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Water testing necessary to preserve ecosystem

Letters to Editor

Letter to the Editor Growing up in rural Iowa, I spent a lot of time at nearby waterways. I learned to tell the quality of a waterway by the ecosystem in and around it or the lack of one. Now, Iowa faces a public health and water crisis that demands immediate action. Our state ranks second in the nation for new cancer cases, with 87 of 99 counties exceeding the national cancer rate. With no comprehensive plan, this trend will continue or even get worse. The average nitrate concentrations in Iowa's drinking water increased between 2003 and 2017, with a concentration averaged across ...

An 8-year-old boy still lives

Local Columns

Country Roads Column for week of July 27, 2026 Seventy years ago many Iowa elementary classrooms displayed bright yellow cards appropriately called “dental cards.” The cards bore the signatures of dentists confirming that the student named thereon had visited said dentist and the condition of his or her teeth was duly approved. Most years the Huisman kids did not have a dental card pinned to the wall. Our parents took their six children to the dentist when the need arose but preventative dental care was not in the family budget. The first dentist visit I can remember occurred ...

Supports Jones in fight against nitrates

Letters to Editor

To the editor: I was recently carrying a jar of water from a local creek when a gentleman inquired what I was doing. I shared that I was testing for nitrates which prompted him to say, “At least it is getting better.” However, July nitrate readings of 30 and 20 parts per million in Brewer Creek don't indicate improvement. High nitrate levels are closely correlated with our increasing cancer rates. “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis,” (2026) drew a straight line from synthetic fertilizer and agricultural manure runoff to cancer. While most states’ cancer ...

'Getting Old' is getting old

Local Columns

It came to me about a year ago. My brother and I were talking on the phone and I mentioned the phrase, which we both immediately agreed would make a good bumper sticker or something. That Christmas, a daughter-in-law of mine surprised me with two T-shirts that had the expression printed on them; one for me and the second for my brother. Not that everything is more difficult as we age. As one who travels quite a bit, I was actually disappointed when the airport TSA agent told me I wouldn’t have to remove my shoes as I was “obviously old enough”… and I even wear Sketchers simply ...

Questions newspaper style

Letters to Editor

To the editor: I have subscribed to and read the Freeman Journal for over 50 years. I have enjoyed reading the local news and various articles in the paper. Recently, the font type changed and is so small that I have trouble reading it. It is especially bad under the photos. Why was it changed? What was wrong with the paper before these changes? Sincerely, Margy Wood Fort Dodge

An inside look at the Hamilton County Jail

Local Columns

When people think about the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, they usually picture deputies making traffic stops, responding to emergencies, investigating crimes, or attending community events. Those are certainly some of the most visible parts of our job, but there is another division that is essential to public safety and the daily operation of our office that often goes unnoticed. That division is the Hamilton County Jail. The jail is much more than a place where individuals are housed after an arrest. It is one of the most important pieces of the criminal justice system in ...