As 2024 wraps up, I’m reflecting on the past 12 months. What memories did our family make, how did things go on the farm, and how are things going in my community and across the state? One of my biggest memories is about Summit Carbon Solutions and its controversial CO2 pipeline. Two days ...
The news of Jimmy Carter’s passing takes me back to 1976, a year that marked my own passage to adulthood. As the bicentennial year dawned, I took first notice of Carter upon his victory in the Iowa Caucuses. I followed his campaign through my high school graduation and into the summer, when I ...
What America needs are small businesses. Whatever part of the economy, small businesses should have a stake in the game. No matter the amount of small business Saturdays, small businesses matter. Be it a boutique, grocery store, pharmacy, farm, or what have you, supporting local entrepreneurs ...
College football is a mess. Talent is not worse, but something about the game feels off with where the sport is heading. The façade of being on scholarship was all which mattered did not make sense in comparison to when coaches started making lucrative salaries and athletic conferences began ...
Sun Courier Note: We are republishing this column first published by The Conversation on Aug. 18, 2020, in light of recent news President-elect Donald Trump may again attempt to privatize the U.S. Postal Service. The U.S. Postal Service is under threat of collapse and privatization. This ...
Retirement gives me time to go through and clean out old files. Recently I came across the following article by Vernon Broyles III in Presbyterians Today, December 2013, based on Revelation 22:1-5. It still speaks to me today, 11 years later. I hope it speaks to you, too. “The world is ...
Every Monday is “another watchful Monday” ongoing in Tama County for three years. What is different? A new board of five supervisors who care about our county, our land, the citizens and God’s people. Already they are working to make us more financially accountable and transparent with ...
In addition to Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s Day, Iowans have another reason to celebrate during the last week of the year. On December 28, 1846, President James K. Polk signed a bill admitting Iowa into the Union. This year, Iowa will celebrate its 178th birthday. Let’s take a look ...
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, as the song goes. It’s a time for family and friends to come together to celebrate good cheer and tasty food. Christmas is coming and so are the mountains of presents, endless parties and of course the arrival of Santa. But what about the birth of ...
Tom Vilsack deserves a better exit interview than what he recently gave to Politico’s Jonathan Martin. Vilsack came across as irritated, which is familiar enough. The Democrats lost rural America. That’s a big part of the problem, and he is supposed to be Mr. Rural America. The former ...