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Support Scot Ely for Webster City school board

Letters to Editor

To the Editor: I am writing to encourage my fellow community members to support Scot Ely in his campaign for school board. Scot is exactly the type of leader we need guiding the future of our schools. As a former Webster City Police Officer and currently an Iowa DCI Special Agent in the Major Crimes Unit, Scot has built his career on keeping people safe and making sound, responsible decisions. He understands the importance of fiscal responsibility and will ensure that taxpayer dollars are managed wisely while keeping the focus on students. Scot is deeply rooted in our community. He ...

Soybeans are big business in Iowa

Editorials

No one knows exactly how long humans have cultivated the soybean, but agricultural historians seem quite certain its domestication as a crop in China dates back three millennia. There are actually Chinese records documenting soybean growth as far back as the 11th century. There is some disagreement about who first introduced soybeans into North America, but researchers seem to agree that by the 1760s, soybean seed had reached Georgia. Whatever the origin, few would dispute that in the 21st century, soybean cultivation is important to the world as a food source and a great deal more. ...

A little bit of childhood

Local Columns

Sixty-five years ago one of the favorite things our mother would say to us was, “We’re going to Titonka (or to Wellsburg) Sunday.” Those were the Iowa communities where our grandparents lived. A trip to Wellsburg meant spending a Sunday with our maternal cousins and a trip to Titonka meant a day with our paternal cousins. Cousins played a big role in the lives of my siblings and me and we had a lot of them. Our mother was one of 12 children and our father one of six. In total we had 55 first cousins and dozens of second cousins, some of whom were nearly as close to us as first ...

The Doodle Bug Club of America says thank you

Letters to Editor

To the editor: On behalf of the Doodle Bug Club of America, I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the entire Webster City community for the warm welcome and generous hospitality shown to our members during our recent gathering. We were pleased to host riders and families from many states including some from as far away as Alaska, New Hampshire and California. Everyone left with wonderful memories and appreciation for the kindness extended to them. This year, we paid tribute to one of our founding members, Vern Ratcliff, who passed away shortly before our annual reunion. ...

Different strokes for different folks

Local Columns

Recently I ran into a childhood friend who is a lifelong (and successful) farmer. “How’s life in the big city?” he asked, referring to my home in the Des Moines suburbs. I get this query occasionally from rural friends, some of whom cannot imagine living in the city or suburbs. Over the past nearly eight decades I have had the privilege of living in communities ranging from some of Iowa’s smaller towns to Iowa’s largest community and several years on farms. Folks who have never lived on a farm or in a tiny town may have difficulty understanding how someone can do that. ...