Opinion: Iowans SHOULD Celebrate Thanksgiving with Family in 2020

The CDC - Center for Disease Control says Americans should not celebrate Thanksgiving with family in 2020 according to a story I first saw on KWWL, from CNN. Why? This COVID thing that won't let up... And I get it, here in Iowa we've had serious waves throughout the pandemic. Respectfully, I disagree. I think you should spend time with family during the holiday season. I know, going against the CDC...eek. But hear me out...

First off, I think if you have family with pre-existing conditions, no - they should not be put at risk. For those who are healthy, here in Iowa we have a bit of a luxury: TestIowa. The TestIowa sites are a fantastic resource. ANYONE healthy or otherwise, can get a free COVID-19 test. Yes, taxpayers are funding it, but it's free in the sense you don't need good insurance or any to get the test. Nor do you need symptoms. Going to see family on Thanksgiving? Having them come to you? Get a COVID test. Ask them to all get a COVID test. My morning partner Tiffany got one before visiting her parents Labor Day. She also made her friend who came along with get one. Smart.

Here in Back Hawk, the test site is easy to access - it's at the Crossroads Mall. That's at 2060 Crossroads in Waterloo. And there's locations all through the state, which you can find via the link above. I took the test with no symptoms, it's not that bad having a long swab shoved up your nose.

COVID's seemingly not going anywhere... I get it, we need to stay smart and safe. But we also need to have some normality. Massive live sporting events with packed arenas? No. Huge shoulder-to-shoulder concerts? No. Family? YES. Seeing family is vital to, dare I say, most of us. We just have to be smart about it. Safe about it. And trust our family is too. That test doesn't hurt either.

What do you think? Send me your thoughts.