Katrina Berning
Published: May 19, 2009

NEW DIGGINGS, WI- People have been waiting for it all year and it’s finally here. It’s morel season.

“Morel season is always in the spring on the year, usually around Mother’s Day– sometimes maybe two weeks beforehand, sometimes a couple weeks after,” Morel hunter Will Schuler explained.

Schuler has a simple description of what a morel is. “It’s an edible fungus,” he says with a chuckle.

As unappealing as that sounds, these mushrooms are like hidden treasure for morel hunters

“Oh I think it’s a gourmet food just because they’re only out for a certain time of the year and there’s a challenge in finding them and you can’t get them any other time of the year so it takes some effort,” Schuler said.

His hunting partner Marty Tashner agreed. “I like the flavor of the morels, but anybody that does go morel hunting - they don’t quite seem to offer me any…so I thought I better go out and try getting some myself once.”

Everybody has a theory on how to find them.

Tashner said, “Just go out and start walking and looking for a dead elm.”

Any experienced morel hunter will tell you that a dead elm is the place to start.

Schuler explained, “Everybody seems to look for a dead elm or something like that because they think there’s an association with the dying tree and the morel spores that somehow find their way there.”

The appearance of the morels changes throughout the season.

“They start out little gray ones and they’re kind of hard to see. Then as the season progresses, they turn into the bigger, whiter ones and the big white ones are really easy to see,” Schuler said.

He also explained what to do with them when you take them home. “Soak them in saltwater and the saltwater helps to get the bugs out of them. There are a lot of insects in them you know, just naturally.”

They say it’s a spotty season for morels, but that doesn’t stop these guys from looking.

“I drove by a road sign stand the other day and they were selling them for like 9 or 10 dollars a pound, but it’s just as easy to go look for them and a lot more fun to get out in the woods,” Schuler said.

Katrina Berning can be contacted at Katrina.Berning@loras.edu

Katrina Berning
Published: April 15, 2009

DUBUQUE- In 1773, American colonists boarded ships of the East India Trading Company and threw tea in the Boston Harbor to protest the tea tax imposed by Britain.

Today, a group of activists echoed that idea as they took a stand with a Tax Day Tea Party of their own.

Hundreds of people listened to speeches and waved signs in Washington Park, located right across from the Dubuque Federal Building. Organizer Jeff Luecke said the location was intentional.

“We’re hoping that as people drop their taxes off at the post office, they’ll see things and realize how much money the government is taking from them,” he explained.

Luecke was joined by people who said they had “had enough” with the government’s excessive spending. One of them was Dubuque resident Maggie Curry.

“We got audited twice in the last year for different years – 2005 and 2006- within months of each other. They hadn’t finished the first one when they started the second one,” Curry explained.

Curry deemed the audits unfair and unnecessary.

“You pay your taxes; you do the right thing; and they still jump on you,” she declared.

Lisa Walton, of Dubuque, echoed Curry’s concerns.

“I think people in Des Moines and in Washington have forgotten who they work for and I think they’re power-mad. They need to listen to us. We don’t spend money we don’t have in our house. The government shouldn’t be spending money they don’t have,” Walton said.

These two women are not alone. Their complaints are shared across the nation.

“This is one of literally thousands of tea parties going on across America today. This is a national campaign and I think there are enough people waking up across the country that just aren’t going to take it anymore,” Luecke said.

Luecke criticized the past Bush administration and the current Obama administration, declaring that his protest is a bi-partisan issue.

“We want change that we as taxpayers can truly believe in. We heard a lot about hope and change in the campaigns. What we’re seeing now is not right. It’s not left versus right, conservative versus liberal. It’s right versus wrong.”

Katrina Berning
Published: April 1, 2009

DUBUQUE - Dr. Norma Cook Everist started her religious vocation right out of college, at a time when women could not be ordained.

“There had been a Lutheran deaconess in our congregation, so I saw a woman and that was a role model for me and then as I was part of that Lutheran deaconess community, I saw other women,” said Everist, “It never occurred to me that women might be able to be ordained someday. It never occurred to me.”

In 1970, that all changed.

“The Lutheran churches in America, ALC and LCA, passed a resolution that women could be ordained,” Everist recalled.

Everist completed the ordination process, despite the expected criticism.

“Even in the 70s [they said] ‘Oh, she must be a communist.’ I mean there were all these kinds of strange fears. Sometimes for us, but more they were afraid of the unknown. When I would go out speaking somewhere, people would just be kind of hesitant, but after I had been there and gotten to know them, their fears went away,” explained Everist.

