23 Comments
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Dean Weitenhagen's avatar

Your column reminds me of the large pile of Holstein crap 20 yards outside the barn door laboriously hauled there by my father.

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Lauren Tiffany's avatar

Dear Matt, YOU are a helluva writer. Thank you.

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Matt Russell's avatar

Thanks for the kind words. I had great public school teachers that laid an incredibly strong foundation.

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Connie Taylor's avatar

Congratulations on your new position! Mr. D's story touched my heart and I hope he is doing well. We have a cat we take to the Small Animal Clinic at ISU, and I agree that those folks are the best. Loved this story, Matt.

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Matt Russell's avatar

Thanks Connie.

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Virginia Traxler's avatar

Also, congratulations on your new position. You will be such an asset.

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Matt Russell's avatar

Thanks for the kinds words.

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Virginia Traxler's avatar

Matt, i learn so much from your columns. I was raised in the city, but my dad raised polled Herefords and then Longhorns. His love for them was legendary. I am a doula and have helped many newborns find their mama’s milk. I adore your tale of Mr. D.

Your column is such an important one for Iowa and our country right now. Thank you for your work and your voice.

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Peter Hedges's avatar

An absolutely stunning post.

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Matt Russell's avatar

Thanks. Maybe you'll meet Mr. D when you're in Iowa.

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Jason Neises's avatar

Congratulations on your new role at Iowa Farmers Union. We need your voice and leadership now more than ever.

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Matt Russell's avatar

Thanks Jason. And thanks for all you do.

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Marcel Harmon's avatar

Your stories always bring back memories of my youth. Good luck with the Iowa Farmers Union. I’m a fan of its Kansas counterpart.

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Matt Russell's avatar

The Farmers Union family is the best!

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Lisa Sommer Devlin's avatar

So glad to hear he made it!

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Matt Russell's avatar

So far!

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Jim Sayers's avatar

Great story. I hope you keep us up on Mr. D’s progress and that it’s good.

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Jim Sayers's avatar

P.S. I always found it curious how Joni Ernst liked to trash public employees and wondered what percent of her total life’s income had come from the proverbial public $ trough.

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Matt Russell's avatar

For Republicans if you are simply a civil servant who's dedicated a career to serve, you're a shmuck. If you're an elected Republican or you're a partisan civil servant batting for the Rs and now MAGA team, then you're the true kind of patriot.

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Sharon Hannen's avatar

Matt: Your calf column made me cry. I raised Polled Herefords before retirement, 3rd gen. Hereford raiser. The politics in the column were right on of course, but the real farm cattle raising is what touched me. Keep it all going--thank you.

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Alan's avatar

Coyote Run Farm is one of the outstanding substack offerings. I would gladly "Upgrade to paid" if the substack platform offered fixed length subscriptions rather than the "auto-renew" with zero option for anything else. Our current corrupt leadership proves beyond doubt that it really is "about the poop". The observation that it might be necessary to "put down" the calf if it doesn't improve is an excellent corollary for the current state of the Republican party. Perpetual scours.

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Matt Russell's avatar

I hadn't actually connected the analogy of putting down the Calf and putting down the GOP. Thanks for sharing that! I'm not one for violence, but when the GOP unleashes so much violence, our response needs to also be intense.

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Alan's avatar

Yup, the ballot box is the place the response belongs. I also steer my donations as part of that response. Funny thing, the English language susceptibility to puns. Keep up the great work.

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