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Opinion

Heather’s Highlights: County Government and You, July 2026

Local Columns

I hope everyone stayed cool with the hot weather we experienced in July. County roads were one of the main topics of discussion during Supervisor meetings in July. E29 still has an embargo on it due to the West Bridge Approach being damaged. We’ve approved a quote for these repairs, but ...

Support local small businesses during the Iowa Sales Tax Holiday

Editorials

IOWA – The State of Iowa will hold a two-day-long sales tax holiday during which consumers can purchase clothing without paying sales tax. The holiday will begin on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026, at 12:01 a.m., and last until midnight on Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. No sales tax or local option sales tax ...

Iowa Outdoors: Upcoming hunting & trapping seasons

Local Columns

The 2026-27 hunting and trapping seasons will soon be upon us. There are several regulation changes heading into the upcoming seasons that I want to highlight in this article. Deer hunting licenses will now go on sale at 9 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2026. Online deer and turkey licenses sales will stop ...

Should paper checks be abolished like the penny?

Editorials

Germany is getting rid of paper checks at the end of 2027. Australia is bidding them farewell by 2030. U.S. President Donald Trump followed up his order killing off the penny with an executive order stopping check writing by the federal government. Should the U.S. follow these other countries ...

The Bible to the Nations

Letters to the Editor

God is on the move!! For the eighth year on Tuesday, July 14, the Bible was read around the world at 7:14 a.m. in their respective time zones. Taking part were 22 Nations, 24 states, and five out of six continents. The entire of Georgia’s 159 counties and Iowa’s 99 counties read separate ...

On Nature: Climate change responsibility

Local Columns

I believe that I, my neighbors, the residents of Earth, and Earth itself are being affected by a changing climate. According to an article in the journal Bioscience, there are increases in extreme weather events, area burned by wildfires, and the costs associated with weather events including ...

Celebrate farmers market week Aug. 2-8

Editorials

Once a week in the summertime, brightly colored 10x10 tents pop up in a corner parking lot in my community. Under each one of those tents is a producer, crafter, or small business owner who has tables of goods for sale. We celebrate these farmers markets during National Farmers Market Week, ...

Dengler Domain: The Wall That Heals

Local Columns

I was not alive during the Vietnam War. My historical context is mostly from what I was taught in school and through culture. My first exposure to this war was through the television show "That '70s Show." It came in the form of a joke where Fez, the foreign exchange student, learns about the ...

Conservation impacted due to USDA staff cuts

Agriculture

For producers, federal conservation programs are complex compared to straightforward transactions with equipment or seed vendors. Enrolling in a three-to-five-year federal contract requires extensive data logging, compliance reporting, and strict implementation guidelines. Producers rely on ...