Michael Palecek

Michael J. Palecek. 44, was born in Norfolk, Nebraska, and lives with his wife, Ruth, and two children, Sam and Emily, in Sheldon, Iowa. A devotee of small-town life, Mike says of himself, “I have been to federal prison and the O’Brien County Fair.” In his communications career he has worked as a weekly newspaper reporter and award-winning editor-publisher in Minnesota. His jail experience stems from his peaceful anti-war protests at the Offutt Air Base near Omaha. Regardless, the people of Iowa’s Fifth Congressional District selected him as their candidate for the U.S. House on the Democrat ticket in 2000 with a campaign fund of just $6,000. He lost the race with one-third of the vote, but he is running again in 2002 on the Green Party ticket. Mike’s first book, KGB, was recently published by AmErica House, Baltimore.