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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...