10th Anniversary Post: The Election and Our Common Life

 

Your humble blogger with KGAN reporters on election night 2016
(from Eric Wylie's Facebook page)

(11/6/2026) A recent New Yorker cartoon shows two toddlers discussing the election. One says to the other, "This is the most important election of our lifetime." It's a play on what has become a cliche about every single election I can remember, and I can remember a lot of them.

Hindsight is 20/20, to quote another cliche, but if I had to pick the most important election of my lifetime, it would either be 1980 (Reagan vs. Carter) or 2016 (Trump's first election). In 2016, Trump seemingly did everything wrong--vulgarity, scandal, trash talking women and veterans, making fun of the handicapped, weak command of policy issues--yet to the wonderment of all, he got enough support in enough states to get elected President. In doing so, he legitimized a surly undercurrent in America that must have been there all along, but only came to full flower when he did.

That surly undercurrent is still with us, despite the Democrats' thunderous national victory in the 2026 offyear election, and it's not going away soon, and maybe not ever. After the 2020 election, my post suggested Trump was behind us, and it was time to heal from the trauma and come together as a nation. Written barely a week before Trump-inspired insurgents trashed the U.S. Capitol, I was overly optimistic if not hopelessly naive.

Who's on your fridge?

We are in a different place now, but how different? Democratic candidates currently lead the vote count in U.S. House races--counting is ongoing in many places--by 11.6 percentage points, which will translate into a gain of at least 40 seats, and maybe more. (In 2018, in Trump's first midterm, the Democrats' national advantage was a little over eight points; in 2020, when I was ready to heal, the House Democrats led by only three points nationally, and actually lost 13 seats.) Here in Iowa, where the Democratic Party's pulse has been barely detectable for over a decade, Democrats picked up three U.S. House seats, flipped the Senate seat currently held by Republican Joni Ernst as well as the governor and attorney general, and gained seats in the state House.

President Trump has been soundly smacked, but it's less clear that the common life he rejected has been reaffirmed by the voters. That remains to be hashed out by the numbers people and those who frame issues. 

If we were doing natural science here, we could run the 2026 elections over and over again in our lab--wouldn't that be fun?!?--to test the strength of different factors on the eventual outcome. How much impact did the shaky economy have on election results? Vice President J.D. Vance said that the quagmire in Iran was what doomed Republicans, and it certainly played a large role, not in the way that Vietnam or Iraq II did, but because Iran's ability to interrupt energy supply chains rippled through the American economy in a way that negatively affected nearly everyone. What if Trump, whose true genius is saying and doing things to keep the spotlight on himself, had this time listened to military advisers and held off on invasion?

It would be good to know whether the 2026 outcome resulted entirely from Trump's economic mismanagement, or whether the President and his allies also suffered from their rejection of American (and world) common life. The last Real Clear Polling averages showed approval of Trump's immigration policy at 43 percent against 54 percent disapproval. (Approval on the economy and inflation was much lower.) Real Clear Politics didn't report evaluations of things like corruption/character, equality, and education; but in New York Times surveys of battleground states, those factors showed up much lower among voter concerns than the economy. Would enough voters have tolerated Trump's staggering corruption, use of immigration personnel as shock troops, and denigration of science and government management, as long as their pocketbooks were okay?

Roadside sign, August 2026
(Google Maps screenshot)

The good news for our common life is that American democracy lives another day. The electoral wave was large enough to swamp all the electoral shenanigans the Republicans had tried or planned to try (cf. ProPublica 2026, Bock Clark 2026). The mid-decade redistricting may have spread Republican support in places like Texas so thinly that it made their candidates more vulnerable. It's an open question whether this evil playbook gets reopened in a more typical election year.

Let's talk in 2030, when Democrats hold a national trifecta and there are problems. Let's say they're economic problems. There won't be a lot for the government to work with: Between grift and wars and building monuments to himself and ICE, Trump has bled America pretty nearly dry. In a competitive political environment, will the important election of 2016 be truly behind us?

