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My experience with reunions

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Reunions have always been more than just dates on a calendar for me — they’re a chance to walk back into a room and feel like I’m home again. Growing up in Webster City gave me memories that are stitched into who I am: football games under the lights, basketball in a packed gym, cruising Main Street, honking horns at friends, and pulling into the square to see where the night would take us. When I go to a reunion, I see classmates from every corner of those memories — some I shared chorus with, others I cheered alongside at games, and a few I only knew in ...

'For the many, not the money'

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Treasury Secretary (Scott) Bessent accidentally revealed the Republican plan to privatize Social Security benefits with the new "Trump accounts." These accounts are contributions made for children born in the U.S. Before the Great Recession of 2007 the George W. Bush administration was very enthused about private accounts. For those of us who were adults at that time we remember that idea suddenly became unpopular with the stock market crash in 2007 and was suddenly dropped. It appears the Republican Party believes we have amnesia about that devastating recession, ...

Is Bigfoot for real?

Local Columns

A few years in the news business transformed this naïve country boy into a skeptic. I want proof. Journalists live by the creed: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” Over the decades sources have told me incredible stories that, upon investigation, proved to be nothing more than a rumor or a straight-out lie. In retirement I watch the YouTube channel on television and of late I have seen some fascinating programs about Bigfoot (aka Sasquatch) — a large, hairy creature believed by some to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest ...

The fall

Local Columns

I fell last week. It’s not the first time, but this time I had a cake in my hands and, boy, was it a mess. I stepped on stones I couldn’t see and they rolled on the concrete like marbles. As I hit the ground, I thought, well, at least I’m not alone; it’s Market Night and there are people everywhere. Someone will surely come help me. But no one did. I was hurt, bleeding and embarrassed. I had vibrant green and blue icing from my nose to my chest, and I was holding back tears. But the cake only lost a bit of the frosting, and the plate didn’t break. So slowly, after ...

Has it really been eight months?

Local Columns

My plan was to give a six-month update into how the position of sheriff has been going, but when I looked at my calendar and it was already August, I think I finally realized that time was slipping away from me as fast as I could think. I wanted to give the citizens of Hamilton County an update on what we have accomplished at the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office in my first six months, but now that is eight months. But it has been an incredibly busy and productive eight months. We have accomplished a lot, and I have nothing but praise and admiration for the staff that has been ...

A euphemism is an agreeable expression

Local Columns

Okay, I will admit it: I enjoy studying euphemisms. Euphemisms are those words we use as a substitute for a word that may be unpleasant or offensive. Many years ago, for instance, a proper farm wife wouldn’t say “boar” or “bull.” She would euphemize with “the male animal.” The late British raconteur Quentin Crisp described euphemisms as “unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic cologne.” Euphemisms pop up early in our lives as our parents attempt to prevent us from embarrassing them. Often the euphemisms parents teach their little ones are more embarrassing than the ...