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Don’t discount Webster City success stories

Local Columns

It feels good to write a story about success. If you read the Daily Freeman Journal regularly, when you read through the pages of time, most of the stories in the past are about businesses expanding, progress in the community, sometimes there is a story that is looking back that seems funny, insightful, progressive or inspiring. One day I hope today's paper will be cited in the “Pages of time,” as the success of Dave Perin and his company are splashed across the front page. It shows the spirit of entrepreneurship that happened when a bad news story eventually turned into good ...

Urges reducing pesticides in lawns to protect pollinators

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Pollinators may be small, but they are essential to healthy ecosystems and our daily lives. In urban areas, however, these species face growing challenges. Pesticides, both insecticides and herbicides, are designed to eliminate pests and unwanted plants, but they also harm these species and reduce the diverse plant life that pollinators rely on. When biodiversity declines, so does access to the nectar and pollen they need to survive. June is National Pollinator Month, a time to recognize the vital role these species play and the simple actions we can take to support ...

Catch 'em in the summer

Local Columns

Crazy isn’t it? It seems like not so long ago we were wading in the cold water of rivers in search of early season walleyes and now we’re thinking about catching fish during the hottest weather of the year. Fishing can be like the weather in the summer. Both can be very hot. To take ...

The lost art of complaining

Local Columns

While we Americans enjoy complaining — about the weather, taxes, politics and most anything else — I fear we are losing the “art” of complaining. It seems fewer folks these days have the ability to express feelings of pain, dissatisfaction or resentment in a manner which allows both parties to retain a sense of dignity. Even after years in retirement, multiple experiences of “unskilled complainers” remain in my memory. Some years ago I read a magazine article on the art of complaining. It listed positive ways to deal with businesses, public agencies and individuals when ...

The fossil fuel industry’s control of our government

Letters to Editor

To the editor: The world as we know it today was built on the back of burning fossil fuels. Unfortunately, this process has come at a tremendous cost. Emissions from burning fossil fuels are rapidly warming our world at a rate that has never occurred in the history of our planet. Why, then, do we continue to burn planet-killing fossil fuels? One primary reason is the tremendous control the fossil fuel industry has over our government. The industry spends approximately $250 million per year lobbying elected officials. The vast majority of this money goes to Republican officials ...

Accountability, responsibility starts at the top

Local Columns

In law enforcement, accountability is a word that gets used often. It is demanded by the public. It is expected by elected officials. Sometimes it becomes the center of discussion after a mistake, a complaint, or a tragedy. But accountability is not something that should only appear when something goes wrong. True accountability starts long before a critical incident. It starts in the mirror. As leaders in any profession, we do not earn credibility or respect by talking about standards. We earn those things by living them. The standard is not what we say during a press conference. The ...