[usconservative]

When in the military I spent a month there in 1982 at Rockwell Collins learning some crypto gear.

Are you an amateur radio guy by any chance? Your background sounds just like one of my favorite radio contacts.

My family left Iowa all the way back in 1978 and moved to Illinois. (Don't get me started on this hell hole of a state!) I'd not been back to Iowa at all until about 3 or 4 years ago now when I went to Lincoln, Nebraska for an amateur radio contest.

I stopped in Altoona for gas, drove around a bit, realized I didn't recognize a thing and got back on I-80 West to Nebraska.

[SamAdams76]

Well radio was my MOS in the military and for most of the 1990s, I was a shortwave radio aficionado. I spent thousands of dollars on gear and spent hours DX'ing at night which drove my wife nuts. Then the Internet quickly put a stop to all that.

Never did get a ham radio license however. I was more of a listener. Though I did have a CB radio for a while (that bored me to tears).

I go out to Illinois every couple years as I have relatives in Naperville. Now Naperville is probably the most conservative town in the metro Chicago area. Not that that's saying much. On one trip out there, I stayed at a resort in Sheridan. Now that place reminded me of Iowa. It was in the middle of nowhere.