our director of member and community relations.
0:46
SPEAKER_01: Jenny, what's happening?
0:47
SPEAKER_01: You know, we've had two great days.
0:49
SPEAKER_01: We gave off the Innovation Award.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
0:51
SPEAKER_01: Wow.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: Innovation Award went to the Bickelhopped Arboretum as well as the Saw Mill Museum for their collaboration and partnership and attracting not one, not two, not three.
1:04
SPEAKER_01: We'll say 3.5.
1:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh Dambo Trolls.
1:08
SPEAKER_01: If you're not familiar with Thomas Dambo, he's a world-renowned artist, really focuses on uh kind of avoiding waste and recycling.
1:17
SPEAKER_01: And he built three amazing trolls here, plus a creature, which is located up at Eagle Point Park.
1:22
SPEAKER_02: And you know, I love to hear how the number goes up of all the people who are visitors.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: 130,000 visitors so far.
1:29
SPEAKER_02: That's amazing.
1:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
1:31
SPEAKER_01: Love it.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: You know, last night I went, we had well, yesterday we had the war the award at the Arboretum.
1:36
SPEAKER_02: Today we had at the sawmill.
1:37
SPEAKER_02: Yesterday at the Arboretum, it was so busy with visitors.
1:40
SPEAKER_02: And then we went uh we drove by uh Helmut.
1:43
SPEAKER_02: Helmut?
1:44
SPEAKER_02: Helmut Helmut up at uh Sawmill.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: It was busy up there.
1:47
SPEAKER_02: Then we went out for dinner at Rostrelli's.
1:50
SPEAKER_02: That place was packed.
1:51
SPEAKER_02: You could just see it.
1:52
SPEAKER_02: You could see all of it.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: Very cool.
1:53
SPEAKER_01: You know what else?
1:54
SPEAKER_01: Cool, Jenny sponsors.
1:56
SPEAKER_01: Mike Jack, courtesy of Citizens First Bank, making your finances and our audio on this podcast crystal clear.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: These brand new microphones for the Grow Footin' Podcast, proudly sponsored by the bank that's always in tune with our community.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: Find them at gocfb.bank.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: Banking as it should be with Citizens First Bank.
2:11
SPEAKER_01: Member F D I C new branch will be opening in Morrison, Illinois.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: That is so cool.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: Very excited.
2:17
SPEAKER_01: I had a chance to drive by that yesterday.
2:19
SPEAKER_01: They were putting out the rock in front that has the CFB logo etched into it.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: Really neat.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: At Craft Printware, Sully Sports.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: At Craft's been in the custom parallel game since 1974.
2:30
SPEAKER_01: Now a cutting-edge operation, providing top-notch customized printware to teams and companies all across the United States.
2:36
SPEAKER_01: For all of your custom printware needs, Atcraft USA.com.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to check out Sully Sports, physical location, 19th Avenue Northwest here in Clinton.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: However, you can also go to Sully Sports.com.
2:48
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to sign up for the Sully Shirts Club, where if you're a member, you get an exclusive t-shirt, quality t-shirt, every single month and 10% off everything in the store.
2:59
SPEAKER_01: And this month, I also had a trick-or-treat bag.
3:03
SPEAKER_02: Did you get you lucky?
3:04
SPEAKER_02: You know that's like a$13 bag.
3:06
SPEAKER_02: Well, Jenny, you gotta know people.
3:07
SPEAKER_02: That, I guess.
3:08
SPEAKER_01: I mean, you're related to them, but you know, whatever.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: Miles Communication, the original gangsta, the first podcast sponsor.
3:16
SPEAKER_01: They power the Bro Clinton Podcast with crisp, clear, and consistency so we can have wicked fast high-speed internet fiber type.
3:23
SPEAKER_01: They also offer television and telephone services.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: If they're not in your neck of the woods, they're on their way.
3:28
SPEAKER_01: Milestelephone.com, Lionel B Cell Clinton Complex, where they produce high-density, low-density, polyethylene plastic pellets, used to create a variety of products, including household industrial bottles, pressure pipes, food packaging, you name it, if it's made out of plastic, chances are pretty good that those resins came from Clinton.
3:44
SPEAKER_01: LYB is committed to being a responsible, engaged neighbor in the communities where they operate, just like here in Clinton.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: Lionel B cell solutions for a better tomorrow.
3:52
SPEAKER_01: Good show today, Jenny.
3:54
SPEAKER_02: Oh, yeah.
3:55
SPEAKER_02: This is a very important time of the year, the uh midterm.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
4:00
SPEAKER_01: Elections coming up November 3rd.
4:02
SPEAKER_01: Exciting.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: And we have in the studio George Pickup.
4:06
SPEAKER_01: He is the candidate for Iowa House District 70.
4:10
SPEAKER_00: George, thank you so much for joining us.
4:11
SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks for having me.
4:13
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate Grow Clinton.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: I love the the uh that your goal out there that's really written well, that that's what you want to do, and it sounds great that you're getting so many people into Clinton with the trolls.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: A bunch of my friends have sent pictures of those.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: I haven't seen them, so I gotta get to get there.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: And I love Rostrelli's too, as well.
4:28
SPEAKER_00: Did a lot of shows with Gary Detterman down there for uh during coaching days.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, and also thanks for hosting the the all-important forum uh that was pretty well attended, and a lot of people uh streamed it and had comments uh about how it went.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: So that was a really nice night uh to kind of just talk about what I feel is important uh going f uh forward uh in this election.
4:47
SPEAKER_01: Well, George, just like the forum, this is a laid-back conversation.
4:51
SPEAKER_01: We just want to know more about you.
4:52
SPEAKER_01: And first of all, kudos to anybody that throws their name on a ballot.
4:56
SPEAKER_01: I know it can be stressful and daunting, and it requires a lot of sweat equity and compassion.
