Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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Hello to all! I hope you have been staying well and enjoying the sun this week! Between those crazy haboob windstorms and days that feel like rain yet it never rains, I think I'm ready for some heat and sun to come our way. I better start stocking up on sunscreen by the barrel now! *** We have quite a bit of Coffee Shop Wisdom material to catch up on with Pastor Mark of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. His first is, "Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Next is, "Blessed is the one wh...
In a recent commentary titled, “So, I made a deal,” David Kruse announced that he signed with Summit Carbon Solutions. He’s delighted about negotiations that included his neighbors and a relative, saying they “went very well” and “exceeded his expectations.” Kruse said he did it to secure Iowa’s future for his son and his grandson. By signing voluntary easements, the group gave Summit “a nice little stretch of pipeline.” Kruse encourages other impacted landowners to mitigate their concerns and negotiate an easement contract by having a convers...
I am writing in support of Dennis Bush for re-election to the Iowa House of Representatives. His background in farming, as a county supervisor and on a mental health board give him knowledge and experience in key areas of need for Iowa. He also recognizes and has worked on legislation to address important issues Iowa faces: Affordable and available housing and child care, education and parent rights, roads and bridges, water quality, our labor shortage, and mental health care. Late in the session last year when Rep. Bush was in Sheldon for the...
There is never a shortage of things to clean in our house. With two kids under 5 and a dog and cat that seemingly replace their coats each week, a thorough cleaning typically lasts six hours. Neither Kaity’s vehicle nor mine receive the same amount of attention as our home, however. Unfortunately a tipping point was reached late last month, and yours truly was responsible for several month’s worth of cleanup. I don’t remember the last time I cleaned out Kaity’s Ford Explorer. It’s the main kid-hauler in our household, and aside from removing...
The upcoming June 7 primary election is an excellent opportunity for Iowans to make their voices heard. I believe voting is one the most important duties we have as citizens of this great state and nation, and I encourage all eligible Iowans to participate in our elections. It is important for you to know about the many steps we take to protect the integrity of the vote. Iowa is consistently a national leader in voter registration and participation. We are also one of the top three states in the...
Q: Do you support President Biden’s plan to wipe away student debt? A: When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Once again, the Biden Administration is operating under the false assumption that money grows on trees. When the economy shut down in 2020, Congress passed a series of pandemic relief programs to help American families, rural hospitals and small businesses stay afloat. One of the financial lifelines was a pause on student loan payments and interest. Despite the e...
Though headlines out of Des Moines often scream about the partisan divide and Culture War battles, Iowa legislators were able to pass a bill last month that revamps a law many viewed as a lumbering dinosaur. The Iowa House on April 14 approved a bill 70-16 that allows retailers to opt out of redeeming empty beverage containers under certain conditions. The bill still needs Senate approval, but many officials and business owners are hopeful the new "bottle bill" will become law. The current...
A common refrain from Democrats during Donald Trump’s years in the presidency was that he was undermining public trust and confidence in our courts with his talk of judges being biased and having political motives when they ruled against him. Trump’s comments were a bunch of hooey – and it certainly was a bunch of hooey last month, too, when a prominent Iowa Democrat, U.S. Senate candidate Abby Finkenauer, sang from the Trump song sheet about judicial bias. Finkenauer was embarrassed and angered by a decision from District Judge Scott Beatt...
I have taken a lot of road trips in my life, and some of them were even enjoyable. I was watching TV the other night and saw a movie advertised that starred Chevy Chase. He has some interesting and funny movies out there, and in this one he was planning to take his family on a vacation to Wally World while enjoying some sights along the way. They arrived at Wally World after a number of mishaps, and discovered it was closed for repairs. Boy can I relate to that! Recently my wife, Rita, and I ret...
Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced that the Glenwood Resource Center will close in 2024. GRC is one of two state-run resource centers in Iowa to serve Iowans with intellectual disabilities. GRC serves around 150 Iowans and has over 560 full-time staff members. In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice began its investigation of Glenwood Resource Center, and DHS began immediately gathering information, notifying family members, staff and legislators of the DOJ investigation and working to...
The Senate advanced a bill this week to create more options for maternal support programs in Iowa. State funding would be earmarked for nonprofit organizations that have "a primary mission of promoting healthy pregnancies and childbirth instead of abortion" (among other criteria). Passing pro-life legislation and protecting life are important priorities for most Republicans at the Capitol. This legislation provides pregnant women with supportive options in terms of health care and services they...
To the editor: As a local pharmacist, I have the distinct pleasure to interact with patients from all walks of life. One common factor among all of my patients is their reliance on familiar, nearby, reliable care. Unfortunately, entities known as Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are threatening local pharmacies and putting many more out of business. PBMs manage prescription drug programs on behalf of health plan beneficiaries and determine which pharmacies patients can use, what drugs are on patients’ formularies, and how much pharmacies get p...
Residents in Hartley and the surrounding area can hope a recent proposal for a community trail hits the ground running. A new group dubbed the Hartley Rec Trail Committee is spearheading efforts to get a new pathway paved around the City With a Heart. While plans are still very much in the infancy stages, it would be a big win for the community if the idea crosses the finish line. No city with a trail is going to tell you they regret it. Recreational outlets promote exercise and make communities a more attractive place to live in for...
