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Eating like a buffalo

Local Columns

When my maternal grandfather came to the United States from Germany as a teenager, he brought along a treasure of adages in his native Low German. Some of those sayings are in rhyming verse; a few are a bit earthy. Most impart a gem of wisdom. Opa shared those bits of German horse sense and nonsense with his 12 children and over the years I enjoyed listening to my mother and aunts and uncles repeat those little Low German ditties. I understand the language well enough to get the gist of many of the sayings, though I often had to ask to have them repeated a few times. Other times I ...

Cities are not prepared to replace local library boards

Letters to Editor

To the editor: Iowans before us understood why the legal liabilities and complex policies inherent to library (First Amendment) services require specific and robust management to successfully steward collections, programs, and spaces which are openly and freely used by the public. Senate Study Bill 3131 transfers oversight, power, and property of public library boards to their cities. Our cities are not prepared neither will they be additionally resourced to tackle the work of over 500 public library boards around the state. Iowans before us recognized how robust libraries ...

Say no to Summit Carbon Solutions' proposed expansion

Letters to Editor

To the editor: More Iowa landowners: Are you ready for a dangerous CO2 pipeline to go through YOUR land, through YOUR backyard, across the fenceline from YOU (your home, your school, your business, your hospital), near YOUR community? Summit Carbon Solutions is attempting to expand its range. Recently POET signed a partnership: Those sites would extend Summit’s footprint into at least seven new counties in Iowa, but the precise routes of those extensions are not yet clear. "The company could not immediately provide an estimate of how many additional miles of pipe will be ...

A visit to the filling station

Local Columns

If you were educated in an Iowa school system in the 1950s you undoubtedly remember those little yellow dental cards. How could you forget? Early in the school year we were given a dental card in need of our dentist’s signature confirming that our teeth were in good shape. Of course, that often meant that we needed some dental work first. Our family struggled financially when I was a kid and there were some years when circumstances did not permit a visit to the dentist. However, we did get to the dentist when toothaches dictated. When we did return the signed card to our teacher, ...

Learn about AEA before changing it

Letters to Editor

To the Editor; Even though I’ve lived out of state for several years I still keep tabs on happenings in my home state and home town (Webster City). Having worked for the local Area Education Agency (5) in the past, I was troubled to learn of the proposed legislation to (basically) decimate that agency system and the quality services it provides to the education community in the state, including Hamilton County. The best argument I’ve seen in opposition to that was recently written by a professional colleague of mine, Randy Allison, who worked for AEA 11 in Johnston. As Randy ...

A gentleman's guide to Valentine's Day gift giving

Local Columns

We’re in for a month of romance, folks. This February brings us Valentine’s Day and Leap Year Day to boot. As difficult as it may be to believe I am not, nor have I ever been, a Romeo. I do, however, have nearly 60 years of experience in this game and I would like to share what I have learned about romantic gift-giving. Just keep in mind that I have experienced failure. VALENTINE CARD: A carefully selected Valentine card is the first and most important component of a gentleman’s gift -giving plan. Most gals prefer a sensitive card but if you never say anything sweet or ...