I have no biological grandchildren but my wife lets me use hers. Julie has three grandsons and two granddaughters. In the past few weeks I’ve had an opportunity to spend some time with all five of them ̶ two in Madison, Wisconsin, and three in Orange City, Iowa. The Wisconsin ...

Deer are North America's largest garden pest and control is one of the biggest challenges for home gardeners. How to tell the difference between deer and rabbit browsing? Though both will consume the recent new growth and the most succulent plants, deer do not have any upper front teeth ...

The dead of summer is when some anglers have trouble catching walleyes. If you would like to increase your odds for putting some walleyes in the boat in the next few weeks, trolling, either forward or backward, will help you do so. Following are some ideas for trolling to catch more walleyes ...

Many insects are now making their appearance in local area gardens. Among these include the masked chafer beetle and the Japanese beetle. These beetles start their life as grubs in the lawn, and adults then emerge to feed on flowers and garden plants. The masked chafer beetle has recently ...

Up to this point in the open water fishing season, lots of anglers have been fishing. May and June are outstanding months for fishing, and those months are when a lot of anglers go fishing. Maybe it’s because they’ve been inside much of the winter and just want to get out, but also, May ...

In recent weeks, many regions of Iowa have been deluged with an excess amount of rainfall this year. Most gardens only need an inch or two of water per week and too much rain can have a negative impact on your yard and garden plants. Over-watered, saturated soils result in a condition ...

There are several reasons why people like to go fishing. Some want to get away to the outdoors. Others consider fishing a good way to spend time with family or friends. A few are looking for a meal of fresh fish. Regardless of why we go fishing, we want to catch something. A few is good, ...

Water is a topic of conversation in every circle here recently. “Did you get water in your basement? How much? ” “Did you see the ponds in that field south of town? The road on that corner was covered, so I head to go around the section, and those roads weren’t good, ...

My high school graduating class was composed of 42 fresh-faced baby boomers anxious to meet the world. Our school was a recent reorganization of three small school districts and we were the first freshman class in the fall of 1962. We started out with more students but by May of 1966 our ...

Too often in this day and age, it's sometimes easier to tear down and demolish rather than repair and renovate. Many times, history is sacrificed for sleek, modern and new. That's why it was so exciting to see the City Council of Webster City agree to purchase the former Elks Club Building in ...

Spots on your maple leaves? This may be due to a fungal condition called anthracnose. As the frequent spring rains coincided with leafing out of maples, some trees are now showing signs of this disease, which thrives in warm, moist environmental conditions. Anthracnose typically affects ...

Summer is here: It came quickly this year. Fishing in the summer can be very productive. However, on that day when you’re on the water, fishing conditions might not be the best for the species of fish that you want to catch. We might really want to catch walleyes, but in reality, in some ...

Sure, you probably know already that June is National Dairy Month. But did you know that this is also Iced Tea Month? I’m sorry I don’t know why the two have to share a month. For some of us, iced tea is the ultimate summer drink, refreshing and thirst-quenching. And it looks quite ...

Driving in Iowa can be a struggle for natives but even more difficult for motorists unfamiliar with Hawkeye State highway customs. With another tourism season already here, I have compiled a list of driving tips for our visitors. The first thing a visitor needs to know about driving in Iowa ...

Editor’s note: Rod Stanhley will present a program entitled, “Bonnie & Clyde — Part # 2” on Saturday, June 23 at 1 p.m. at Mulberry Center Church, in the Wilson Brewer Park, 220 Ohio St., Webster City. This a free event. Iowa historian Rod Stanley knows that Americans are always ...

This year is shaping up to be a challenging year for gardeners following a cold spring that moved directly into a very warm summer. A recent update received from Joe Hannan, ISU Commercial Horticulture Specialist, was that the forecast for the next 30 days (and likely beyond) is for things to ...

The 64th anniversary of D Day just passed. On that evening, I spent an hour watching a very well done and thoughtful special, “The Men of D Day.” It profiled four American men who saw action on that day, all of them now in their 90s. D Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy during World ...

The story is told of an elementary school teacher who, while teaching about world religions, asked her students to bring a symbol of their family’s faith to class. The next day, she asked each student to come forward and shared their symbol with the class. The first child, a pretty ...

Due to our abnormal spring weather conditions, many questions have been received regarding plant health issues. One question in particular is that of tomato leaves which are curling up. Clients worry that the leaf roll may be due to chemical drift, disease or insects. But there can be ...

For many fisher-people, netting the fish on the end of their line is about the last thing they think of: There are so many other things that we need to do to get to that point. First you've got to find where the fish are. Then you've got to select the proper bait that will get them on the ...