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Local Columns

A Fair View

Well, I went to the Thursday, May 29, 2025 Board of Supervisors meeting. Tried to point out that the money they say the risk pool gave them doesn't come from taxpayer money. Wrong. Tama County pays dues of over $700,000 a year to the risk pool. Trying to point this out I was told by Supervisor ...

Dengler Domain: The Essence of Time

When I was a kid, I remember hearing older folks say to each other that as you get older, the years go by faster. As a kid, I did not think this was going to be the case as life always felt like everything would last forever. As an adult, I was wrong. Proven wrong like my other childhood ...

Pastor’s Column: Half Truths from the Bible

Last week, before a show, I was chatting with someone I had just met. He asked me about my job, my church, my theology. When I told him that I believe the Bible leads toward love, grace, justice and inclusion for all people (and in fact all Creation), he pushed back. He reminded me that the ...

Dengler Domain: Adapting

While driving by the North Tama school building recently, I saw the new addition being constructed on the northeast-eastern side of the school. The wave of construction will help push the school forward. This is like all the other additions to the school which have been made over the years. ...

This Summer What Should I Do?

If you are a child of God, it is important to understand and recognize that God has a specific calling and plan for your life that you should consider this summer. You are not here by chance! You have a purpose, and you should not be aimlessly going through life. God has given each of us ...

Dengler Domain: Douglas Avenue

For those who do not know, Douglas Avenue and the road it turns into, Euclid Avenue, is one of the major thoroughfares of the Des Moines metro. Douglas runs from the western part of Waukee, turning into Euclid in the middle of Des Moines, before ending on the east side of Des Moines at the road ...

Pastor’s Corner: Think of the Consequences

“’Come now, let us reason together,’ says the LORD” -Isaiah 1:18- It is a fact: only 10 percent of all people think. Seventy-five percent think they think, and 15 percent would rather die than think. Thinking can be painful because it forces you to look at the whole picture. ...

On Nature: Monarchs Threatened

One of the anticipated events of spring is the arrival of migrating monarch butterflies, but in recent years their number has declined greatly. Much of this loss has been caused by a great reduction in the abundance of milkweeds, the required food of monarch larvae, as a result of intensive ...

Dengler Domain: Grocer Reinvestment Grant Program, HF 1032

It has been a while since I have written about it, but the Robinson-Patman Act is one of my favorite laws. It prevents price discrimination. This means a truckload of potatoes that is being delivered to the grocery store in Traer is the same price as the truckload of potatoes being delivered to ...

On the Record with Sheriff Schmidt, April 2025

If there is one thing that continues to stand out to me, it is how lucky I am to work alongside such great people. The staff at the Sheriff’s Office make my job easier every single day, and I cannot thank them enough. But it goes beyond just our office. Across the board, Tama County is filled ...