She was invited to teach at Yale Divinity School, but then she heard about a job at Wartburg Theological Seminary, back in her home state of Iowa. By accepting the position, she made history in the Lutheran Church.

Everist said, “I didn’t know at the time that there had been no women professors in the American Lutheran Church so when I came here in 1979, I became the first Lutheran woman professor in a tenure track at a seminary of the American Lutheran Church.”

But Norma never forgot where she started. She says she feels very close to Roman Catholic sisters and the women who are not able to be ordained in other Protestant denominations.

“When I was first ordained, people said ‘Well you know, you’ll rub people the wrong way,’ and actually it’s been exactly the opposite. When I’m with some Roman Catholic women or some other Protestant groups that don’t ordain, they see the fact that we ordain women as a sign of hope,” Everist explained.

Those women say they do not need to be ordained to have a rewarding vocation.

“Lots of people today think that it’s not a relevant lifestyle. I think that it is very relevant today. Sometimes people focus on the negatives, the things we can’t do. I look at the things it enables me to do.,” said Sister Kathy Carr, of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Sister Lou Anglin also explained, “I’m drawn more to inclusivity and being a part of the circle of friends and being in ministry with partners and with people who want to be about the same thing together. That was more appealing than a priesthood kind of situation.”

But ordained or not- these women say they lead a fulfilling life.

“It’s a good life. It’s a very challenging life sometimes, but the love that’s present because you are able to give of yourself is just- it just makes for a very rich life,” Anglin said.

This article is part of LCTV’s coverage of Women’s History Month. To see part one of our series focusing on Dubuque women in politics click here.

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@lctv13.com

Katrina Berning
Published: March 11, 2009

DUBUQUE- Assistant City Manager Teri Goodmann is no stranger to politics.

She explained, “I ran my brother’s campaign for Student Body President at Davenport Assumption High School many years ago so I got the bug. It bit me to run campaigns.”

Cindy Steinhauser, also an Assistant City Manager, had a bit of a different start.

Steinhauser said, “I started out as a graduate from Loras College and was a marketing director in another town. As part of my work as a marketing director, I participated in the downtown association”

From there, she moved into an administrative position and her career in politics began.

When asked about the acceptance of women in leadership roles, Steinhauser responded, “You know, I think it has definitely changed over time.”

Goodmann agreed saying, “The community does embrace women, but I think it’s a generational change that’s come about within my lifetime, within the last 20-30 years. I wouldn’t say it was so common before that.”

Both women credit that change to women like Anna Lawther.

Mike Gibson, the Director of the Center for Dubuque History explained, “She was the first woman to serve on the Iowa State Board of Education and that was quite an honor for a woman at that time. This was in the 1920s.”

It was a time when she was also busy working for women’s rights

Gibson said, “She was also very active in the equal suffrage movement here in Iowa. She served, I think, three terms as the President of the Iowa Women’s Suffrage Movement.”

Lawther’s efforts opened the door for Carolyn Farrell, Dubuque’s first and only female mayor.

Gibson said, “If you go back to 1837 and 1980, it took that long for a woman to become mayor of the community.”

Both Steinhauser and Goodmann say those women established a need for women in the political realm.

“If you think about nature, the most diverse natural environment is the richest and the most successful because they can sustain many things coming at them because they are so rich in their diversity,” explained Steinhauser.

Goodmann said, “It’s important that every one brings something new to a role in government, but women in particular bring different talents- just as men do. I just think it’s good to have both.”

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@loras.edu

Katrina Berning
Published: February 25, 2009

DUBUQUE- Lincoln Elementary School Principal Donna Loewen experiences diversity first-hand.

She said, “Forty percent of our students are non-white. The highest percentage within that group are black and then sixty percent of our student population is white.”

So the celebration of Black History month has been significant at the Dubuque school - particularly this year.

Loewen explained, “As Lincoln Elementary School, we have been focused on a ‘Lincoln Legacy’ year in which we have been celebrating Abraham Lincoln’s 200th birthday.”

But there are some differences in the way students understand what that means. For example if you ask a kindergartener what he knows about Abraham Lincoln, their responses are very basic.

Levonte Johnson said, “A big tall hat…and he walked two miles to school.”

Jack Mulgrew said, “He got shot by a gun… and our school was named after him!”

The response from a fifth grader is a bit more complex.

Ashley Barton explained, “He freed slaves.”

