Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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Marking a milestone at H-M-S Middle School It goes without saying that Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn’s new 5-8 grade building is night and day compared to its predecessor. A brief walk-through will reveal hulking ceilings, bright windows, open spaces and a gymnasium some area high schools would envy. Much like the district’s new elementary school, the place is a gem. The middle school’s opening put the coda on H-M-S’s $18.9 million facilities project, which in addition to both a new elementary and junior high, significantly upgraded the high school....
It's been a while since we've all been able to get together for a little fun. With the pandemic shelving everything last year, folks were looking forward to a return to normal this summer. Local residents were able to do just that last weekend in Hartley and Everly. Summer Celebration returned to form and Everly Fire & Rescue's 100th anniversary celebration complemented Community Day last Saturday. Suffice it to say, everyone had good time. These local events don't happen in a vacuum – they t...
It’s happening in Hartley It seems like you can’t drive two blocks in Hartley without running into construction of some sort – not that anyone is complaining. There’s a ton of progress taking place right now in the City With a Heart. The first building is being constructed in the new industrial park, ground has broken on the new pool and the city’s emergency services building is getting a roof upgrade. That’s not to mention the new playground at the daycare and road resurfacing work that took place last month. Oh, and don’t forget planne...
Tassels will turn this weekend for graduating seniors at Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn. After a tumultuous year dealing with pandemic-related uncertainty, commencement no doubt comes as a big sigh of relief. But even though it may appear the book is closing, the adventure is only beginning for these young adults. It's been a slog to get here, and we're only referring to the past year. The final two months of these seniors' junior year was canceled by COVID-19 and nothing was spared from the chopping...
It's often said that all politics is local. While true, it could also be argued that our democracy is rooted in the individual. Two recent examples drive home that participation certainly matters. On Monday, the U.S. Census Bureau released state-by-state population counts. Since our decennial tally determines which states get how many seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, new numbers were released for Congress as well. Texas gained two seats while Colorado, Florida, Montana, North...
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. President Joe Biden announced a new plan last week that would completely withdraw American troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 of this year. The move kicks the can on former President Donald Trump’s plan, which called for all troops to be removed by May 1. “War in Afghanistan was never meant to be a multigenerational undertaking,” Biden said during a speech delivered in the Treaty Room of the White House, where former President George W. Bush announced the start of the war in 2001. “It’s time to end...
There was a time when Iowa's election laws shone as a bright beacon of democracy to our peers in other states. Thanks to dubious actions by the state Legislature, the Hawkeye State has fallen far from grace. Gov. Kim Reynolds this month signed legislation cutting the state's early voting period and closing the polls an hour earlier on Election Day. This was by no means a bipartisan agreement, as the law was passed on strict party lines in both the House and Senate. Reynolds, a Republican, happil...
Hartley taxpayers can give themselves a big, hard pat on the back. Voters on Tuesday approved the $1.7 pool bond measure with 84 percent of the vote. That's huge, and it proved city residents are more than willing to invest in the community's future. This multi-million dollar project has been years in the making and it will benefit generations of Hartley residents in the years to come. Hartley's current pool has had a good run. It was built in 1958 and received its last major upgrades in 1996,...
Half a million and counting More Americans have now died of COVID-19 than those who perished in both World Wars and the Vietnam War combined. As of Tuesday morning, the tally sat at 500,104. Half a million dead Americans is hard to grasp. That’s a lot of empty of chairs at the dinner table and so many gaping holes in the hearts of loved ones they left behind. We must never forget, and as President Joe Biden noted Monday during a vigil for coronavirus victims, “we have to resist becoming numb to the sorrow.” COVID-19 has dominated our way of li...
Many Americans remember President George W. Bush's 2003 "Mission Accomplished" speech not for its words, but for its imagery. The address came following decisive success by U.S. troops during the second war with Iraq. Perched atop the deck of an aircraft carrier, Bush announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq with a banner that read "Mission Accomplished" prominently displayed in the background. He never actually uttered those words during his speech, but photos of the president...
Whether you're a Democrat, Republican or something in between, nobody is envious of President Joe Biden right now. On Wednesday he inherited a nation deeply divided along partisan lines, with millions of Americans still believing his election victory was illegitimate. Nonetheless, he still has to govern. Now more than ever, it's imperative the new chief executive finds a common cause the entire country can rally around during the first 100 days of his presidency. Biden has that opportunity in st...
Millions of Americans have spent the past week trying to comprehend the events that unfolded Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. It’s fair to say many were appalled but not surprised, and we can all hope this reprehensible moment will serve as a reckoning for the extreme politics currently holding this nation hostage. Call it a failed coup, insurrection or whatever you want – plain and simple, it was an attack on the fundamentals of our democracy. The people who ransacked the Capitol and killed a police officer were not patriots. Their beliefs and val...
4 was the year of "un's." Unprecedented. Unheard of. Unreal. It's redundant at this point. Whatever hopes people had for this year, 2020 promptly crushed them. It's futile to list everything that stunk during the last 365 days. The only positives this year were the silver linings. We were forced to be closer to our loved ones "thanks" to quarantine while simultaneously being reminded what's important. Nothing should be taken for granted – even the simplest of things like going to a high s...
