To the Editor: Congratulations to Shelby Kroona, her staff and the volunteers who made helping our residents get a COVID-19 shot through Hamilton County Public Health a rewarding experience last week. During this anxious time, it was comforting to see a well-organized operation during ...
There is still plenty of ice on most of the lakes and ponds where many of us go ice fishing, but if the current weather holds, that ice could be leaving us before long. I hope to get on the ice a time or two more in the next couple of weeks, and if I do, I will be after panfish. Walleyes ...
The seventh week of session was busier as many bills moved out of committee. Next week is the first funnel week of this legislative session, meaning all Senate policy bills need to be out of Senate committees in order to be considered for the rest of the year. This deadline ensures we are ...
To the editor: HERO, the Help Entertain and Restore Organization, the owner/operator of the Webster Theater would like to thank the Enhance Hamilton County Foundation for the generous grant that they gave us to help with COVID 19 relief. As most of you probably know, the theater was closed ...
After breathing earth’s air for more than seven decades, I have some vivid memories of people who made life difficult. I try to have a forgiving spirit but forgetting some of those experiences can be difficult. When memories of jerks pop up, I try to focus on the kind and decent people ...
As the ice fishing season starts to wind down and the open water fishing season gets closer, it’s good to think about some of the things that can affect our fishing success. There are a good number of those things. We think about where we’re going fishing, when we’re going fishing, or who ...
NaturalShrimp Inc. has taken over the assets of Alder Aqua (formerly Vero Blue Farms). This is a positive development for Webster City and will bring many good-paying jobs to the community. It also repurposes existing industrial properties so that they are back on the tax rolls. The ...
One of the sadder realities of growing older is the loss of so many people who played an important role in your life. When I was a kid I had 16 uncles. Today, I’m down to just one. Uncle Ron, my father’s youngest brother, is only 11 years older than I am. He’s a fascinating guy ...
For one reason or another, I’ve been unable to get on the ice for a couple of weeks. I’m guessing that warmer weather will provide the opportunity and encouragement to go ice fishing a few more times, but for now I’m doing a lot of remembering. Mostly I’m remembering past fishing ...
To the Editor: Some in the US Congress are proposing lowering the legal voting age to 16 years of age. Some argue it is a ploy to increase the liberal voters, others argue it is because if you are old enough to pay payroll taxes you should be able to vote. Science tells us the human brain ...
In case you haven’t noticed, the annual National Random Acts of Kindness Day is coming up soon. The week of February 14 is National Random Acts of Kindness Week and Wednesday, February 17, is the official day. The “kindness movement” began in the mid-1990s with the release of a ...
To the editor: For too long, we have been defined by who we voted for in the last election. We have been defined by our opinion of wearing masks or whether we think vaccines are effective. Politics and public health are essential facets of everyday life. However, I see community as more ...
When you’re ice-fishing, just like when you’re open water fishing, there are days when the fish get finicky. They might be finicky due to weather conditions, or it could be fishing pressure that has them closed-mouthed. Whatever the reason, just like in open water, there are some things ...
Iowa continues to get some good news on the jobs front as the state’s economy gradually rebounds from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2020, the state’s unemployment rate stood at 3.1 percent. That marks a healthy decline from the November 2020 unemployment rate of 3.8 ...
A conversation with a political candidate of my acquaintance nearly 25 years ago has rolled through my mind frequently in recent months. The candidate told me about a discussion he had with a student when speaking to a high school class a few days earlier. He said he and the class were ...
It was a dark and stormy night. Well, it was dark anyway. It was the night I was born many, MANY years ago. This is the week my personal calendar flips to new year. By the end of January I will be one year closer to my 100th birthday. I’m not planning a big celebration but I am ...
Martin Luther King Jr. Day, being observed today, is an appropriate time to recall an exceptional person. But more importantly, it’s a time to recommit the nation to the cause for which King died and the legacy he left for all of us. The famed civil rights leader, assassinated April 4, 1968, ...
While I think of him often, at this time of year I think even more frequently of a friend, now deceased, who is unforgettable. Duane Gibson was the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Des Moines. During the 1990s I read about him in Des Moines Register stories about the ...
Although it seems like it just started, in many areas across the ice-fishing belt, the ice fishing season is already at the midway point. In many places it’s been much warmer than usual, so travel on the ice has been limited. Despite that, there are lots of anglers on the ice, and numerous ...
With the whole world seemingly focused on how fast the COVID-19 vaccine can be administered, we must not forget the importance of an older vaccine: the flu shot. Just about everyone has called in sick at some point, saying they had the flu when they were sniffling, sneezing, maybe running a ...