5:04
SPEAKER_01: So, George, what made you want to run for state representative for House District 70?
5:09
SPEAKER_00: Well, a couple things.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: I really didn't have it.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: I just retired from 39 years in education, 17 as principal central DeWitt, which is a great school just uh in in Clinton County.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: Sabres.
5:19
SPEAKER_03: The Sabres.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: I I was a coach there, both basketball, track, and uh had a great, great, it great experience there.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: I love that district.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then uh um I was a government teacher um in before that, and I took kids out to the Capitol, and I was just really intrigued by the process.
5:33
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure the process is the same as it was when I was teaching.
5:36
SPEAKER_00: It's a little more uh combative now, if you will.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: Yep.
5:39
SPEAKER_00: It's a little different and we all know that.
5:42
SPEAKER_00: We all know that people can say things that they shouldn't say to their fellow Americans.
5:46
SPEAKER_00: Um but anyway, um, and then I was Mike Zimmer's uh campaign chairperson.
5:50
SPEAKER_00: It was really like Rita Hart met with us and uh kind of which one of you want to run.
5:54
SPEAKER_00: And Mike was already kind of thinking about when that special election came up.
5:57
SPEAKER_00: It was kind of neat.
5:58
SPEAKER_00: Akeem Jeffries mentioned that election today in a podcast with Aaron Parnas.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh, it was pretty neat.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: He said that you know, that special election I will really kind of was a big thing.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: So I was Mike's campaign chairperson uh for that short time, and then uh Rick Lincoln, who was the uh person who um kind of recruits Democrats to run for office in in Clinton County.
6:17
SPEAKER_00: Former sheriff.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: I still call him Sheriff Lincoln.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: I coach both of his boys and have have good uh great rapport with him and his wife, but he called me and said, uh, would you be willing to?
6:27
SPEAKER_00: And I kind of already decided that I would.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: I I felt that I was uh, you know, um I have my wheelhouse is education, but um being a person who was a principal, that doesn't prepare you for being a politician, but uh it certainly doesn't hurt because you have a lot of diverse people you are dealing with and listening to.
6:43
SPEAKER_02: What was the moment where before Rick Lincoln did that, where you're thinking about it, what was the turning point for you to say, yes, I'm gonna do it?
6:51
SPEAKER_00: It's a huge commitment.
6:52
SPEAKER_02: It is.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: It is a huge commitment, bigger than I thought, but I'm on I'm one that when you when you commit to something, you go full.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: Do it.
6:58
SPEAKER_00: Um I I would say, and I'm gonna just I mean, I'm not I'm mentioning um two of the candidates in in Clinton County, and one of them had said that public schools are the last resort.
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and the uh another one said that uh um public schools are adequately funded.
7:13
SPEAKER_00: That's my opponent.
7:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh I was it was in the newspaper.
7:16
SPEAKER_00: I was at the one when Mr.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: Detterman said that public schools are the last resort, and I thought this is not a good thing to hear for me.
7:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I decided I wanted to uh to run.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And both those guys, I talked to them, they're they're human beings and they have families uh and they've done a fine job.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: They've been in in public service for quite a bit, but uh I'm also a person that thinks term limits should be part of uh government.
7:38
SPEAKER_00: And uh I'm on the national committee for term limits.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: That just means I signed up for it.
7:42
SPEAKER_00: I'm not really doing much, but they get signatures, they want people to be part of that.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: I I think six uh six terms is probably enough.
7:49
SPEAKER_00: I think uh we need to have some fresh uh ideas, and I think I can bring that.
7:54
SPEAKER_00: Um I I would not serve seven or eight terms for sure.
7:57
SPEAKER_00: My wife might not be happy with me anyway.
8:00
SPEAKER_00: Um but uh anyway, so I decided to uh throw my hat in the ring and and it's been a uh very fun process at so far.
8:08
SPEAKER_00: Uh I mean I haven't had negative stuff come at me yet, other than a few times on Facebook, but for the most part, I love knocking on doors.
8:16
SPEAKER_00: I love talking to people about uh what they're what keeps them up at night.
8:20
SPEAKER_00: Um and and you know the same things, you're dealing with the same things and and you're and attracting people to Clinton and Clinton County.
8:27
SPEAKER_00: So uh my goal is to represent Eastern Iowa.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: And I mentioned in the forum, I I I don't Comanche and Clinton are not in my district, but I would do everything I can to help that area too, because that helps everything around.
8:38
SPEAKER_01: So well, you you said something, you know, obviously here at Grow Clinton, we have a great relationship with all the school districts in Clinton County.
8:46
SPEAKER_01: Uh Stacy Borgeson, our director of workforce development talent attraction, works with all of them.
8:51
SPEAKER_01: But when you get to the state house, now for those that are not aware, state representative is a two-year term commitment.
8:58
SPEAKER_01: So basically you are running for election and then you are running for election.
9:02
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't stop.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: Senate is four, but uh you are going into a pretty cumbersome partisan politic game, meaning you have Democrats and Republicans.
9:14
SPEAKER_01: It's very common to hear people say, Well, I would work with both sides of the aisle, but we've realized in the last several years how difficult that process can be.
9:23
SPEAKER_01: How do you plan to navigate that if elected?
9:26
SPEAKER_00: That's a great question.
9:26
SPEAKER_00: I think you have to work with both sides and both chambers.
9:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, I would be in the House for two years, and as you mentioned, you'd be walking parades two years in a row again and then out campaigning.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: I think two years is sometimes a little crazy because of the amount of money spent on these campaigns.
9:41
SPEAKER_00: Um I have a former student uh when I was in Western Iowa, I taught him government, took him out to the Capitol first time, uh, Senator Schultz, which uh he he is he is definitely right uh in his thoughts.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: Um I'm not saying correct, I'm saying far right, uh and uh which is fine.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: But I went out to visit uh the Capitol, uh I went into the uh Democrat uh caucus rooms, and you know, there are only 33 Democrats sitting in there uh at this time uh in the House of Representatives in Iowa versus 67 uh Republicans.