There’s a good chance we’ll have a brown Christmas this year. That’s fitting, because 2020 has been one long brown streak after another. Everyone could use a little holiday cheer right now. Some folks put up their Christmas lights and decorations earlier than normal hoping to spark some joy, while others have attempted to spread the spirit of the season in different ways. Hopefully everyone has been able to find some December magic regardless of the method. This season is often hectic and stressful, what with the shopping, church events and oth...
It seems like people in need living in small, rural communities are often forgotten – resources are thin and adequate help can be hard to come by. That situation has been exacerbated during the last nine months thanks to this pandemic, which jeopardized economic stability in many households. Communities are only as good as the people that comprise them. In the Hartley area, we've got a good group. You don't have to look too hard to find the giving spirit around these parts. There's Hartley C...
It may not seem like there’s much to be grateful for this year. It’s probably pointless to note the pandemic has been the ultimate trump card on everything in 2020, but here we are. Still, there’s plenty to be thankful for if you look below the surface. Most notable are our health care workers, nursing home staff, teachers and others on the front lines in packing plants, grocery stores and delivery trucks who are keeping life as normal as possible through this mess. There are too many people and professions to list, and they get taken for g...
Iowa is facing its darkest days right now, and it's not because the clocks rolled back an hour this month. COVID-19 infections are through the roof, hospitalizations are at an all-time high and medical personnel are stretched thin. The situation has grown desperate in the Hawkeye State, and that fact was made clear Monday by the governor's new order. Gov. Kim Reynolds had pushed back against a strict mask mandate for eight months but was left with little choice but to ramp up restrictions. We...
The term "personal responsibility" is a loaded one. Everyone claims to possess this virtuous attribute, but it's often weaponized against people who apparently lack it. It seems many folks believe that if everyone took a little personal responsibility in their lives, there would be no addiction, poverty or societal injustices across this great land. Of course, it's not that simple and by no means that easy. That reality has been made abundantly clear during this never-ending pandemic. You don't...
If there’s something we can all agree on right now, it’s that we can’t agree on anything. Sure, we might all think the sky is blue, but given enough time to squabble over it, there would probably be half the country that claims it’s green. Things are just so incredibly divided it seems Americans’ first reaction is to fight. Pick any topic and it’s likely to be an inferno of debate: Coronavirus, masks, economic recovery, sports, race, policing, the Supreme Court – you name it, and people are mad about it. Then there’s the election. Presidential...
The days are shorter, the breeze is a bit cooler and cornfields throughout northwest Iowa have already turned that special shade of gold. It's harvest season once again, and with its arrival comes certain precautions for both area travelers and local farmers alike. September 20-26 was National Farm Safety and Health Week. This time of year, specific emphasis is placed on raising awareness about the many dangers farmers face in their day-to-day jobs, and the numbers certainly reinforce those...
If you're old enough, you probably remember where you were 19 years ago tomorrow when you heard the news. Two planes had hit the Twin Towers in New York City and another crashed into the Pentagon. Yet another fell short of its target in a Pennsylvania field thanks to the heroics of the passengers on board. Once the buildings fell and the fires were put out, 2,977 people were dead and many more wounded. Two wars followed, one of which continues to this day. You probably also remember how united...
The pandemic has reached its eighth month, but it feels like eight years. There's still no end in sight and hope is admittedly hard to come by these days – it's just one thing after another. COVID-19 hasn't gone anywhere. The threat is still very real, and here in the Hawkeye State, lackluster leadership and poor decisions have led to a spike in cases. Ames, home to Iowa State University, was identified by the New York Times for having the highest number of new cases in the country relative t...
This year has been a slog. The pandemic and subsequent economic nosedive have made millions of Americans hurt, and excruciatingly, there is no end in sight. When this all ends, nobody knows. Accordingly, Americans from sea to shining sea have had to adapt their routines to accommodate this strange new standard. One of the most import functions of our democracy – the simple act of voting – will be greatly affected by the pandemic come November. Sadly, the logical switch to mail-in ballots has...
Despite a global pandemic and a list of domestic issues too long to count, there’s been fervent debate recently about an issue that should have died 155 years ago. Several southern American cities have been removing statues and monuments of Confederate leaders, and there’s also been a strong push to rename U.S. military bases named after Confederate generals. It’s head-scratching these vestiges of the past even exist in the first place. Why would you want to put traitors to our nation on a literal pedestal? Nothing is ever as simple as it ap...
In addition to a COVID-19 vaccine, reopening schools is a lynchpin in getting the economy back on track. Parents need to work, and that's difficult to do when kids are stuck at home forced to learn from a laptop. There is no silver bullet right now. In Iowa, most rural schools like ours are forging ahead with plans to reopen while other districts in larger metro areas are staying closed until the fall. This is a double-whammy of hurt. Parents will once again be forced to work from home while...
