Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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With Easter behind us and warmer weather seemingly here to stay, I’m declaring Old Man Winter dead for the next seven months. This is the printed word and official now; no going back. What a bearcat the last four months have been. Early outs, snow days and canceled events became the norm as storm after storm rolled through the state on repeat. Still, it could be worse – Iowans who reside south of here can attest to that. Spring brings with it a sense of renewed optimism. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, which is enough to put a s...
The best season in Iowa basketball history came to a heartbreaking end Sunday in Dallas. Hopes of a national title for the Hawkeye women came crashing down at the hands of LSU. The Black and Gold tallied 85 points in the matchup, but it was all for naught – it felt like the Tigers never missed a shot the whole game. LSU’s marksmanship sent Iowa packing with a 17-point loss and enough heartburn to last a lifetime. The unfortunate ending doesn’t take away from Iowa’s storybook season. This team was great, and they proved that during the tournam...
The Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds cannot seem to make up their minds whether they support parental rights or are against Mom and Dad being the decision-makers when it comes to their children’s well-being. Trying to analyze Republican officials’ views on parental rights is challenging. Baseball’s infield fly rule is simpler. In 2021, the Republican majorities in the Iowa House and Iowa Senate passed legislation to prohibit schools from requiring students to wear facial masks in the c...
Traveling across the state, from River to River, I hear directly from working families who are looking for more childcare options and small business owners on a mission to find more employees. Childcare remains a workforce issue in both our metropolitan areas and rural communities, with childcare availability having a direct impact on employers and economic growth. Serving as the Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I have the unique opportunity to bring the stories of middle A...
To the editor: I would like to address Sen. Ernst’s letter in the Sentinel-News on March 23, 2023. There needs to be some clarification on the WOTUS she was addressing. It stands for Waters of the United States. It is designed to control the quality of water in rivers and lakes from pollution. This is not a Republican or Democratic issue. The term “Waters of the U.S.’’ appears in the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972 that empowers the EPA and the Army Corp of Engineers with protecting those waters. This act has kept 700 billion pounds of polluti...
Expanding government is the name of the game for the Biden administration. The latest ruling on the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) drags us back to an Obama-era rule with accompanying restrictions on what Americans can and can’t do on their property. The move allows the government to claim blanket jurisdiction over waters and wetlands with vague, expanded regulations while holding the strings to permitting land and building projects. Some Iowans feel the rule isn’t really about water quality, but about the overreaching grip of the fed...
What separates average-to-good Iowa towns from thriving ones, former Governor Terry Branstad often said, is the presence of locally owned banks and a dedicated community newspaper. Community newspapers are a big part of what makes Iowa, well, Iowa. And that's why it's so troubling that some in the Iowa Senate are considering requiring legal notices to be posted on some to-be-created state-run website and would not be required to be published in a local newspaper. Senate File 546 would in practic...
Last week the Iowa House of Representatives passed a piece of legislation that streamlines and realigns the state government of Iowa. It has been nearly 40 years since the organization of the state government has been evaluated and restructured in order to be serve Iowans. In that time the number of cabinet level departments and agencies has grown to 37 agencies. Within these agencies are many duplicative and redundant services that will move under appropriate departments to maximize the services provided to Iowans. By aligning functions and...
Some members of the Iowa Senate do not think that public notices published in newspapers remain relevant and necessary. A bill filed in the newly-formed Technology Committee this month moved through committee in two days and last week moved through the Ways & Means Committee in one day. Senate File 546 would result in removing a major component of government transparency. This legislation would require legal notices to be posted on a website controlled by the very government legal notices are...
To the editor: It is amazing that Brian Ferentz’s contract was renewed with Iowa football. Brian Ferentz is a proven loser and he only kept his job because his dad is the coach. It was a no-brainer firing mishandled by Gary Barta, the athletic director. I have also called for years for the mediocre Kirk Ferentz to be gone as he is way overpaid and under performs. Gary Barta is protecting the Ferentzes and now the $4,000,000 cost of the racial bias lawsuit reveals even more. Please wake up and get rid of these three and use the assumed s...
To the editor: It looks like some members of the Iowa House and Senate are finally listening to rural Iowans and our concerns about proposed CO2 pipelines. Because so many concerned citizens have turned out at meeting after meeting and hearing after hearing to show their opposition, some legislators seem to be getting the message: CO2 pipelines would create unnecessary and negative public health and pollution risks throughout our state while enriching a tiny number of private corporations. Now we need to spread the word and get more...
• March 11, 1948 Approximately $68,000 worth of farm machinery and livestock was sold at an auction at the Arnold W. Metz farm south of Hartley. An estimated 2,000 to 2,500 persons from as far away as 100 miles gave the Metz farm the appearance of a county fair. In as thrilling fashion as anyone could imagine, Hartley narrowly missed victory in the final seconds of their fourth game at the girls’ state basketball tournament. In the final 15 seconds, June Sampson tried three consecutive shots, each one of which was a “heartbreaker,” in and out o...
