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Opinion

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 ...

Dining with Donaldson: Kitchen prep magic

Local Columns

Welcome back to Dining with Donaldson, the place where I try recipes so you don’t have to! This week I decided to change things up again, because what brings more joy in life than unpredictability? This morning as I was working on some food prep items in my kitchen, I started thinking ...

Dengler Domain: Lone Wolf Sweet Corn

Local Columns

My small vegetable garden is where an old tree used to stand before my wife and I bought this place. The garden is framed by what used to be a wooden base to the tree. Unfortunately, the soil is nothing compared to the famed northern Tama County soil. While no longer farming, the process of ...