SEE ALSO:

Adrian Carrasquillo, "Latino Fury: How Anti-ICE Fervor Helped Democrats Take Back Congress," The Bulwark, 4 November 2026

Lyz Lenz, "Is Iowa a Blue State Now?" Men Yell at Me, 4 November 2026

Angie Schmitt, "Let's Put This Embarrassing Period in Our Politics Behind Us," Love of Place, 4 November 2026

"2026 General Election Turnout" (University of Florida Election Lab)

CeMar Trail: Open at Last!

 

It wasn't the prettiest day by any stretch of the imagination, but it was clear enough for the last link in the CeMar Trail to be officially opened at noon Friday. There was a fair-sized and joyous crowd on hand...

...many of them arriving on bicycles. (There were cars everywhere, too.)

You could tell Joe Mitchell about all these Iowans on bicycles,
but he would never believe you

There were speeches by the mayors and city managers of Cedar Rapids and Marion, thanking all who have gotten us to this moment, and celebrating the opportunities the new connection will bring between the two towns.

Nicolas AbouAssaly, mayor of Marion

Tiffany O'Donnell, mayor of Cedar Rapids

Possibly the most solemn responsibility:
Keeper of the scissors

After the speeches, the cutting began.

The first cut (of three) is the deepest

The ceremony over, many of those in attendance headed out to try the trail.

Riders on the trail, seen from Mt. Calvary Cemetery

I was not among them, but I anticipate one of my coffeeneuring rides next week will go this way. Watch this space!

CeMar Trail: You're in Marion when you cross 3rd Avenue...

...and in Cedar Rapids when you cross back

SEE ALSO:

"Trail Connection Delayed, But Not Denied," 5 October 2026

Joe Mitchell is too silly for words

Cycling infrastructure, like this Marion sidepath,
allow children to navigate their town safely

(10/26/2026) You probably heard that there's an election next week? Many U.S. Senate and state governor seats are up for voting, along with all U.S. House seats. For a variety of reasons that need not detain us here, Democrats smell blood in the water and are looking to make big gains, while Republican efforts to game the election (Marley and Binday 2026, ProPublica 2026, Bock Clark 2026) seem likely to fail. 

One of the U.S. House districts that has proven competitive is the 2nd district of Iowa, where I live. It is a rare example of a swing district, although Republicans have held the seat for ten of the last twelve years. Incumbent Representative Ashley Hinson is leaving the seat to run for the U.S. Senate, so it's also an open seat. Former (2019-2023) state representative Joe Mitchell is trying to hold the seat for the Republicans, with challenges from current (2019-2026) state representative Lindsay James, Libertarian Rick Stewart, and independent Dave Bushaw. At this writing, the district is rated a "toss-up" by the Cook Political Report.

Kickstand: Cycling to the bar, May 2023

Last week, Mitchell traveled to Sioux City to participate in a rally held by President Trump. This was a curious move, because (a) Sioux City is on the western border of Iowa, far from the 2nd district, and (b) President Trump is less unpopular in Iowa than the rest of the country, but still far from being an asset in a close race, so he is an odd choice to cuddle up to.

Once there, Mitchell used the short time he was allotted to (a) present Trump with a framed certificate proclaiming him Man of the Century, and to thank him for building a ballroom on the site of the ravaged White House, as well as cancelling U.S. Department of Transportation projects that included bicycling infrastructure. (That resulted from a series of decisions made in 2025 by Secretary Sean Duffy (Kuntzman 2025), on the grounds that it causes traffic congestion and encourages dangerous behavior by cyclists, despite evidence to the contrary that Duffy thoughtfully had removed from the DOT webpage (Wilson 2025).) Here's Mitchell in Sioux City:

Thank God you're building the ballroom. Thank God you're getting rid of those awful bike lanes. We don't ride bicycles in Iowa. We ride Harley-Davidsons. Isn't that true?

