Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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Turkey Day 2023 is upon us once again – a time when family and friends come together to give thanks for the many blessings we’ve been afforded over the past year. While there are many things to complain about these days, there are far more important things to be grateful about. We can be thankful for community. Our neighbors are there for us through thick and thin, whether we realize it or not. Oftentimes, the strength of communities like ours is only fully realized in times of tragedy or great concern – mealtrains are organized when someone su...
My good friend, Brenden, is an avid cyclist. He races bikes professionally all over the country and has done so for the better part of the last decade. He’s good at pushing pedals. All that success comes from extensive training, both indoors and outdoors. When the ground isn’t covered in snow, he spends countless hours each year traversing highways and byways here in the Hawkeye State to build his strength and stamina. I’ve always said his affection for cycling will kill him. Not from over exhaustion or a bad crash, but from some stupid drive...
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds turned heads this month when she endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Iowa GOP Caucus. The Florida governor is currently sitting in second place (depending where you look) in polls, trailing significantly behind former President Donald Trump. You can debate the significance of endorsements, but Reynolds' decision is certainly impactful – if not immediately, historically. Caucus endorsements from Iowa governors for presidential candidates o...
It is said that you are as young as you feel. I have yet another birthday coming in a couple months, and I don’t feel young at all. As a matter of fact, if someone were to sneak another 20 candles on my cake, I probably wouldn’t know the difference. Oh, who am I kidding, they don’t bake cakes big enough to hold that many candles! Recently I spent a couple of days pheasant hunting with a group of guys that come to our area from Ohio every year. A couple guys in our area organize the weekl...
To the editor: Landowners targeted for eminent domain by Summit Carbon Solutions won several substantial victories in recent weeks, but the fight is far from over. Our celebratory high-fives must wait. Summit is wounded but remains a very real threat to the private property rights of thousands across Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. Three companies have proposed CO2 pipelines in Iowa: Summit, Navigator and Wolf. Navigator cancelled its project last month after permits were denied in South Dakota and Illinois following...
A memorial service for Donna F. Thorn was held Monday, Nov. 13, 2023 at the United Methodist Church in Sutherland. Pastor David Morris officiated. Honorary pallbearers were Evan and Rachel Thorn, Erica and Dillan Anderson, Easton Thorn, Justin Thorn, Braeden Thorn, Matthew Hines, Nathan Hines, Trevor Thorn and Tia Thorn. Interment was in Waterman Township Cemetery at Sutherland. Hartley Funeral Home assisted with the arrangements. Donna Faye Thorn, third child of Leo Earl and Marguerite F. “Faye” (Meehlhause) Groen, was born July 11, 1948 in...
To the editor: I can attest to the urgent need for a safe crossing for our children at the elementary school. Last Monday, I was picking up my grandchildren at the elementary school. As I turned into the drive, I was horrified as I watched a young girl trying to cross Highway 18. She would take a step forward to make a mad dash, then change her mind and step back as cars and semis whizzed by. She did this more than once, and I hoped I wasn’t going to see a child die today! I was relieved to see her finally make it across. I also saw children w...
Their sacrifice cannot be ignored Saturday marks our annual celebration of the men and women who so selflessly served the country as members of the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day is an important holiday, and one that every freedom-loving American should acknowledge. Sometimes it’s easy to ignore occasions like this one. People are busy, work is hectic and there’s just simply too much else going on. However, all of those excuses seem futile when you really stop and think about it. Our veterans gave us a commitment that’s almost impos...
Iowa was recently involved in several lawsuits against pharmaceutical drug companies, drug distributor firms and giant pharmacy companies regarding opioids. Over time, these suits generated a number of separate settlements with states and local governments to address the impacts of opioid abuse in the United States. This approach was modeled after the actions of the mid-1990s when states banded together and sued tobacco companies for the costs of smoking-related illnesses. However, there are...
To the editor: This letter is to catch the ears of the Hartley City Council members and those citizens of Hartley who have requested from the Hartley Rec Trail Committee a safe crossing across Highway 18. Our committee has until June 30, 2024 to finish work on a crossing across Highway 18 or we will lose the $20,000 grant that we were awarded by the Rural Community Revitalization Program. Our committee has worked tirelessly to get a crossing approved by both the city council and either the H-M-S School Board or local land owners, to benefit...
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2Timothy 3:16-17) October is a time of when farmers are harvesting their crops, kids are at school and many people are preparing for the holidays, including the birth of Jesus Christ. However, there is one other event in history that took place that is rarely celebrated. On...
On Friday, Oct. 6, the world watched in horror as Hamas terrorists launched an all-out assault on Israel. Terrorists parachuted into a music festival killing hundreds of innocent people, broke into homes murdering entire families, and in one of the most gruesome displays of evil, murdered innocent babies. The details are sickening, but we cannot turn a blind eye to the atrocities that Hamas has committed and continues to inflict on the innocent people of Israel. The truth must be widely known....
