I am not a follower of Eastern religions, but there is an element of Buddhism in which I believe. It’s a phenomenon called “karma.” Contemporary poet Nishan Penwar describes karma this way: “Every act done, no matter how insignificant, will eventually return to the doer with equal ...
Dear Editor, Iowa is home to roughly 130 turkey farms and ranks seventh in the nation for turkey production. Raising 12 million turkeys every year, this important industry to Iowa’s economy supports 38,000 jobs, contributes over $50 million in wages, and generates more than $10.6 billion in economic activity. This year is an especially important year for the turkey industry as Congress prepares to reauthorize the Farm Bill. Fortunately, Iowa’s turkey farmers have a strong voice in Congressman Randy Feenstra – who represents Hamilton County in Congress – to echo our priorities ...
As of late, I haven’t kicked out anything really serious in my column. No serious calls for action. No hot takes on things going on within the community. So far, I’ve either written about myself (big whoop), sports or internet culture. At this time, it’s really not my place just ...
As much as I like to hide under a rock when it comes to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, I do like to visit YouTube and recently stumbled across the “Shorts” portion of the platform. The algorithm works its magic, giving me an endless feed of content — from sports and interesting facts to ...
In the early years of my childhood home, my parents regularly conversed in Low German as did my grandparents and many other relatives. Their Low German was from East Friesland and in that dialect it is called “plat duuts.” (Pronounced “plot doots.”) Neither of my parents spoke English until they started school but even after learning English they retained fluency in “plat.” The language is still spoken in the northwestern corner of German, particularly by older folks in rural areas. However, there are efforts in the region to teach the language to the young people. We ...
Since I have stepped foot into the Daily Freeman-Journal office, I have been designated Wednesday as a day to type down my thoughts and convert them into newsprint. I always like to include a photo, because pictures have become my bread and butter over the course of a decade of my time in ...