Mitchell's statement is silly on its face, as has been pointed out in numerous places. Iowa is, after all, the annual host of the RAGBRAI summer bike ride from the Missouri to the Mississippi. The City of Cedar Rapids frequently touts its "Silver" rating from the League of American Bicyclists. 

Ride the Districts 2024

As you've probably noticed, we at Holy Mountain are less concerned about annual rides across the state than about routine daily trips. Trails are great, but if you have to drive your bike to the trail, we're not quite there yet. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Surveys for both 2022 and 2024, a mere 0.1 percent of Cedar Rapids residents commute to work by bicycle. That includes 0.1 percent of men and 0.0 percent of women, and perhaps supports Mitchell's point, except that the answer is going to be better bicycle infrastructure, not getting rid of it.

Evidence for the efficacy of in-town bike lanes is everywhere. If more people cycled for routine trips, it would improve physical fitness, save energy resources and lower pollution, and put less stress on a city's physical infrastructure and therefore its finances. As the City of Cedar Rapids's annual Bike to Work Week proclamation proclaims in part: Increased bicycle use strengthens community connections, improves health and well-being, supports local businesses, attracts tourism, and contributes to vibrant, livable neighborhoods.

Bike to Lunch with the Mayor, May 2017

A recent Bike Talk podcast highlighted research by Hannah Younes and co-authors, finding that the presence of bike lanes--even the cheap one-stripe-of-paint kind--slowed turning traffic, particularly at top speeds. Cars were also more likely to make a full stop when turning right on red. In these narrowly-defined circumstances, bike lanes were making everyone safer (Younes et al. 2024). 

So, there's a lot to be said for bike lanes, albeit the Trumps and Duffys and Joe Mitchells of the world are determined not to hear any of it. But there's an arguably bigger problem with Mitchell's comments, defining as they do the characteristics of who does and who doesn't belong here. It's the same logic as Governor Reynolds's declaration that two of the most successful places in the state are "not the real Iowa," as well as President Trump's thuggish immigration policy. A state or country that defines itself by who it excludes is doomed. As a bicycle commuter, I see no reason why a Representative Joe Mitchell would represent me or anyone else who doesn't fit his crabbed definition of Iowan.

Only one (highly suspect) Iowan rode a bicycle to the eye center this morning.
Zero Harley-Davidsons in sight, though.

SEE ALSO: "Reflections on Bike to Work Week 2023," 22 May 2023

Coffeeneuring Challenge 2026

 

The leaves say: It's time for Coffeeneuring!

What's the secret to our success? I say it's the autumn appeal of low-key two-wheeled rides on bikes, coffee and fall-inspired drinks with friends, a goal to strive toward, and the best community.

--MARY G., CEO OF COFFEENEURING 

Week One

0. Saturday, October 10 (Mostly sunny, 83F)

Coffee at: Bruegger's Bagels, 3310 Mount Vernon Road SE [round trip 3.5 miles]

I found out about coffeeneuring two years ago, and have been an eager practitioner ever since. This is my third year participating. The rules have changed this year, so it requires eight rides instead of seven, and seven unique places instead of six. Minimum ride is two miles round trip, with no maximum. Last year my longest ride was to Apple Creek Coffee in Center Point, and memories of the gale force wind in my face the whole way back still cause me to shudder. I don't know how ambitious I'll be this year.

Opening day was Saturday, and I was inspired to add some cycling and coffee to our weekly quest for bagels. I followed side streets there, and locked my bike to this contraption in back of the store:

Where to put your bicycle at Bruegger's

It was okay to sit there for a while with coffee from Caribou and a book, but I'm calling it "ride zero" because I'm hoping for better. I honestly don't know if I was fully in the "spirit of coffeeneuring," which would fall afoul of Rule #11. (Regardless of when or how you choose to coffeeneur, you must always abide by the Spirit of Coffeeneuring. What is the Spirit of Coffeeneuring, you ask? The answer is inside you.) Today will do for practice. Possibly renumbered later.