10:08
SPEAKER_00: And I wanted to make sure I talked to Jason Schultz and uh he saw me and uh gave me a hug and said, Mr.
10:12
SPEAKER_00: Pickup, and uh you know, if if I can work with him uh on some things, uh I think I could work with most everybody there.
10:18
SPEAKER_00: He was part of the uh author of the bill 2017 to take collective bargaining away from public employees, which is a disgrace in my opinion, treating uh teachers like professionals and uh all public employees, uh they they can basically negotiate for base wages and you know, benefits like healthcare and that are so important.
10:37
SPEAKER_00: And uh it I was a chief negotiator for many districts.
10:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh and also uh when I was principal, they kicked me off that because I was fighting for teachers too much, which I think we should.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: Um but if I can't work on both sides, then then probably I shouldn't be re-elected the next time because we can't just continue to vote party lines because that's not been good for Iowa, and it's certainly not been good for uh eastern Iowa.
10:59
SPEAKER_02: So when you go to door-to-door, what is what are the main topics people are talking to you about?
11:04
SPEAKER_00: Well, right now, affordability is a big one.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: I was uh at a door, I've knocked on doors in every community uh that I have.
11:10
SPEAKER_00: I was knocking last night, Timber Creek with the deer running around, and uh um and and affordability is the one of the main ones right now because that's the issue people are talking about uh when gas prices are what they are.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: And some of these things we don't have as much control over in the State House of Iowa.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: It's tariffs, it's uh it's a lot of uh things coming from Washington, D.C., of course.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: But if we don't take it and try to improve upon those things, so I had a uh a I say older lady, older than me, let's just say that.
11:37
SPEAKER_00: But she she was wonderful.
11:39
SPEAKER_00: She said uh I can't afford to go get a roast that my husband and I like.
11:42
SPEAKER_00: It cost like$27 for a three-pound roast a couple weeks ago.
11:47
SPEAKER_00: And she lives in Wheatland and she had a drive to go get it.
11:50
SPEAKER_00: So it's like and then she said uh uh she likes this sort of hamburger, and uh it was uh almost uh$15.50 for two pounds.
11:58
SPEAKER_00: Uh so affordability is an issue.
12:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh and how do we get that fixed?
12:03
SPEAKER_00: I I think we have to work together, but there's definitely things we can do with property tax stuff and other things.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: Um I'm not happy with a 2% cap.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: Uh that doesn't keep up with inflation at all.
12:13
SPEAKER_00: I think uh Steve Linder told me best it's gonna really strap.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: I talked to I talked to city managers, city administrators in my district, Steve Linder and Josh Bolter from a Coke and DeWitt, and they're worried.
12:23
SPEAKER_00: And uh uh Kelly Brown, economic development person up in Jackson County, said to me this could be a spiral death for some uh small communities because you can't cut police and fire uh stuff is you you can't cut public safety.
12:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, that that'd be a bad thing.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: Uh but you might have to, right?
12:40
SPEAKER_00: But that's the the last thing you can cut, in my opinion.
12:43
SPEAKER_00: Um so what are you cutting?
12:44
SPEAKER_00: You're cutting other services that people want, and uh they may not be able to get those anymore.
12:49
SPEAKER_00: You you know, your libraries, your streets, everything that a good community wants to attract people, I think we've just been handcuffed by a 2% cap, which I would fight heavily to get that changed.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: I hear them say sometimes, and I've heard my opponent, I've heard others say, well, we made this bill now, we we'll maybe deal with it later.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: How about we make good legislation that happens now that will help people in eastern Iowa?
13:12
SPEAKER_00: Because we're not Des Moines, we're a totally different demographic, right?
13:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we're rural.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: Clinton has a lot of rural, but Clinton's a big, the biggest city in in the county.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, but uh still right by the river, why don't we take advantage of some of these great things we have?
13:25
SPEAKER_00: I tell you what, when I come to Clinton to eat at places, my wife and I, whether it's Chicken George, what's uh candlelight is wonderful.
13:32
SPEAKER_00: What a beautiful view.
13:33
SPEAKER_00: And then I went to a labor day, labor picnic up on uh Eagle Point and sitting out there and looking at the river, uh, I don't know if everybody knows how wonderful these things are.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: And and we need recreation and we need good things for people to see.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: And Clinton's got some beautiful things happening.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, you got a river.
13:50
SPEAKER_01: It is beneficial to get the folks out of Poe County into Clinton County.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: Uh not everything is Des Moines-centric.
13:55
SPEAKER_01: Uh, you touched on a very good point, is often I feel the legislators try to apply a solution to a problem that is multifaceted and it does not fit all communities.
14:10
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, one size definitely does not fit all.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh I know that I would represent approximately the same amount of people as a a representative in in Des Moines because that's how they draw the districts.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I repres I would represent three counties.
14:23
SPEAKER_00: Scott County, uh the this the five smaller uh towns uh in the northern part of Scott County.
14:29
SPEAKER_00: I would represent uh Lomore, close to here, right?
14:32
SPEAKER_00: Uh uh DeWitt, Grand Mound, uh Wheatland, Calamus, Makoda, Baldwin.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: I mean, these are small communities.
14:39
SPEAKER_00: The one thing I didn't realize when I got into this is how many parades there are in small communities.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: And you're gonna walk in every parade.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I have three counties, which I got to every parade, and I talked to people, and if they had a Trump flag or a mega hat, I went up and talked to them and just said, hey, what can we do?
14:54
SPEAKER_00: What can we do in eastern Iowa?
14:56
SPEAKER_00: It was good conversation sometimes, and sometimes they just didn't want to talk to me.
15:00
SPEAKER_01: So, George, you you highlighted some things about education, uh specifically the funding of the public school system.
