Gomers -- What's going wrong

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING? The Iowa State Fair Board last week drew lots of flack for its plan to banish cash and make fairgoers purchase tickets, at 50 cents each, to use for rides, food and other purchases. Thankfully, this backward proposal (think long lines at ticket booths, paper ticket trash and unused tickets) drew so much outcry from the public and vendors that the board withdrew the plan. Let's hope the next change they propose actually serves the customers and vendors.

lll

NOT COLD ENOUGH: Eastern Iowa just emerged from a polar vortex - a deep freeze period - yet it wasn't cold enough to kill unwanted pests. More than 90 percent of wintering larvae of the emerald ash borer, which is fast gaining a foothold in Iowa and is expected to eventually kill virtually all of the state's ash trees, were expected to survive. Not that we wish for an even colder spell.

lll

COLD FALLOUT: Meanwhile, it was cold enough that schools canceled classes for a couple of days after the end of the Christmas holiday break. That meant more challenges for working families who depend on day care facilities because many of those also closed.

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