Such responses indicate more than just an understanding of history. They show how age factors into the way we understand issues of race.

“Typically, the younger kids are, the more likely they are to be welcoming to all others, willing to make friends with others; and we see that in our building,” Loewen said.

Kindergarten teacher Katie Maneman observed, “Everyone to them, at such a young age, is their friend, no matter race or what they look like.”

Loewen says racism is a learned behavior

“It’s oftentimes attitudes that are learned from adults in our world that change the way young people think about such matters as race,” she explained.

That is why the staff at Lincoln has an approach of embracing diversity, rather than ignoring it.

Maneman said, “We really try to celebrate how we’re different and you know, if we were all the same in our classroom and we all looked the same and acted the same, it really wouldn’t be that much fun.”

Loewen further explained, “To emphasize our gifts and our strengths and to celebrate our differences because it is in the bringing together of all of our skills and abilities and talents that we can have the best impact on making the world a better place.”

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@loras.edu

Katrina Berning
Published February 11, 2009

DUBUQUE- Sometimes they play basketball; other times, it’s Jenga. But no matter what the activity, Zoe Smith says they have fun all year round.

“It’s really fun and in the summer and in the winter and in the fall, we’ve all got something to do,” says Smith.

‘We’ being her and her big sister Teanna Cardin.

Teanna said, “Zoe didn’t necessarily need someone to help take care of her all the time or something like that. It was more that she just wanted someone fun to hang out with other than her immediate family.”

Zoe and Teanna aren’t biological sisters. They’re connected through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program

“Since the program started in 1997, we’ve matched about 1,185 kids so the need is great and in fact, the need continues year after year. Rather than it going down, the number of kids is always greater than the number of volunteers,” explained Anne Hedrick, the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program coordinator.

Right now, there are forty-five kids waiting for someone to be their big brother or sister.

Big Brothers, Big Sisters Match Support Specialist, Amanda Avenarius said, “A big person can be anybody over eighteen who is willing to spend time with the ‘littles.’ We have business people; we have older retirees; we have college kids.”

They’re people like Teanna; just looking to leave a positive mark on the community.

Teanna says, “You’re going to make a huge difference in a kid’s life just as long as you’re consistently there for them.”

If you are interested in getting involved with the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program, call Hillcrest Family Services at (563)583-7357

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@lctv13.com

Katrina Berning
Published: November 12, 2008

DUBUQUE- Addison Ryan loves to color and play hide and seek with her parents.

Her mother Sarah Ryan calls her “a little peanut.”

The energetic toddler has kept her parents on their toes since before she was born.

Nick Ryan, her father, explained, “The lady started the ultrasound and all of a sudden she said, ‘I found a reason for your sickness,’ and she said, ‘There’s 2 little heartbeats,’ and we both got teary-eyed and hugged each other and kissed each other.”

On Sept 19th, 2006, the Ryan twins, Addison and Elliot, came into the world prematurely. They weren’t alone.

Nancy Keedy, the March of Dimes Northeast Iowa Division Director said, “Here in Iowa, we have 756 babies born every week…Out of that, 90 of these babies are born pre-term.”

That’s is why the March of Dimes named November “Prematurity Awareness Month.”

Keedy explained, “March of Dimes has a lot of research going on, trying to find ways that they can prevent a lot of pre-term and premature birth.”

The results of that research saved Addison’s life when she was born.

Sarah said, “She ended up having to be intubated and receive surfactant which helps the lungs develop.”

But that was just the first battle Addison and Elliot would face.

Sarah explained, “A little after they were a week old…we got a horrible phone call…that Addison was very ill.”

Addison stabilized, but then Elliot got sick.

His mom said, “He was brave and courageous for 2 more days.”

But then it was time to say goodbye.

Sarah remembered, “They brought Addison in, even though she was ill and they got to be together for the first time out of my belly…Addison reached out and grabbed his hand…. We know those 2 are connected forever, but on Oct 5, 2006, we had to let Elliot go. Now he’s our little angel and keeps an eye over Addison and over all of us.”

The Ryans share their story so that research can continue and the pain of prematurity can be prevented.

Sarah said, “Even though it’s so scary and you know, we’ve been through a world of hurt and back again as many families with preemies have, the wonders and the joys of children are worth it to us.”

8 weeks ago, the Ryan family grew when Sarah gave birth to a healthy 9-pound baby girl named Payton.

Katrina Berning can be reached at Katrina.Berning@loras.edu