15:07
SPEAKER_01: You highlighted a little bit about the property tax cap or the growth cap for municipalities at 2%.
15:13
SPEAKER_01: What else do you feel is going to be an immediate issue as we move into this next legislative session that's going to be addressed?
15:21
SPEAKER_00: Well, I I myself, I think there's a few, if I could say a couple.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: Um I do believe school finance, and I did talk about it at the forum, we can't continue to uh um give schools two percent, which is much below.
15:32
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why two percent is a key thing, but two percent cap, two percent funding.
15:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh I believe in what Governor uh candidate Sands says is that we need to finance schools at 5%.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: Now I know that's probably uh not going to happen, but if we don't say it, how is it going to happen?
15:47
SPEAKER_00: Uh I've seen schools now um cut sections of classes and go from five to four, and that may sound great economically, but what about what about now three or four more kids in that classroom uh that may not get as much uh support as they need?
16:02
SPEAKER_00: And and you know, public schools accept everybody.
16:05
SPEAKER_00: So, real quickly, the voucher systems just accept everybody.
16:08
SPEAKER_01: Right.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, have to.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: And I think we should.
16:11
SPEAKER_00: We want to.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: We want to make sure these kids have a place to go.
16:14
SPEAKER_00: Doesn't matter if they have a behavior problem or if they have some some reading issues or they're in a wheelchair, they're coming to us and we need to give them all the love we can, and that's what we do.
16:23
SPEAKER_01: I like what you said there.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: You want to.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: What I meant by have to mean that the difference between a private school system and a public school system is the private school system can kick a student out.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: The public school system doesn't have that same benefit.
16:37
SPEAKER_00: No, it's almost impossible.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: And in a student with an IEP, we have to make sure we're finding out what ways to do to help them.
16:43
SPEAKER_00: And you know, they come from all walks of life.
16:45
SPEAKER_00: I always told my staff the parents don't hide the kids in the closet.
16:49
SPEAKER_00: They send every kid to us, and we need to do the best we can to educate that young person and change their life if we can.
16:56
SPEAKER_00: And that's what I told our teachers always.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: So I I believe the voucher system is uh is uh needs some reform.
17:03
SPEAKER_00: Uh if I say get rid of it right away, then a lot of people get mad.
17:06
SPEAKER_00: I think the words oversight.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: Oversight and accountability, and I do believe there should be a uh cap on uh income.
17:13
SPEAKER_00: Like if you're making$300,000, do you really need a voucher for public choice?
17:18
SPEAKER_00: I say, or for school choice, I say open enrollment was that.
17:21
SPEAKER_00: 80 to 82 percent of the people that have set uh are taken those vouchers were already sending their kids to a private school.
17:30
SPEAKER_00: And some of them have made comments I've heard on Facebook or see stuff.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't know, you know, they didn't even want the other 20% coming.
17:37
SPEAKER_00: The ones that now maybe couldn't afford it, and now they're sending their kids there.
17:40
SPEAKER_00: These other people were saying we we kind of wanted what we had, you know.
17:44
SPEAKER_00: So uh we've got to get rid of some of that stuff.
17:46
SPEAKER_00: And I I think that'd be the first thing Governor Sand, if he gets elected.
17:49
SPEAKER_00: I say Governor Sand, but uh I've been at a lot many of his events, he's a wonderful person.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, he'd be a person that would uh try to help fix that a little bit because it does not um it it creates more debt for us, too.
18:01
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there there's more money being handed out, uh it's about eighty two hundred dollars, is what we get per student.
18:06
SPEAKER_00: So school f school funding is a big big topic of the case.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: What about the equity for the cost per pupil?
18:12
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um I mean that's uh but I from what I've heard the cost per pupil is the inequity is based on a algorithm or a formula that was created back in the 70s and may not be as effective or efficient as it should be.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think some schools are being being uh uh much more like a school like Pleasant Valley, they can they get a lot more uh I I well you have to have growth in your student body too, you know.
18:42
SPEAKER_00: So and the other thing about equity equitable, some people don't have a private school near them, you know.
18:48
SPEAKER_00: I will tell you this Assumption and Xavier and Wallert and Healing and Dowling, they're getting bigger.
18:54
SPEAKER_00: They were shrinking some of the not Dowling, uh, but Wallert and Assumption, they they're their enrollment have been going down.
19:00
SPEAKER_00: As you've noticed, all of a sudden they're not playing the same districts as Clinton or or McCockan and DeWitt.
19:05
SPEAKER_00: So um I think there's some equitable issues in there.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: And uh um the other thing is uh I know this for fact, schools have raised tuition, uh private schools have raised tuition.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh they've built projects with some of this money I hear from in Wallert.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: I mean, these are people telling me that these things are happening, so it it it it doesn't seem like it's going the right way right now.
19:26
SPEAKER_02: Well, when you speak about education and your expertise in that, when you talk about funding schools and you talk about the cost of it, I think a lot of people think and it's easy to if you don't have kids in the dis you know in school, that you just send a kid in, they get a book or a paper.
19:41
SPEAKER_02: That's a book.
19:42
SPEAKER_02: I think it does.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: We're not using books anymore.
19:44
SPEAKER_00: Some rubber books have been taken out of life.
19:46
SPEAKER_00: They get their chalkboards.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: They get their chalkboards and their quills and things.
19:50
SPEAKER_02: But um what goes into that?
19:52
SPEAKER_02: Why why is the funding necessary?
19:55
SPEAKER_00: Well, first of all, eighty to eighty-one percent of of of uh school budget is people.
20:01
SPEAKER_00: So that itself says a lot.
20:02
SPEAKER_00: And then uh you know, you have another twenty percent uh for for different things.
20:06
SPEAKER_00: Now you have uh you know someone will say that we're funding uh um students at sixteen thousand plus, and that's not correct because they're using PEPL.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: They're school finance is so much different than uh it's just different.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: There's so many different pots of money.
