As I visited Clear Lake this weekend, I took a stroll through Ventura to my favorite ice cream shop. While seeing the sign for Ventura’s greatest basketball player, Lynne Lorenzen, who resided in Tama County for part of her youth before moving up to the Clear Lake area, the school district ...

Voters of Tama County! On Tuesday, Aug. 4, the Tama County Republican delegates voted against the results of the June primary vote. For 250 years in America, it has been the person with the most votes who wins. Not in Tama County! It is obvious that the delegates only care about their own ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Welcome back to Dining with Donaldson, the place where I try recipes so you don’t have to! This week I decided to give you all a break from my recipes and try something new! With the Iowa heat finally showing its face, I knew I didn’t want to turn on the oven unless absolutely necessary. ...

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and celebrated America’s 250th Birthday! I want to thank everyone who voted for me in the June Primary Election. I was unopposed and will now be on the November 2026 General Election ballot. I appreciate everyone’s continued support and your trust ...