My Saturday morning set up at Bruegger's

Week Two

1. Tuesday, October 13 (Morning clouds, 74F)

Coffee at: Dash Coffee Roasters, 120 3rd Avenue SW [6.5 miles round trip]

This morning with coffee, pumpkin muffin, and library book

Now I'm underway for real! Our ridiculous warm spell is over, and fall is on; this is the last day in the 70s for possibly a very long while. I rode to Dash, one of our town's most popular coffee houses, via the Coe College library and a circuit of Cedar Lake. The trail north from Cedar Lake is still being rebuilt, so I turned south, negotiated the trail closure at 1st Avenue where the railroad crossing is being repaired, and landed here. It was crowded when I arrived, as befits its popularity. And they had pumpkin muffins; in this season of controversy, I am unqualifiedly pro-pumpkin! Among today's Dash patrons was Rina Jensen, a life coach specializing in women entrepreneurs.

I was pleased to see another bicycle in the rack when I arrived.

My bicycle and its friend in front of Dash

It was still there when I left, so I'm guessing our barista rode to work today. Good for them! Still another rider arrived while I was there, a woman I didn't know carrying her bicycle helmet. I thought I should tell her about #coffeeneuring2026, but I'm really crap at evangelism.

2. Friday, October 16 (Cloudy, 52F)

Coffee at: Cafe Deja Vu, 3655A 1st Avenue SE [7 miles round trip]

My head stayed warm on a chilly damp morning,
but couldn't help my "selfie face" 

A newcomer to the coffeeneuring scene, Cafe Deja Vu opened this year in the Town and Country Shopping Center (so named because when it was built in 1956, it was on the edge of town). It is a rather dreary strip, especially on a cloudy day, but it's mere blocks from the Cemar Trail, which I rode from near the cafe to near my office. Bike parking at the Town and Country is between the Fareway and the Dollar Tree.

No other bicycles today, but last summer I saw
a couple of middle schoolers at the cafe on their own

Cafe Deja Vu is a traditional (though how would I know?) French bakery, with an astonishing array of baked creations that have tempted me out of my muffin comfort zone. Today I had an apricot chausson with a Viennese coffee. 

Does it really look like a slipper?

I was some time devising my coffee drinking strategy, specifically how to access the coffee around the whipped cream. In time I removed the whipped cream to my plate for the first few sips. I hope the Viennese are not offended! 

Cafe Deja Vu may also be the only French bakery in North America with an Eiffel Tower made of Legos.

I didn't bring a book to Cafe Deja Vu, but I should have done, because the friend I was planning to meet overslept. So, pas de chaussons for him! Truly it is said that if you snooze, you lose.

More cycling today, more fall drinks!
Lion Bridge Brewing Co's marzen "Oktobot 3000"

Later today I read about a cyclist killed by an SUV in Seattle. A friend posted on Facebook that two cyclists he knows have recently suffered brain injuries (one struck by an SUV running a stop sign, one losing his balance riding on the shoulder of the road). I doubt there's a magic answer to this, but we could all take more care however we're getting places. "We're all in this together," as Red Green used to say.

Week Three

3. Sunday, October 18 (Mostly sunny, 66F)

Coffee at: Roasters New Bo, 1120 2nd Street SE [4.8 miles round trip]

An old friend in a new location! Roasters has moved from New Bo City Market to a small storefront on 2nd Street near 12th Avenue. I met some friends here for urbanist conversation, and saw another group of cyclists in from a ride on the Sac and Fox Trail, to which I preached the gospel of coffeeneuring. 

Roasters has the daily print edition of the Wall Street Journal on hand,
and the New York Times on Sunday

my order at my usual seat

It's warming up here, but was still brisk in the morning. I wore my skullcap and gloves and was fine, but the jacket over my t shirt was inadequate to keeping the wind from blowing through the sleeves of the jacket and up my arms. 

bicycle parking at New Bo City Market (one block away)

I had to break the law at one point. I understand stop lights are an open issue among cyclists, but I am a compulsive rule follower who likes frequently to rest, so I honor all stop lights and stop signs. However, trying to cross 8th Avenue at 6th Street proved impossible without running a red. I waited through two cycles of cross traffic, and when the street was clear, I crossed. You can @ me if you wish, but I might still be at that intersection if I hadn't done that!