To the editor: Feb. 21, 2023 marked my first-ever trip to Des Moines to attend a rally at the capital. I’m not proud that this was my first rally since I am at retirement age. This is a process I could have and should have been involved in much earlier in my life. This event was held regarding the proposed carbon capture pipeline. This same day also hosted a rally of Mothers for Responsible Gun Laws. The following day, there was a Second Amendment rally. My visit to the capital allowed me an opportunity to visit one-on-one with three n...
To the editor: Things are not going as planned for three deep pocketed investment companies seeking permits from the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB). They expected to move into this state, throw billions of dollars around, scoop up the land they needed for hazardous liquid CO2 pipelines with the help of eminent domain, and start laying thousands of miles of pipe later this year. Instead, projects like the Midwest Carbon Express are going off the rails. Unexpected glitches have delayed construction. The IUB postponed Summit’s hearing until more of t...
"Reform" is a loaded word when it comes to politics. It can be tacked onto most nouns, from health care to taxes to anything in between. We here in the Hawkeye State have been beaten over the head with "education reform" over the past month. The governor's Students First Act was rammed through the Legislature, and thanks to procedural tactics by the Republican majority, it received little debate and no amendments. Iowans shouldn't be surprised and those who oppose the bill can save their...
Late last year, the Biden Administration's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly finalized and expanded the definition of the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. As a result, the move cemented the federal government's increasingly intrusive role in regulating bodies of water – both large and small. Under this new definition, more than 97 percent of Iowa's land, including our productive farmland, would be subject to federal regulation. While protecting our water is an important prio...
A friend recently posted on Facebook that he had beef for sale – halves or quarters. He would transport the animal to the locker for processing. That post brought back memories of growing up with a ready supply of meat in the freezer. We had a big chest-type freezer like most farm families. It was a 20 cubic foot International Harvester model that came with the purchase of a new tractor in the 1950s. The only place on the main floor of the house where it would fit was across the end of our front porch. Mom had difficulty going up and down s...
To the editor: Eminent domain is a hot-button issue. Three investment companies – Summit Carbon Solutions, Navigator Heartland Greenway, and Wolf Carbon Solutions/ADM – are seeking permits for hazardous CO2 pipelines that will cross thousands of acres of Iowa farmland. Several landowners have voluntarily signed easements, but many others, like me, adamantly refuse to sign. Consequently, we are being threatened with land condemnation and eminent domain if the Iowa Utilities Board approves the permits. Hazardous, privately-owned, CO2 pip...
To the editor: I wish George Washington were here. If he was here, our kids could go swimming this summer. If we lived in a free country, we could say the heck with the government and fill the pool with water and let the kids swim. By the way, have you noticed how HARD it is to say the word “government” without saying the word “damn”? Most likely, the old swimming pool didn’t have a bonding wire between the ladders. IF that is true, how did we survive the 50 or 60 years? A bonding wire is about as necessary as a Covid shot. The way I understan...
Recently my wife, Rita, and I decided to start looking for a new car. It isn’t that anything is wrong with our old car, but we think we want an SUV instead of the sedan we are driving. Our Toyota car is seven years old, has 90,000 miles on it, and has nothing wrong with it that a $9 car wash won’t fix. We do regular maintenance, have replaced one set of tires, but it rides comfortably and gets great gas mileage. So, why do we want to buy another vehicle? It’s complicated! We try to be savvy...
In politics, having a “trifecta” in government is a good thing for a political party – until the trifecta’s inaction on some popular issue starts to haunt the party. Iowa Republicans served up an example of the consequences of such inaction in the days leading up to Christmas. The example involves military veterans, a highly sought-after constituency that is part of any solid political movement. In political lingo, the Republicans have had a trifecta in Iowa’s state government since 2017. Tha...
Between July of 2021 and June of 2022, more than 107,000 Americans tragically died from a drug overdose, cementing opioids as the leading cause of death among people ages 18 to 45 in the United States. In Iowa alone, 210 lives were lost to these drugs in 2020. These individuals are not just statistics; they are parents, siblings, husbands, wives, grandchildren, friends, and loved ones. As a matter of public health and community safety, it is incumbent upon our leaders to implement targeted...
Few people like being told what they must do. Lorie Smith is one of them. The suburban Denver, Colo., business owner, a devout Christian, builds websites for customers. She wants to expand her business and begin building websites for couples who are planning weddings. But she is adamant that she does not want to be forced to build websites for same-sex couples. Doing so, she says, would violate her faith, which does not allow her to celebrate same-sex marriages. For more than an hour last week,...
Big winter storms are always a spectacle here in Iowa. The wind chill numbers never cease to amaze, and the size of drifts always drop our jaws. Numbers and pictures aside, these storms can be dangerous and downright deadly. It's important to remember that reality no matter how badly you want to leave the house when the white stuff is flying. Last month's holiday storm was monster. Wind chills hovered between -20 and -40 degrees with the lowest dipping to -50 degrees. Conditions like that are no...
Here we are in 2023. While I used to be an optimist with each New Year, the sands of time have somewhat smudged my perspective. Nowadays, I just assume everything will be more of the same regardless of the calendar’s numbers. Nonetheless, I do still pine for better things each New Year. I don’t make resolutions anymore, because I’ve found that I lack the constitution for them. However, I do have hopes for 2023, and you can read about them below. I hope Hartley finds some luck in 2023. The City With a Heart was brimming with pent up optim...
