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Life goes by much faster than we expect

Local Columns

When I was in junior high school I enjoyed looking at the composite photos of past high school graduates from our school. The large, framed photos lined the walls of the hallway just outside our study hall; each in the order of their graduating year. I would graduate in 1966 (I hoped) and those who had graduated in the 1930s and 1940s seemed so old. Here it is 2021 and high school graduation is 55 years behind me. I must seem ancient to today’s junior high/middle school kids. What seemed like such an important event 60 years ago is now but a blip on my memory timeline. In reality, I ...

Voters need to pay attention to what’s happening in Washington

Letters to Editor

To the Editor: Every time I hear someone say they want the two parties to work together, I cringe. I know life gets busy with family and jobs, but please pay attention to what is going on in Washington D.C. and Des Moines right now. Senator Mitch McConnell publicly announced on May 5th he is 100% focused on stopping President Biden's administration. Right now the Senate Republicans are filibustering a vote on the debt ceiling. To approve the ceiling 60 votes would be required, meaning 10 Republicans would need to cooperate. Contrary to what Republicans are telling their ...

Taking a two-lane vacation

Local Columns

For some, the joy of travel is the destination. For me, the joy of travel is the journey. So it was that Julie and I recently took off for Colorado Springs. Now, unless you don’t plan to return home you need a destination from which you can return home and our destination was a city we have both visited before. While Colorado Springs did not disappoint, the trip itself was pleasurable, too. We have traveled to Colorado a number of times, always on Interstate 80 and Interstate 76. This time we traveled on two-lane highways most of the way to Colorado Springs. We left West Des Moines ...

4-H is about helping youths achieve

Editorials

National 4-H Week, which began Sunday and concludes Saturday, is a good time to celebrate the enormous contributions 4-H makes to our community and nation. It’s hard to imagine anyone in Iowa who doesn’t know a bit about 4-H, but this week is an appropriate occasion to reflect on the important contribution this organization makes by helping young people develop skills and values that will serve them well for a lifetime. It has been more than a century since 4-H got its start in Iowa in 1901. Today it is the largest youth-development program in the Hawkeye State. About one-quarter ...

Fall for trophy walleyes

Local Columns

I’ve had the opportunity to fish in many areas across North America, from Ontario and Manitoba in the north to Florida in the south. I’ve been able to participate in lots of memorable bites, for big fish and for numbers of fish. But when I think about it, and I think about it a lot, if the ...

Fishing in the fall

Local Columns

The leaves on the trees are changing colors and the kids are back in school. The first few flocks of early migrating ducks are starting to show up. The people who hunt ducks are practicing calling and are checking their ammunition supply. And the people who like to catch lots of fish and big ...