In a day and age where it feels like there’s a new problem every week, it’s hard to care about a bug. Yet, a relatively “new” pest is threatening to create a big headache for small communities like ours. You may have read about the emerald ash borer (EAB) recently creeping its way into O’Brien and Clay counties. The beetle, native to Asia, came to North America nearly 20 years ago and has wreaked havoc on ash trees throughout the Midwest. The adult beetles aren’t the threat – it’s the larva, which feast on tissue underneath the bark and eventu...
I’m no gun nut. My experiences hunting are limited to shooting rabbits with a pellet gun or .22 rifle when I was younger, and the biggest thing I’ve shot in my life is a 20-gauge shotgun. That short list is a lightyear long compared to my experiences with a paintball gun. I had never even held one in my life; that is, until I found myself on a “battlefield” last Friday in South Dakota. I made the trip West with nine other guys as part of a bachelor party for my future brother-in-law. The destination was Deadwood, where a house called the Bir...
Many years ago, I sat at the kitchen table of a pots-n-pans salesman from Pleasant Valley. We didn’t talk about cookware. He was laying out with lots of precision why the United States government had no legal basis for prosecuting him for willfully refusing to file federal income tax returns. It was a lengthy conversation that day in the late 1970s. I will spare you many of the details. It is enough for you to know two things about his salesmanship: First, it was his assertion that the 16th Amen...
Two weeks ago, I led a group of 10 senators, Republicans, Democrats, and even one Independent, on a bipartisan Senate delegation visit to Poland and Germany. We traveled together to demonstrate America’s unwavering support for the freedom-loving people of Ukraine and affirm the strength of the world’s most powerful alliance. We departed with the conviction that the United States, Ukraine, and the free world have the will and the means to unite and stand up to Vladimir Putin’s tyranny. Ukraine ca...
To the editor: For the past several months, landowners who will be negatively impacted by hazardous CO2 pipelines have been appealing to the Iowa Legislature for help. At issue is a loophole in the state’s eminent domain law that allows the Iowa Utilities Board to waive the requirement for public use before granting permits. More specifically, landowners along the proposed route fear their property will be taken by eminent domain if they do not sign voluntary easements. After months of skirting the issue, and even pulling an effective bill b...
After weeks of dragging their feet, and under bipartisan pressure, on Tuesday the Biden administration finally took steps to ban imports of oil and natural gas from Russia. As Putin continues his assault on freedom and slaughters innocent men, women, and children in Ukraine, the president made the right decision to end purchasing of Russia’s bloody oil. But what took so long? It’s important to remember that in his first days in office, President Biden took unilateral action to reduce Ame...
Over the last five years, the Iowa Legislature has passed bipartisan mental health reform, created the state’s first ever children’s mental health system, created long-term sustainable funding for the Mental Health and Disability Services Regions, provided significant funds to mental health providers through Medicaid rates, and expanded access to mental health care through telehealth. The efforts to tackle mental health issues in our state are not easy, involve several entities and do not hav...
Americans from sea to shining sea will be seeing plenty of Iowa when they fill out their March Madness brackets this week. Both the men’s and women’s teams from Iowa and Iowa State are dancing. The women are at the top of the show bill, with the Hawkeyes earning a No. 2 seed and the Cyclones landing a No. 3 seed. The rivals have a chance to meet in the Sweet 16 if they win their first two games – what a great thing for our state. Leading the Hawkeyes is guard Caitlin Clark, who has the ability to score at will. The Black and Gold enter the N...
Des Moines Superintendent Thomas Ahart has been a lightning rod during the past three years over the way Iowa’s public schools have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahart announced last week that he is leaving, effective June 30. But the Des Moines school board ensured that Ahart will continue to carry that lightning rod for a little longer. His contract runs for another year, until June 30, 2023. So, you might think he is forgoing his $306,193 salary, his $7,200 annual allowance for a car an...
My earliest memories of the farm always involve livestock. There were always chores to do, no matter what time of the day or what day of the week. The earliest chore I remember was washing disks for our cream separator. I was 5 years old and my sister, Darlene, was my boss since she was 6. We were supposed to use hot water, but we waited for the water to cool off so we wouldn’t burn our hands. By the time we got done, I don’t think there was enough hot water to kill any germs. My brother, Gle...
The world witnessed the largest act of military aggression on European soil since WWII in February when Russian troops invaded Ukraine. After months of escalating chest pounding, Russian President Vladimir Putin called everyone’s bluff. What followed was to be expected: Destruction, death and uncertainty. Left to basically fight one of the world’s strongest armies on its own, it seems like it’s only a matter of time before Ukraine crumbles to Russian forces. They won’t go down without a fight, though, and the Ukrainian peoples’ will to protec...
Rural Iowa has many rich traditions, but very few have an impact quite like our local FFA chapters. This week more than 600,000 FFA members across the country are observing National FFA Week. The annual celebration allows communities to laud their local chapters and reflect on their influence, which is indeed huge in areas like ours. After all, you’d be hard-pressed to find an organization with as much youthful enthusiasm as this one. Whether it’s building a shelter house or hosting a food drive, our local Blue Jackets are always willing to...
