Breaking News

Lessons learned from my father

Quite a few years back I came upon a small book that left a lasting impression. Entitled “A Father’s Book of Wisdom,” the book is a compilation of bits of wisdom gathered by H. Jackson Brown from several boxes of materials found in his late father’s closet. The book offered a great deal of good advice from a variety of sources including Brown’s father. I jotted down a few: In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins — not through strength but by perseverance. There is never a wrong time to do the right thing. Success is getting what you ...

Days of Brylcreem and narrow ties

When I was in the newspaper business I took pride in my photography. I could shoot traffic accident scenes, county fair animals, kids at play and football games; even decent mug shots. But I never mastered portraiture. Several of my friends and acquaintances are professional photographers and create excellent portraits. Four of them post some of their work on Facebook. This is the season for high school senior portraits and I am amazed at the quality and creativity of these photographers’ work. Numerous changes of wardrobe, multiple backgrounds, various poses; their photographs are ...

Share in the holiday spirit with community Saturday

Things are going to be very festive in Webster City on Saturday as local businesses, the city of Webster City, the Chamber of Commerce and other community organizations collaborate for Christmas in the City. At various venues around the community, local residents will have an opportunity to meet Santa, experience a pioneer Christmas, hike the trails in search of candy canes and hear a reading of the holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol.” Santa will be a busy guy on Saturday. He starts off the morning with Breakfast with Santa from 9 to 11 a.m. at Hy-Vee. Then he’ll meet with ...

To the Editor: In US Sen Joni Ernst’s guest editorial in this paper on Nov 22nd, she demonstrated what is wrong with today’s politics: Blaming others for the problems without offering any solutions. Blaming is a political tool that promotes tribalism defined as the behaviors and attitudes that stem from strong loyalty to one's own social group. Left unchecked in politics, tribalism can lead to despotism as it did with Hitler in Germany. Tribalism does not require listening to others or learning new perspectives or ideas. Tribalism lets us off the hook for finding solutions with ...

Ideas for ice-fishing success

In the northern regions of ice fishing country, anglers are starting to carefully venture onto the ice. In other areas, they’re keeping a close watch on ice conditions, anxiously waiting for enough ice to safely walk on. Ice anglers, like open water anglers, are always anxious for the first ...

Include charitable giving in holiday budget

It can be easy during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season to overlook the fact that for the less fortunate among us, there will be no holiday from need. Children whose parents cannot afford those toys our youngsters think they have to receive, adults unable to find work to pay for lavish holiday feasts and senior citizens whose fixed incomes preclude much celebration at Christmas should be in our thoughts and prayers during the next few weeks. They also should be included in our Christmas season budgeting. Just a few dollars from each of us can make an extraordinary ...