To the editor, Now is the time to urge Iowa Senators and Representatives to end or cap the budget for Educational School Aid (ESA) as the Iowa Legislature begins its 91st session. ESAs, if you don’t recall, are coupons provided by Iowa taxpayers to parents of K-12 school students in private ...
I have a confession to make. I don’t trust computers any more. Don’t get me wrong: I’m typing on one right now and I really appreciate many of the functions for writing and storing information. But I think we’ve gone too far. When I first started writing, I used a typewriter. An ...
Back in 1935 when Fats Waller recorded “I’m Going to Sit Right Down and Right Myself a Letter” he had no idea that the written letter, a common means of communication for centuries, would be an endangered art form 90 years later. You don’t think so? How many handwritten personal ...
It was a pleasure to sit in the school board meeting this past week and listen to the members applauding the efforts of the high school music instructors, Kaitlyn Abens, the high school band instructor and Aaron McCullough who is in charge of the vocal music department. This week, there was a ...
Though I regret the embarrassment this may cause my loved ones, I must make a confession: I love polkas. In my youth, polkas were considered “square.” Today’s young folks might call them “dorky” or “pathetic” or another term of derision. After years of trying to hide my ...
Last week, a historic home had to be torn down in Webster City. It was a sad day. I had spent time socially in that house nearly 30 years ago, and loved the people who lived there. It’s not that people didn’t try to save it. But once a house is abandoned or neglected, it’s hard to ...