New Outlook editor Nolan Porter introduces himself

Nolan Porter is the new editor for The Outlook.

Approximately 210 miles south of Monona is a little river town called Keokuk. Named after Chief Keokuk of the Sauk tribe, the town was founded in 1848 right on the bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River. For the past 25 years of my life, I have called it home. To many, including myself, Keokuk is not the best town to live in.

The smell from the factories will fill the nose anytime and anywhere. The roads are in such poor condition that it is not uncommon to twist an ankle or do damage to a car’s suspension. Lee county, in which Keokuk is planted, is one of the poorest in Iowa. The town shows no signs of improvement and the population keeps dwindling year after year.

I attended school with no air conditioning, which got very hot mid August. I never supported the sports teams nor had any school spirit. I could hang out with any group of kids, from the sport jocks to the nerds but never fit in. I never felt any sort of allegiance to the town.

With all the being said, it must come to reason that I dislike or even, to some extent, hate Keokuk. While I do have some loathing for Keokuk, I will never be able to hate it.

Hindsight being 20/20 has never been truer when leaving a hometown. I may think that I hated Keokuk while living there but, it is my home and always will be.

Keokuk is where I grew up. I ran around the cracked streets when I was a kid. I played tennis on the jagged courts. I was a member of the local Boy Scout troop. My best friends all come from Keokuk, as does most of my family. Even as I move on to a new life, town and job, I will never be able to shake my roots. I do not want to even try to deny where I am from. I am who I am today because of my town and the people who live there.

I will miss many things that are in Keokuk, but most of all, I will miss the town itself.

Keokuk is one of a kind for many different reasons. The sunsets in my neighborhood are hard to beat.

It is a sight to be seen as the barges wind their way down the Mississippi into lock and dam 19. The giant powerhouse resting in the middle of the river as it looms over barges is awe inspiring. And the list goes on and on.

I look forward to living and working in Monona. I know, in time, that I will call Monona my new home. However, my heart and true home will always be in the little city of Keokuk, Iowa.