Ups & Downs

There have been several newspaper articles in the past week about Don’s upcoming play which deals with the events in the northeast Iowa town of Postville.

In the late 1980s, Postville was slowly dying.  Then an entrepreneur from a sect of Hasidic Jews purchased the defunct meatpacking plant and moved in with 30 orthodox rabbis and their families.  An incredible (and often comic) culture clash ensued.  In May of 2008, the comedy turned to tragedy when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Raid uncovered large numbers of illegal immigrants and underage workers in the plant along with numerous other employment law infractions.

The resulting human and economic devastation are far from being resolved.

Take a look at Don’s blog, “They’re Hijacking My Play” to see more on the events in Postville and on the play, and click on the following link to read the article in the Des Moines Register.