20:21
SPEAKER_02: I can't figure it out.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Well, and you know, uh as a uh principal, I was in charge of the high school budget.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: It was sometimes hard for me to always figure out what you know, the PEPL that's for school buses and for infrastructure, the the one cent penny, all those different things go into it, but uh they can't be spent on some of the things for specific educational things.
20:40
SPEAKER_01: The physical plan equipment level levy, excuse me, that's goes into what you just said school buses, uh repairs to the physical school itself.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
20:51
SPEAKER_00: Which which is really important for a school when they're trying to track people, this and that.
20:55
SPEAKER_00: But the the money that comes in the general fund is what we I I've asked teachers this.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Uh I have a lot of teachers at my at my events, and I'll say, how many of you had to spend money out of your own pocket for your classroom?
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: 100%.
21:07
SPEAKER_00: Now that shouldn't happen.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: We should be able to fund uh um the classrooms, uh, you know, if especially if it's something that is necessary for them to be better at their at their trade.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: So uh yeah, so you know, we're we're high technology schools now, you know.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: And I would say that some people are are you know frustrated with the laptops or one-to-ones.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: I said always we were one of the first schools in the in the state to to bring in computers.
21:33
SPEAKER_00: Uh Bellevue was one of them, and we researched all this.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: We wanted it to be a tool, not the we didn't want kids in front of a computer 100%.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: That's not even that's not even uh healthy.
21:44
SPEAKER_00: So the best teachers get trained and we show how to use the computers in a way that uh we need to because they're there, right?
21:50
SPEAKER_00: I mean we have to but I think there's so much about just classroom movement and things like that that uh um that have to happen.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: But computers have become a big part of the school.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: School and with AI and all the different things happening.
22:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, but there's a lot that goes into getting ready for a school year.
22:07
SPEAKER_01: So, George, you mentioned as a principal, you maintain the high school budget going into the state house.
22:14
SPEAKER_01: The state has a budget as well.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: How would you as an elected official, as an elected representative, work with all of your colleagues to ensure that you stay within the agreed upon state budget and identify opportunities for savings for taxpayers?
22:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think you have to do that if you're you're gonna be a good um fiscally fine uh you know financially uh um responsible responsible.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: Thank you, thank you.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh I I uh you know there's a big$1.4 billion debt right now that the state has.
22:46
SPEAKER_00: Um and you know, we all have savings accounts probably, right?
22:50
SPEAKER_00: We all have retirement accounts, savings accounts that you don't want to use it for that rainy day right away, and they want to use some of that.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: Um I think we have to balance it and find out what's best way to what what's the best way to spend a dollar.
23:03
SPEAKER_00: Um and I think sometimes right now we're spending them on some some different things that probably shouldn't be.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the steel plant, people talk about it.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's a big incentive that they threw to them.
23:14
SPEAKER_00: I think 1.5 billion.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I think that might strap them if there's another place that wants to come in.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: Now, I'm for economic growth and development, and if I wouldn't say that here, you two would probably uh sandwich me and knock me in the head.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: So, what you're referring to is a very large, uh, I believe the country's largest uh steel manufacturer that is looking to go into Lee County in the southeast portion of our state.
23:39
SPEAKER_01: And they just held a special session last week to talk about the economic incentives because a program known as the megasite program for state of Iowa had to be modified to create the incentive package to entice that company to come here.
23:58
SPEAKER_01: Trevor Burrus, Jr.
23:58
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you know, there were some red flags when uh President uh President Trump said it was already ground, people were already digging, and Mary Merrill Meek said the land was bought, and Secretary of Commerce, I think, said that it's a done deal.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: We don't need Iowa.
24:13
SPEAKER_00: Those are some things you're going, wait a minute, we're gonna have a special session here on Friday last Friday to decide to give incentives to something that's already been land's been bought, all those things.
24:22
SPEAKER_00: So people asked me about what I would have voted, I would have voted no for the incentives, but I would love to be wrong that this place comes.
24:29
SPEAKER_00: I would love to see this steel plant come to Iowa.
24:31
SPEAKER_01: I mean, it's a huge economic opportunity for us.
24:34
SPEAKER_01: And George, as you know, in our world, the rumor mill is insane.
24:38
SPEAKER_01: So it churns aggressively, and it's very, very difficult from a confidentiality standpoint, too, to keep a cap on things.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: And it's not about a lack of transparency, it's just the understanding that there's a lot of discussions that are going on.
24:50
SPEAKER_01: Uh, my good friend Emily, who works in Lee County, is involved in many of those, and she often hears things that through the grapevine that are just completely false.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I I talked to some of the current House of Representatives, uh, Representative Beganowski.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: I talked to them because I need to learn from them.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: And they all say uh, you know, the incentive package was you weren't voting whether you wanted a steel plant there, right?
25:14
SPEAKER_00: Some people think that's what you did, but he said to me, I I I hope I'm wrong.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: I hope this thing comes through, you know, because 2030, 2031, the the jobs that would be created evidently are$48 an hour,$76 an hour for some.
25:28
SPEAKER_00: I I do know that it won't be all Iowans because they don't have a lot of workers in that area, but that then they would need a big boost down there, right?
25:35
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we all need a boost economically.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: There'd probably be people from Missouri and Illinois coming over.
25:40
SPEAKER_01: Well, it's a state of 3.2 million total population.
25:43
SPEAKER_01: Um, yes, all of our communities need a boost, maybe with the exception of Des Moines and some of the outlying suburbs, but we have seen, especially in those border communities, uh, whether you're along the Missouri or the Mississippi, some aggressive economic decline over the course of the last 20 to 30 years.
26:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and that that that affects schools, right?
26:04
SPEAKER_00: That affects uh your tax base, that affects so many things that uh you can't do the things you want to do because you've got to now start to really look at your budget and what you can do best for your people.
