When I grew up outside of Minneapolis, I learned of the military heritage that is the Midwest, especially Iowa and Minnesota. The blending of the two, in a way, culminated in the 34th Infantry Division, formerly the Sandstorm and now the Red Bull Division. Later, working at the Owatonna ...
One of the joys of my career was the fascinating people I had an opportunity to get to know. My years in newspaper advertising sales in Sioux City gave me opportunities I never dreamed of as a country kid in rural Iowa. When Cindy and I moved to Sioux City in 1974 we became aware of a chain of local appliance stores. Williams Appliance operated four stores in the market at that time. When I began working for the Sioux City Journal, Williams Appliance was served by an older account executive. When this man went on vacation one summer, I was assigned to cover that account on his ...
The historic grain elevator site of Stonega east of Webster City is still burning. Not in the spectacular conflagration that greeted the 15 fire departments called to the scene very early Sunday morning. This is a slow burn, fueled by grain and whipped by the winds that seem to have decided it’s time to blow. As Sunday turned into Monday, and then Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, the fire crept into every cranny it could find, seeming to hide from the breeze that drove it. Managing this scene has been Blairsburg Fire, whose volunteer 11-person crew rushed to the scene when the ...
With a neighborhood as large as ours, it’s not all that easy finding someone to write about. Sometimes a walk leads me to someone interesting, other walks seem to lead nowhere in particular; yet they are all enjoyable. With the wind blowing so hard this past week, my mind wandered to how ...
America’s eating habits have changed drastically over recent decades. The Norman Rockwell version of the family meal is increasingly rare. Beyond that, many folks have little knowledge of the origin of their food. There are millions of Americans who have never snapped a green bean, pulled a carrot from rich black soil, picked a juicy red apple from a tree, harvested sweet corn in the field or butchered a chicken. While I’m totally comfortable shopping for food at the supermarket and eating at a restaurant or deli, I had an opportunity to learn a little about raising food as a ...
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 Medical Center. He rolled his eyes. Two months turned into two years. A lot can happen to a community in two years. New businesses opened, old businesses closed and then some of them reopened. The failure of an unstable building threatened a beloved coffee shop. Fire ravaged a ...