In a time of intense division in Washington, one thing Republicans and Democrats still agree on is that no child should ever go to bed on an empty stomach. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, helps ensure that does not happen. But, with rising prices hitting hard and tens of thousands of families across the country waiting in a backlog to be approved for aid, some administrators of the program are jumping the line to snatch up the SNAP dollars, either...
There are moments in my life that stay with me for no apparent reason. Some are national events that everyone seems to know about, and some are personal events no one knows about. There are also moments I can’t remember, but others won’t let me forget. I have been around for several decades of our nation’s history, and probably the first big news story I remember was the Russian launch of Sputnik. There was a lot of talk about a Cold War and a space race, but as a young boy, I didn’t underst...
There's been a lot of hand-wringing in recent years about the death of local newspapers, those bastions of democracy and chroniclers of community. While the loss of any newspaper hurts the people they serve, residents of rural areas and small towns are hit especially hard when a newspaper shuts down. When a local newspaper closes, citizens lose impartial news and information about town and county government, school boards, local athletic teams, academic awards, county fairs and the mundane and...
To the editor: The difference between 33 and 32 is 1. Let’s call 1 a small number. When you put the word billion behind that small number, it becomes huge. A billion is a million thousands. Nine hundred ninety-nine compared to 1 is enormous. When that small number 1 is followed by the word trillion, it equals the huge billion MORE than the enormous 999 huge billions. In the House, there is a (small number of right wing holdouts) and the rest of the members. The two groups can’t agree on a funding package. When you understand simple ari...
My coaching portfolio grew this fall with addition of flag football. This wasn’t exactly by choice, but my stint on the sidelines has been an interesting one nonetheless. I coached my son’s T-ball team here in Hartley for the past two summers. While it’s hard to measure progress of 5- and 6-year-olds, they seemed functional with a baseball, bat and glove by the end of the season. We coaches sometimes felt like we were herding rabid cats, and the young sluggers certainly kept us on our toes – never cast your gaze astray when kinderg...
Accentuate the positives when you can Progress comes in all shapes and forms. Just look around at our local communities. In Hartley, progress took the form of demolition last month when city’s never-opened new pool had its never-used deck torn up. The goal is to pour a new one with proper electrical bondings in place and inspected. Failure to inspect the bondings one year ago led to its indefinite closure, which has been a sore topic here in the City With a Heart. Everyone just wants the pool they paid for and hopefully we’re on the right track...
Many decades ago, Mrs. Gentry and Mr. Halferty put up with an inquisitive kid’s classroom questions about American democracy and the workings of government. I did not imagine back then how the meaning of some words could take on such importance in government. Take, for example, a much-talked-about word in Iowa last week, vexatious. It means abrasive, aggravating, annoying, irritating or nettlesome. Whether you vote for Democrats, Republicans or Whigs, everyone should have access to government re...
Roughly three months after our country exceeded $32 trillion in debt, we have surpassed another grim milestone and broken another unfortunate record. Our national debt has officially eclipsed $33 trillion, which is now the highest debt burden in American history. To put this figure into perspective, every single American – all 340 million of us – shoulders nearly $100,000 of this debt. Even worse, at a time when our federal budget deficit is projected to double to $2 trillion this fiscal yea...
Q: What’s your take on the budgeting process in Washington? A: It’s broken. As a taxpayer watchdog and ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, I continuously look for ways to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure the government is working effectively for the American people. As Congress approaches the end of the fiscal year, lawmakers are chewing over annual spending bills that fund government operations - including federal agencies, the military, and the judiciary – and a number of federal programs. This funding is referred to as discr...
Safety is something many of us take for granted. We have video cameras at our front doors, our vehicles remind us when to buckle our seat belts, and our cell phones alert us of any rain cloud within a 100-mile radius. Still, danger lurks. Nowhere is that more evident than for our area farmers. With harvest season looming, we're reminded to be extra careful during National Farm Safety and Health Week. The event runs Sept. 17-23 and raises awareness about the many dangers farmers face in their...
I've had billions of great ideas in my life, but rarely have I carried through. Last weekend, I carried through. I got a wild hair two weeks ago after the annual Cy-Hawk matchup. Iowa was slated to play hapless Western Michigan the following Saturday, and I figured tickets would be pretty cheap. I was right. $20 off face value had me sold to take Oliver to his first Hawkeye game. I reached out to a friend to see if he wanted to come and bring his son, who happens to be Oliver's best friend....
Although I can't start this off by telling you how many rounds of golf I got in this weekend like Eddie would have, I can tell you about a few of my favorite memories of Eddie Robinson. I first met Eddie a few weeks after Billie passed away. I was the first person to sit in her chair directly across from Ed in many, many years. I knew I had big shoes to fill, but he also had a job in my life that required some big shoes. I had come home from college after my dad left and I didn't know it at the...
There is only one thing that gets a Midwesterner out of school that's not a holiday, snow day or in-service day – the Clay County Fair. The World's Greatest County Fair has a reputation for inducing joy, excitement, the need to purchase a larger belt, and the enthusiasm of children and adults alike. The fact that we have such pure pleasure so close to home is not just luck, but a true blessing that we long for at the end of the summer and relish for the short nine days it is here. How many p...
