Struggling With Iowa S Pride

aRecognized between 1880 and 1910 by its trademark label Iowa's Pride, John Morrell and Company is best known for contributing one of the most important local unions to the progressive United Packinghouse Workers of America. During the 1930s and 1940s, its members pursued a militant brand of unionism. By the early 1950s, the local's militancy became a source of contention among the membership. By explaining the effect of Morrell-Ottumwa's union leaders on local and state Democratic politics, especially in the development of the Congress of Industrial Organizations' Iowa State Industrial Union Council and the AFL-CIO's Iowa Federation of Labor, Wilson Warren makes an important contribution to the literature on labor's involvement in the Democratic party's ascendancy across much of the industrial North following World War II. This history of Ottumwa's meatpacking workers provides insights into the development of several forms of labor relations, including the evangelical Christian paternalism, welfare capitalism, and unionism that were distinctive to one blue-collar community but that also reflected workers' experiences in many other rural midwestern industrial communities. By carefully analyzing all relevant labor and industrial sources and by revealing the deeply held aspirations and concerns expressed by both workers and managers, Warren constructs a window through which Iowa's industrial and labor history over the past 120 years can be viewed."

Ambitious in its historical scope and its broad range of topics, Tied to the Great Packing Machine tells the dramatic story of meatpacking’s enormous effects on the economics, culture, and environment of the Midwest over the past century and a half. Wilson Warren situates the history of the industry in both its urban and its rural settings—moving from the huge stockyards of Chicago and Kansas City to today’s smaller meatpacking communities—and thus presents a complete portrayal of meatpacking’s place within the larger agro-industrial landscape. Writing from the vantage point of twenty-five years of extensive research, Warren analyzes the evolution of the packing industry from its early period, dominated by the big terminal markets, through the development of new marketing and technical innovations that transformed the ways animals were gathered, slaughtered, and processed and the final products were distributed. In addition, he concentrates on such cultural impacts as ethnic and racial variations, labor unions, gender issues, and changes in Americans’ attitudes toward the ethics of animal slaughter and patterns of meat consumption and such environmental problems as site-point pollution and microbe contamination, ending with a stimulating discussion of the future of American meatpacking. Providing an excellent and well-referenced analysis within a regional and temporal framework that ensures a fresh perspective, Tied to the Great Packing Machine is a dynamic narrative that contributes to a fuller understanding of the historical context and contemporary concerns of an extremely important industry.

Mother Earth is calling on us to act—the collective wisdom of thousands of years of Indigenous knowledge can guide us. Indigenuity, or Indigenous ingenuity, stems from an ancient idea and practice that Native peoples have engaged in for millennia. It was born of a careful mindfulness and attentiveness to our planet and all of its creatures, and a recognition that human experience is intertwined with all that surrounds us. As a society, we rarely pay attention to our land, air, and water, exacting a high price for all life on this planet. On Indigenuity is a call for us to learn a key lesson: it's time to apply ancient Indigenous wisdom to solve modern problems. The author, leading Indigenous thinker Daniel Wildcat, discusses some of the most important Native knowledge that is the foundation of science, the environment, biology, and our culture, arguing that restoration through the practice of Indigenuity is essential if we are to make progress toward saving our home. By surrounding ourselves with human creations, Wildcat contends that we have created an "insulated ignorance" for ourselves, and what we need to solve the problems of the twenty-first century is a different perspective. Drawing upon history, personal experiences, and extensive research, Wildcat invites readers on a profound journey of discovery, bridging the gap between how we've already tried to help our planet and the traditional Indigenous knowledge that could be the key to making a real difference.

In 2002, after the team lost 18 of its first 20 games under Ferentz, the Hawkeyes returned to their winning ways. Joining other great Hawkeye teams of '85, '87 and '91, the 2002 Iowa football team has done it with guts, determination, and a belief that they could be the best.