On the way to Roasters, say hi to the Goldfinch Cyclery cat!

4. Tuesday, October 20 (Partly cloudy, 71F)

Coffee at: Stillwater Coffee Company, 1275 North Center Point Road, Hiawatha [13 miles round trip]

View from Stillwater

The day started chilly but soon became lovely, good for a more ambitious ride. I caught the Cedar Valley Nature Trail at McLeod Run Park on J Avenue north of the Coe College campus, and rode for several miles into the adjacent town of Hiawatha. There are a couple of pinch points on the way: 42nd Street, where we share space with a highway offramp; and Blairs Ferry Road, where the trail lands at a busy intersection. I made it across without complication, both places and both ways. 

North of Blairs Ferry, the trail leaves Center Point Road and heads into nature. The bike infrastructure on Center Point includes a buffered bike lane and a sidepath; I followed the latter.

First, a flu shot

Stillwater features a monthly story hour with a librarian from the Hiawatha Public Library. Today was nice enough for them to meet on the patio, while I sat inside with the Cities for Everyone webinar. But I saw all the parents and tots on their ways in and out.

bike locked by the patio

I watched Gil Penalosa interview Jen Angel and Lois Lindsay of the Toronto firm Evergreen, about several of their projects including a long nature trail called The Loop. Later, I heard The War on Cars podcast discuss efforts to counter Ontario premier Doug Ford's (costly, contentious and unproductive) elimination of bike lanes. A lot going on in Toronto the Good, not all of it good!

Setup at Stillwater

Week Four

5. Thursday, October 29 (Sunny, 66F)

Coffee at: Kismet Coffee and Bloom, 1000 3rd Street SE [4.7 miles round trip via Coe College]

The day started cloudy, then suddenly the sun came out. Bicyclists like me and whoever else was parked at the bike rack in front of Kismet had it both ways: A cloudy night meant it didn't get that cold overnight, and a sunny morning made the ride extra-pleasant!

Waning gibbous moon above the Bottleworks Loft Condos

Kismet is full of flowers and coffee, but catching them with baked goods makes for a very good day. Last year, I enjoyed a maple scone with my coffeeneuring, but today! Today they had molasses coffee cake. (I prefer dark roast as well as dark pastries, and for the record, dark beer.)

Sitting by the window at Kismet

I'd brought the Living section from Sunday's Cedar Rapids Gazette because my coffee companion, Randy, was featured in a long article. Wizards don't require print subscriptions to newspapers, but sometimes a clipping is nice to have.

Kismet has great outdoor seating, but this morning was too
chilly to enjoy it

John Simmerman's latest Active Towns video podcast rides along the Razorback Greenway from Fayetteville to Bentonville, Arkansas. Intercity trails are critical for active transportation, and we're about to get a key link connected. (Read on!)

6. Friday, October 30 (Light morning rain, 55F)

Coffee at: Craft'd Coffee Shop, 333 1st St SE [3.6 miles round trip]

When I walked into Craft'd this morning, "Another Brick in the Wall" was playing. When your humble blogger was a humble college student, the hipsters who were into Pink Floyd (i.e. not me) were rather badass. Today they are background music at the coffeehouse. Time is indeed relentless and cruel.

Redmond Park in the rain

So, sometimes, is the weather. This morning's light rain would have kept me off my bike, but for my own relentless pursuit of a coffeeneuring patch. With finite time to complete my labors, and next week's weather looking even wetter, I rode through the slop, which by then was more on the streets than in the sky. I arrived downtown with a stout heart but a wet butt.

I met a friend and saw several other friends, so it was a third-place kind of morning. John and I both ordered scones with our coffees, which were memorable. The management of Craft'd has contracted with the northeast side bakery Feedwell for baked goods, and they are unbeatable.

