Two years ago April 1 I became interim editor of the Daily Freeman-Journal. I distinctly recall the look on Doug Getter’s face when I explained that I would step in for two months to lead the DFJ in the wake of Managing Editor Anne Blankenship’s departure for a new position with Van Diest ...

It’s estimated that 45% of eligible American men served in the military during the Second World War; another 35% worked in industries directly tied to the war effort. In the Civil War, about 48% of northern men were in the Union Army and more than 90% of southern men served the ...

A colleague at the Sioux City Journal 40 years ago was a native of Oklahoma. Our offices were adjacent and we got to know each other well. I enjoyed his Oklahoma idioms and his Okie drawl. One of his frequently used phrases was “useta-could” as in “I useta-could eat a whole bowl of okra ...

A few weeks past I read of the upcoming construction of a new Kwik Star on the west side of town. I am a student of “rabbit trails” (as you’d know if you’ve heard me present a talk on a subject). The article was about the demolition of the former Naden Industries building. I’ve sat ...

One thing aging does for a man is help him understand life’s deeper issues a little better. Take funerals, for instance. As a younger man I thought funerals were just an expensive tradition — overdone sentimentalism. Now a septuagenarian, I more deeply appreciate our society’s funeral ...

Republicans in the Iowa House hate government freebies. Unless it’s their corporate friends who get them. The latest evidence of this hypocrisy is the effort to kill a central Iowa program and prevent others like it that are aimed at helping poor people. UpLift is a test program in ...