Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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It's September and kids are back in school. As a retired high school teacher, I always feel nostalgic this time of year as I remember the students. When they stepped into the building, the halls came alive. Some were excited, some were more hesitant, and all were wondering what would be expected of them that year. Most would meet those expectations and others would struggle. Unfortunately, some would fail. It was those students, especially, that drew my attention, and I spent the final 15 years...
It’s fair time in Iowa, and all across the Hawkeye State folks are flocking to the fairgrounds. After last summer’s lockdown, they’re looking forward to seeing old friends and neighbors at the exhibits, food stands, shows and carnivals. Excitement is building, and this season is expected to set attendance records. Over in Politick County, the midway is attracting large crowds and creating quite a stir. Unusual merchandise is on display, and new games offer challenging ways to win prizes. Fairg...
Americans celebrated their independence before they were independent. In July of 1776, colonists heard the Declaration of Independence read aloud for the first time in Philadelphia’s Independence Square. They were overwhelmed with joy to hear the news that the colonies were free from British tyranny, and they took to the streets in spontaneous celebration and boisterous revelry. The Revolutionary War would last for six more years, and the colonists were so sure of victory that they continued t...
As kids, we played a game called Simon Says. Standing in lines, we faced our leader, "Simon," and listened intently for commands. If Simon said, "Simon says, 'Hop'," we all hopped. If Simon said, "Take two steps'," we all froze because the command did not begin with, "Simon says...." After a rapid series of orders, players became confused, moved at wrong times, and soon were unable to follow any directions. Hilarity ensued and a different leader stepped up front. Today, we play a more dangerous...
The world is drowning in plastic waste. Millions of animals, birds and sea creatures die every year from ingesting bits of plastic or becoming entangled in plastic litter. Every year, over 8 million tons of plastic waste makes its way into the world's oceans. When plastic has broken down into microplastics, it enters the food chain and becomes a threat to all of us. Nature is being destroyed by plastic waste. Ironically, plastic was invented to protect nature from human destruction. In 1869....
Capitalism has been the engine driving our economy since the earliest settlers arrived to colonize the New World under charters from the Virginia Company of London and the Massachusetts Bay Company. The colonists set about farming, trading and engaging in commerce to create a modest economy that was the beginning of American capitalism. With America’s abundant supply of natural resources, labor, capital and entrepreneurial spirit, the free-market economy has been wildly successful. Modern c...
On Jan. 20, within hours of entering the Oval Office, President Biden signed an executive order halting further development of the Keystone XL pipeline. In doing so, he set in motion a series of events harmful to our economy and energy independence. He also jeopardized the future of many families and communities in our Western states. The Keystone XL is only the latest in a long list of pipelines met with lawsuits and demonstrations by environmentalists. The Keystone Pipeline (predecessor of...
In the aftermath of a yearlong tornado, Americans were dropped into the Land of Oz. Life as we know it no longer exists. Our new surroundings are strange, and things are not as they seem. Everything is merely an illusion. We’ve been following a yellow brick road of information and advice to help us navigate a maze of COVID-19 terrors, personal disappointments and political chaos. As we struggled through unfamiliar territory, three wizards worked behind a curtain of secrecy to change our p...
In January, our representatives and senators head to Washington to be sworn into office. The 117th Congress will be called to order, and the nation’s business will resume. The last session of the grand body had a public approval rating of 17 percent. Obviously, we the people are not pleased with the work, or lack thereof, in Congress. This legislative branch has become an exclusive club far from what the Founders envisioned. When the Founders designed the three branches of government, they e...
As if our political landscape weren't already a warzone, an added grenade was thrown last month with the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Those on the left mourned the passing of a hero and an icon, while the right saw only the death of a notorious Supreme Court justice. Whatever one thinks of RBG, love her or loathe her, there is a part of her legacy we should all take to heart. Ruth Bader Ginsberg was a lightning rod for controversy. She became a trailblazer for women in the 1950s by being one...
Two months from today, Americans will vote in what is arguably the most important election in our lifetime. Yet, 62 days out, the ballot is awash in a sea of controversy. Due to safety concerns during the pandemic, many do not want to go to the polls and prefer to vote by mail instead. With the future of this country at stake, we must ask ourselves if the mailbox can be a reliable substitute for the ballot box. There are two ways to cast a ballot by mail: Universal mail-in voting and absentee...
On March 16, a bomb dropped on Iowa when Gov. Kim Reynolds recommended all schools close for four weeks. It wasn’t a surprise as we’d been expecting it in light of the dire COVID-19 warnings at the time. Yet, when it actually happened and schools closed, we were stunned. Close the schools for a month? Lock the doors? Inconceivable! Even so, superintendents immediately suspended classes. On April 17, the governor extended the shutdown order for the remainder of the academic year. The sit...
One year ago, the title of this column was, "The flag is more than a fashion statement." In it, I wrote about the history of our great flag and my concern that it is trivialized when its image is seemingly used everywhere on everyday items. My worry seems trivial now. One year later, we see our glorious flag set on fire, ripped apart, and desecrated in vulgar ways – by American citizens on American soil. This Fourth of July, we find ourselves at a pivotal moment in America. The asphyxiation o...
When I was growing up in the Fifties, I awoke on Monday mornings to the sound of the old Maytag washer humming in the basement Mom’s weekly laundry routine followed the same pattern as most homemakers of the day – wash and dry clothes on Monday, iron and put them away on Tuesday. Indeed, doing laundry back then wasn’t the willy-nilly affair that it’s become today when we pop a load in the washer on our way out the door, and transfer it to the dryer when we return home. On washday, the family...
Although it seems like a lifetime ago, we've only been at war with the invisible enemy – the COVID-19 virus – for a couple of months. Earliest reports of the novel coronavirus were horrendous – the disease is extremely contagious, and suffering will be unbearable. Americans were told millions would be infected, and hundreds of thousands would die. Terrified, we panicked, and in a matter of days our freedoms were severely curtailed. Life as we knew it ceased to exist. Suddenly, with little warni...