We sat underneath art, the market for which seems to be tough, judging from the markdowns.

An excellent and cozy morning, and I can see the finish line from here!

Week Five

7. Tuesday, November 3 (Occasional rain, 67F)

Coffee at: Roasters New Bo, 1120 2nd Street SE [5.3 miles round trip]

Locked around the corner in front of Goldfinch Cyclery

We had a rainy September, followed by a dry October, and now are having a rainy November. One of these days, I need to take the newly-connected CeMar Trail to coffee in Marion; but today, under nearly constant threat of rain, I stayed in town, returning to Roasters in New Bohemia. It's a cozy place on a rainy day...

Roasters in the rain

...and I saw several groups of parents with children over the course of the morning. Must have been a school holiday! Good coffee shops are places to escape the rain and, for the moment, our overheated election. Welcome, young future coffee drinkers!

My setup at Roasters today. I'm at a different table from trip #3!

At 10 my laptop joined Gil Penalosa's Cities for Everyone webinar, which today featured Susan Pinker, author of The Village Effect: How Face-to-Face Contact Can Make Us Healthier, Happier, and Smarter (Spiegel and Grau, 2014). Although I came in by myself, I spent the morning with a diverse lot of people in the coffeehouse. Third places are such an integral part of living in community!

So is working with, rather than against, other people as you move through your day. On my ride in, before the rain started, I saw people using the bike lane as a loading zone...

3rd Avenue near downtown is too busy for the bike lane to be blocked,
though there might be fewer bikes on a rainy day

...even though there was curb space a few feet away. Then when I got downtown, there was a guy riding his bike on the sidewalk downtown. Because it was raining, fewer people were walking than would have been the case otherwise, but still... we're all in this together, right?

No bad weather, only bad clothing

My wet butt notwithstanding, I'm glad I seized this day! Now I'm within striking distance of achieving the Coffeeneuring Challenge for 2026!!

8. Friday, November 6 (Sunny, 45F)

Coffee at: Uptown Coffee, 760 11th St Suite A, Marion, IA [about 9.5 miles round trip]

Coffeeneuring Challenge unlocked! (So was my bicycle, pictured above. These things happen when I try to do things before I drink coffee. Thankfully it was still there when I returned.)

This morning was bright and chilly; I bundled up for my first-ever ride on the CeMar Trail connection between Cedar Rapids and Marion.

first of four bridges across Indian Creek

There were, understandably, no other cyclists this morning. But I saw quite a few walkers, some accompanied by dogs, and we greeted each other joyously. 

High point of the trail

The new portion of the trail doesn't have many trees, for now anyway, so it might be hot on sunny summer days.

Heading into Marion under Route 100

Once under Route 100 and past the big box store, the main trail swings westward through Thomas Park before it reaches the Grant Wood (east-west) trail. A more direct route to Uptown Marion is to ignore the wayfinding sign (which is hard to see from the main trail anyhow) and take the right fork...

You've come to the fork in the road. Take it.

...and head straight north through either Oak Shade Cemetery (pretty but hilly) or Hanna Park, and then follow one of the numbered side streets.

The trail connection means getting to Uptown Coffee is
safer, easier and more pleasant 

Now we've got the Coffeeneuring Challenge done, it's time to get ready for Christmas! 

Take your one-horse open sleigh to the coffeehouse this winter!

(But #blackfridayparking first, of course!)

SOURCE: Mary G., "Coffeeneuring Challenge 2026 and We're 16: Back to Basics," Chasing Mailboxes, 3 October 2026

LAST YEAR: "Coffeeneuring Challenge 2025," 14 October-6 November 2025

COFFEENEURING IN ATLANTA: Brent Lineberry, "Coffeeneuring 2026, 8: Cappucino at Foxtail," Brent Lineberry, 1 November 2026

COFFEENEURING ALLA ROMA: Jeremy Cherfas, "Otaleg!" jeremycherfas.net, 7 November 2026