I feel like a real journalist.

For the first time in my career, I stood up to a government body that appeared to be doing public business in private. The particulars aren't that interesting, to be honest. The local Emergency Management office and 911 center are operated jointly by the city and county. Someone from the county noticed an oversight had been causing the county to pay too much over the years, so they wanted a refund from the city.

Well, they went behind closed doors in the county commission meeting to discuss what the agenda called "budget issues."

State law gives public bodies a handful of reasons they can use to meet in closed session. But "budget issues" don't count.

A reporter from the local newspaper stood up and made an objection in the meeting. I was dumbfounded by it all. It caught me off guard. So I went back to the office and drafted a complaint letter with my boss and fired it off to them.

If you're dealing with taxpayer dollars, you need to do it in public, where taxpayers can hold you accountable. At least that was our position.

I cc'd the email to the newspaper, and the reporter included our comments in her story. That was pretty cool.

The press is known as the "fourth estate," an important institution that needs to act on the public's behalf. And this week I feel like we did that. Instead of just taking the easy story that's spoonfed to me by some PR firm, I took a stand to uncover something less sexy, but still important. We have to do that on occasion. Even if our viewers or readers don't care, someone has to do it.

One of my favorite childhood memories was a trip to St. Louis with my grandparents to see the Cardinals play the Cubs. It was a great series. Ozzie Smith did a back-flip. Vince Coleman stole like 23 bases in a game. Or maybe it was five. But at any rate, I've grown up with the Cardinals. They were my dad's team and my dad's dad's team. This weekend my grandpa celebrates birthday #94. A more gentle and caring man you'll be hard pressed to find. Happy Birthday Grandpa, and maybe the Red Birds can deliever a nice gift this year!

Habitaty for Humanity is just one of the ways our youth group plans to serve this school year. It's something we've talked about doing, but haven't done. This weekend we had at least 15 volunteers who helped side a house in progress. It was very satisfying to see the fruits of our labor. I'm still a little sore. That's more of a workout than I've had in a while. 

In Ames, Iowa tonight preparing for Nebraska - Iowa State game. Got some pretty decent barbecue here in Ames. Better than I would have expected! It's alwasy fun to see a college football game, but I'll be honest, this game doesn't get me that excited. But it should still be fun!

In Ames, Iowa tonight preparing for Nebraska - Iowa State game. Got some pretty decent barbecue here in Ames. Better than I would have expected! It's alwasy fun to see a college football game, but I'll be honest, this game doesn't get me that excited. But it should still be fun!

What I've been reading / listening to:
Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2

Kilkenny, Ireland 

It's not a Subaru, but a Chewbaru!

That's right it's art car time in Nebraska. This happens to be a Subaru covered in dentures, false teeth, and dental miscellany.

I got to ride along with the art car folks. They're a little, well, weird, but a fun and harmless bunch for the most part. 

Jesus says NO PARKING!

This was taken on my recent trip to Ireland. This was one of those where I saw the image in my head, and I'm sure my family was like "what the heck is he taking a picture of" but I knew all along this is how it would come out, which was exactly what I wanted. 

I've worn more hard hats in the last week and a half than I've worn in my entire career. But when your community is in a construction boom, that's what you gotta do. In the last week I got an exclusive tour of the city's new arena and an exclusive tour of a 12 story hospital tower addition, which was pretty impressive. It's the tallest building in town, by far, which gives you a nice view of things.