26:14
SPEAKER_01: Now, George, hot topic.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: Hot topic in the gubernatorial election, water quality.
26:21
SPEAKER_00: Yes, and and water quality is near and dear to me.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: My my mother died of ovarian cancer, and that's one of the cancers that is talked about um when she was 53, and we lived right by a cornfield, and uh we wouldn't we weren't talking about water quality.
26:34
SPEAKER_00: We just drank the water no matter what, you know.
26:36
SPEAKER_00: We weren't there was no bottled water back then.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: You didn't buy bottled water.
26:39
SPEAKER_00: That's a joke.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you think we're gonna pay for water?
26:42
SPEAKER_00: That's supposed to be free like air, right?
26:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
26:45
SPEAKER_00: Um so I uh actually um last Friday I went down to the city of Davenport and I volunteered to uh water test.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: I've never done that before.
26:55
SPEAKER_00: And I got to be part of the uh it was in the city, the Cricks and the um the park in the middle of uh of of Davenport.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh but some people that were there were also testing in the rural areas.
27:06
SPEAKER_00: Uh the nitrate, uh um, the nitrates were bad in every place we tested.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: Um so there's I mean, buffer zones, saturated buffers.
27:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh I think we need to look at I think they've done the research.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: They they know there's a problem, right?
27:18
SPEAKER_00: I I'm smart enough to know that uh water itself isn't the the only cause of cancer.
27:23
SPEAKER_00: There's genetics, there's smoking.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: Tobacco we know.
27:26
SPEAKER_00: Every time you go into a doctor's office, you see the thing saying if you're smoking or doing this, your life expectancy probably is going to go down.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: But if we we can't control some of those things, but putting more taxes on tobacco is good.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: Uh I think that's great for I were to do.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: Um, but you know, making sure that we're doing something to give the farmers some incentives, because I think every farmer wants to be a good steward of the land, but they also need to make money.
27:48
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: So if they park if they go two more rows out and that stuff erodes and then, you know, tiling and all that, there's a lot of stuff going into this river right by Clinton.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: And it's flowing right into uh the Gulf of Mexico eventually.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think there's some bad water coming through.
28:03
SPEAKER_00: And if if uh if some of the uh states around us aren't as bad with cancer rates, what's the what's the reason?
28:11
SPEAKER_00: Because Wisconsin is probably a bigger drinking state than Iowa, and their cancer rates aren't near as high, and some people say alcohol, and alcohol contributes to it as well, right?
28:19
SPEAKER_00: We know that.
28:20
SPEAKER_02: So, George, you're talking about you know, the changes that you would make in some of the programs uh adding to education.
28:27
SPEAKER_02: What programs do you see as something that probably could change a little bit and not take so much of the resources?
28:34
SPEAKER_00: Well, I hate to say the one that would take a lot of resources is mental health right now.
28:38
SPEAKER_00: Um if that's if if that's good for me to go to that.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I I feel our our um as a high school principal, I saw how how lack lacking services and mental health that we had.
28:50
SPEAKER_00: Um we had kids that were really struggling to come to school and people were getting mad.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: Why aren't they coming to school?
28:56
SPEAKER_00: Well, they were depressed, they couldn't get out, they couldn't get out of bed.
28:58
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm serious.
28:59
SPEAKER_00: I'd go get kids, I'd go to their house and get kids.
29:01
SPEAKER_00: I always did because it was very important for them to be there.
29:04
SPEAKER_00: But our high school counselors aren't necessarily trained in in that intense mental health.
29:09
SPEAKER_00: They can refer.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Um we use Bridgeville, we had people coming in, uh, but then obviously they're just a revolving door because it's tough for people to stay in that job when they don't see a lot of success.
29:21
SPEAKER_00: So we need to put some money to mental health.
29:23
SPEAKER_00: We need more beds, we need more psychiatric help, we need uh because kids will be in 24 hours and then they'll be back in our building after they've talked about committing suicide, which would be the worst thing uh for any family to endure and their team and their classmates.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: So I think we've got to find a way to to help with mental health because right now we've we've cut some of those things.
29:42
SPEAKER_00: Even you know, if you have a prisoner that's gonna come out of prison in five to ten years, don't you want them better equipped to be in society?
29:50
SPEAKER_00: And reciprocites rate is really high.
29:52
SPEAKER_00: People are going back, uh, and I don't think they're they're getting what they need.
29:55
SPEAKER_02: So what programs would you see could use a reduction?
29:59
SPEAKER_00: What programs could use a reduction in resources, in funding.
30:03
SPEAKER_00: I'm not sure if I know enough about which ones need to be.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think you got to get in there and get your feet wet first and try to peel back the layers and identify what's being spent where.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: And and I, you know, I I've been researching everything I can.
30:15
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think that uh when well I'm talking about five percent in uh education, so something would have to give, right?
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh so I I'd I'd have to look more.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: Right.
30:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry I can't answer that specifically.
30:25
SPEAKER_00: But the other thing I did when I was a teacher, if I couldn't answer it, I told him I'd find out.
30:30
SPEAKER_00: So probably before I get home or I will get it.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: That's what we did.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: As an air traffic controller, if somebody were to ask you a question during an ATSEP, so that was an acronym for Air Traff.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: I remember what it was.
30:40
SPEAKER_01: But your your response, if you said I don't know, then that was a markup.
30:45
SPEAKER_01: And if you said I don't know, but I'm gonna find it and I'll get back to you, then that was a pass.
30:49
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
30:50
SPEAKER_00: So I I I appreciate the question though.
30:52
SPEAKER_02: Well, when you find out, tell me, because I don't know either.
30:55
SPEAKER_00: Because guess what?
30:55
SPEAKER_00: If I don't find that out, I shouldn't be elected, right?
30:58
SPEAKER_00: I mean, think about it.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: You are drinking from a fire hose.
