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The toys of summer

Local Columns

Many of the toys kids play with nowadays had not been invented when I was a kid. In fact, today’s kids probably would not recognize many of the ways we entertained ourselves in the 1950s. As the days heat up I think back to the summers of my childhood. These memories often include the toys we played with back then. During the winter we played with Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys and board games but in the outdoors of summer our toys were even more fun. Bicycles were essential in the summers of the 1950s. Most families had only one car and moms were not chauffeurs. You want to go ...

The governor's letter of veto

Editorials

June 11, 2025 The Honorable Paul Pate Secretary of State of Iowa State Capitol Building Dear Mr. Secretary: I hereby transmit House File 639, an Act relating to hazardous liquid pipelines, including common carrier requirements, proceedings under the Iowa utilities commission, including commission member attendance at hearings and informational meetings, including allowing certain persons to intervene in such proceedings, including sanctions on intervenors in contested cases, and permit, permit renewal, and operation limitations, and including effective date and applicability ...

What the governor's veto communicates

Editorials

The speed with which Summit Carbon Solutions applauded Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds’ veto of House File 639 is notable. The following email arrived in the Daily Freeman-Journal’s inbox at 4:21 p.m. Wednesday: “We thank the Governor and her staff for their thoughtful and thorough review of the bill. Summit remains committed to working with landowners through voluntary agreements — just as we have with more than 1,300 Iowa landowners to date, resulting in $175 million in payments. We look forward to continued discussions with state leaders as we advance this important project. At a ...

There is no scenerio in the One Big, Beautiful Act that doesn't take food away

Letters to Editor

To the editor: If you’re struggling to comprehend the massive and complex One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, you’re not alone. It’s complicated, messy and ominous. As written, it will slash at least $267 billion in federal dollars from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — our country’s most effective anti-hunger program — over the next 10 years. It would require states to cover a share of the costs that help 42 million low-income people (including more than 262,500 Iowans) keep food on the table each month. States aren’t in a position to cover those costs, given ...

We are all going to die

Local Columns

This is for you, Doug. I will never forget the moment I told you I was going to take over the DFJ for two months. You rolled your eyes. That was back in the spring of 2022. This is for you, Loween, whose expressions I remember clearly when I presented at a Rotary meeting in the basement of the Second Street Emporium so very long ago. I recall I was introducing my play "Afternoon." I read from the dry research material I had gathered and, hoo boy, did your face tell a story. I think you would agree that dry is an understatement. But then I began to tell a greater story, that of ...

More in common than I thought

Local Columns

My father and I didn’t have a lot in common and that fact began to show up in our relationship when I was about 12 years old. The age labeled “pre-teen” is difficult for the pre-teen and his/her parent. In my case, it began a time of being many things my father wasn’t. Please don’t misunderstand; my father was a good, hard-working, God-fearing man. He worked hard, brought home his paycheck every week and loved our mother. What I was becoming, however, was something Dad wasn’t. Being the oldest of his six children, I came to realize those differences created some ...