31:01
SPEAKER_01: Yeah because even with the incumbents, we ask questions regarding certain bills, and when you get to the beginning of the legislative session, and then just shy of the halfway point, and especially at the end, bills are introduced so rapidly, and there's so many of them, it is impossible for a human being to have a strong understanding of every single bill that's introduced.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I, you know, I'm I I think I would have a really good clerk, uh, a person that used to work for the Department of Education, a cla college roommate, a buddy of mine that's retired, said, I'd love to be your clerk, which would give me a lot of uh uh, you know, uh a lot of knowledge in the area.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: But you know, uh uh you have to read a lot, you have to be willing to.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: I think the day I went, a couple days I went to the Capitol, there was like 30-some bills the house we're looking at.
31:48
SPEAKER_00: I'm going, oh my god, and they're not just two pages, you know.
31:50
SPEAKER_00: Right.
31:51
SPEAKER_00: So you've got to be able to summarize them.
31:53
SPEAKER_00: That's that's the other thing.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: That property tax bill was at the midnight hour.
31:57
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I think it was at three in the morning.
31:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it was really very early in the morning on the following day, and there were very few individuals left at the Capitol.
32:06
SPEAKER_01: Um, and that's you know, I'd say that's another concern, you know.
32:09
SPEAKER_00: Like why was that pushed like that?
32:11
SPEAKER_00: And why wasn't I mean that such such an important part of economic development?
32:15
SPEAKER_00: Why wasn't that and maybe it was more, but it sounded like it kind of this boom, boom.
32:19
SPEAKER_01: And that's interesting.
32:20
SPEAKER_01: We go to the Capitol once a year.
32:22
SPEAKER_01: Uh Matt and I travel there more often than that, but we take a group of people from Clinton County once a year.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: We call it uh Clinton County Day on the Hill, and we go out there and we engage our elected legislators as well as the House minority, majority leader, and the Senate minority and majority leader, and then of course the House Speaker.
32:41
SPEAKER_01: Um but it is very difficult to wrap your brain around how the process works and how it is managed.
32:50
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would love to give give you I would love to be out there if you come out and I'm elected.
32:54
SPEAKER_00: I would uh it would be pretty neat to see some people that I am working with and trying to help their uh communities.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, like I said, I went out there for with my students and always the whoever the representative, what didn't matter, Republican, Democrat, I just wanted to talk to them and have them talk to my kids about the process.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: But I think the process is pretty cumbersome sometimes.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: And like you said, there's some bills that you're going, what what is this even about?
33:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, very interesting.
33:18
SPEAKER_01: So, George, as we wrap up this episode, give us your two-minute pitch as to why those that are gonna go out and do what they should do, it's their rights as Americans, to vote on November 3rd should mark your name.
33:32
SPEAKER_00: Well, number one, I think um my experiences that I have are important, but more importantly, I'm a relationship builder.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: That means the question you asked earlier, I have to build relationships on the uh other side of the aisle and in the other chamber, otherwise things don't get done.
33:47
SPEAKER_00: So, and people have to trust you.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm a pretty trustworthy person, I would hope so after many years in education.
33:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, listening, um, I've I've become much better as I was a principal, because at first I thought, I'm not, I don't think you're right on this.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: But guess what?
34:01
SPEAKER_00: If you don't listen first before you make decisions, you're not doing anybody any good.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: And some of the things people said to me, maybe they were mad about something, and I had to look in the mirror and say, hey, you know what?
34:11
SPEAKER_00: I messed that up.
34:12
SPEAKER_00: Let's let's let's try to make it better.
34:14
SPEAKER_00: So on the doors I'm knocking, I ask people, you ask me, we know what they're saying.
34:18
SPEAKER_00: It's not just affordability, it's childcare, it's a lot of things, but um, I need to listen to them because that that's who you represent.
34:24
SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna be a public servant and you don't listen to the people that you're representing, then you should not be in there, right?
34:30
SPEAKER_00: So I think you need to listen first before making decisions, and then you need to research to make sure that that decision doesn't affect your constituents and your communities in a in a negative way, because then uh you're not really representing them the way you should.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: So um I like to think I can work with everybody.
34:47
SPEAKER_00: I'm pretty passionate.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: Uh maybe you can tell you.
34:50
SPEAKER_02: I can tell that.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: Even at the forum.
34:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm I'm pretty passionate.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: I was really nervous at the beginning of that forum.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: I've never had something like that.
34:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: That's why this is a little easier today with just the two of us, but uh or whatever, whoever else may watch.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: But I I someone told me if you're not a little nervous, then it doesn't mean anything.
35:05
SPEAKER_00: So once I re once I read my opening statement, I felt pretty good and uh I had researched a lot and talked to a lot of people about economic development because if we don't attract more people here, we can say this, we can say we need more people here.
35:20
SPEAKER_00: That's fine.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: We know that, right?
35:22
SPEAKER_00: Right.
35:22
SPEAKER_00: How are we gonna do it?
35:23
SPEAKER_00: How are we gonna make uh Eastern Iowa a place where people want to buy a house and raise a family and go to the schools here and buy groceries here and and go out to eat or whatever else, because that just is a great thing.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: So uh I think we have a great place to attract people.
35:39
SPEAKER_00: I really do.
35:40
SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, I I think that uh uh people just that don't know about it should learn about it.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: That's your jobs, right?
35:46
SPEAKER_00: Right.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: You do good, you do good.
35:48
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, you George.
35:49
SPEAKER_01: Again, that's George Pickup, candidate for House District 70.
35:54
SPEAKER_01: Remember, election day is the third of November.
35:58
SPEAKER_01: You can go out and decide who you want to see as your leader and legislator to represent your district.
36:05
SPEAKER_01: Again, kudos to everybody that puts their name on the ballot.
36:08
SPEAKER_01: It is definitely an eye-opening experience.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I ran for city council in 2013 uh uh after being in this community for about eight months, and that was that was a uh bold, bold, bold, very bold, bold move.
36:23
SPEAKER_01: And uh obviously I was not elected, uh third out of five candidates, but it was an eye-opening experience.
36:31
SPEAKER_01: So best of luck to you, Mr.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: Pickup.
36:33
SPEAKER_01: Uh, we'll look forward to talking to you in the future.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: Again, we will be interviewing all candidates, regardless of their political affiliation or what party they affiliate with.
36:43
SPEAKER_01: The invitation was so everybody has the opportunity to come on.
36:47
SPEAKER_01: So this is not an endorsement from Girl Clinton.
36:49
SPEAKER_01: It is simply an opportunity for you to hear from the candidates and the incumbents.
36:55
SPEAKER_01: Jenny, it's Friday.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: Woo! You got big plans this weekend?
36:59
SPEAKER_02: Actually, yes.
36:59
SPEAKER_02: One of my grandkids is having a birthday, so we're having a birthday party.
37:03
SPEAKER_01: Oh, which one?
37:03
SPEAKER_02: Uh, Jenna.
37:04
SPEAKER_02: Oh, she's turning five and her family.
37:06
SPEAKER_01: Five already.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: I know.
37:07
SPEAKER_01: That's crazy.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: I know.
37:08
SPEAKER_01: That'd be a fun birthday party.
37:10
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be a lot of fun.
37:11
SPEAKER_01: And she's knowing the family, it'll be a blast.
37:14
SPEAKER_02: It it's gonna be so much fun.
37:16
SPEAKER_02: Her uh birthday theme is Jack Skellington.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: Oh, yes, which is Nightmare Before Christmas.
37:22
SPEAKER_02: Yes.
37:23
SPEAKER_02: So we're doing that, but um, yep, so it's gonna be great.
37:27
SPEAKER_02: How about you?
37:28
SPEAKER_01: Uh, I'm going to be watching football.
37:30
SPEAKER_01: We got some great things going on downtown this Sunday from 12 to 4, I believe.
37:36
SPEAKER_01: Is that accurate?
37:36
SPEAKER_01: Four?
37:37
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
37:37
SPEAKER_01: Something like that.
37:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh, the downtown Clinton Alliance is partnering with a bunch of downtown businesses to host a fall festival, the Great Pumpkin Festival or something like that.
37:48
SPEAKER_02: And you know what?
37:48
SPEAKER_02: They're always and the sheriff's department.
37:50
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
37:51
SPEAKER_01: So all so Greenwalt will be out there in his Sunday's best.
37:54
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's good.
37:55
SPEAKER_01: Um, probably his uniform, that's what he'll be wearing.
37:57
SPEAKER_01: And he'll be meeting with kids and stuff, and there'll be Ten of Seoul is the band.
38:01
SPEAKER_01: Everybody loves them.
38:02
SPEAKER_03: People love them.
38:03
SPEAKER_01: So we'll have a packed uh 200 block, 300 block of Fifth Avenue South.
38:07
SPEAKER_01: So make sure you come out on Sunday.
38:09
unknown: Yeah.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: Check that out.
38:10
SPEAKER_01: There'll be stuff to do for the kids.
38:11
SPEAKER_01: There'll be photo booths, there'll be all sorts of things.
38:13
SPEAKER_02: The downtown Clinton Alliance is always on the move doing something to, you know, for record.
38:19
SPEAKER_01: Keeping people entertained and bringing them downtown, right?
38:22
SPEAKER_01: Yep.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: So that's it.
38:23
SPEAKER_01: Uh Bears Packers game.
38:25
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to that one.
38:27
SPEAKER_01: Are you really good?
38:28
SPEAKER_00: If you ask me what I'm doing, I'm going to Packer.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: I'm leaving tomorrow morning to go with a Green Bay.
38:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm a Packer fan.
38:32
SPEAKER_00: So sorry, sorry if that defends.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: At Lambo.
38:34
SPEAKER_00: I've I have partial season tickets at my dad had.
38:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
38:37
SPEAKER_01: No, you're you're good.
38:38
SPEAKER_01: That's you can win over those cheese head voters.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
38:41
SPEAKER_01: So there's a few of them.
38:42
SPEAKER_01: They're here.
38:43
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I'm sure.
38:43
SPEAKER_03: They're here.
38:44
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, so it's going to be a good weekend.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Weather's supposed to be nice.
38:46
SPEAKER_01: I think this is going to be our last warm little rush here before we get deep into fall.
38:51
SPEAKER_01: So I saw Monday a high of 86.
38:53
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
38:53
SPEAKER_02: Oh.
38:54
SPEAKER_01: This weekend supposed to be.
38:55
SPEAKER_01: Tuesday, it drops 20 some degrees.
38:57
SPEAKER_01: So fuck a lot, baby.
38:59
SPEAKER_01: The weather's going to be crazy.
39:00
SPEAKER_01: All right.
39:01
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you again for listening to the Grow Clinton Podcast.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: Remember, if you have not subscribed, please do so.
39:05
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39:09
SPEAKER_01: I hope to announce the app available on iOS and Android devices here very, very soon.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: I'm still waiting for the powers that be to review our app and approve our app.
39:21
SPEAKER_01: Whoever they may be, help us.
39:22
SPEAKER_01: So we'll get it out there.
39:23
SPEAKER_01: But again, subscribe, never miss an episode.
39:25
SPEAKER_01: My name's Andy Sokolovich.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: Until we speak again, folks.
39:28
SPEAKER_01: Stay classy.
39:28
SPEAKER_01: See ya.
39:30
SPEAKER_01: Thank you for listening to the Grow Clinton podcast.
39:32
SPEAKER_01: Be sure to subscribe and follow us on all your socials.
39:36
SPEAKER_01: Until next time.
39:37
SPEAKER_01: See ya.