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The high cost of being cheap

Local Columns

The Iowa Legislature is at it again, trying to eliminate publication of legal notices in newspapers. And it will cost Iowa’s citizens way more money than it saves. Republican sponsors say it will save money for cities and counties, but as editor Art Cullen noted in his editorial last week, scrapping public notices will keep Iowans in the dark about the public’s business. Legal notices are the minutes of city council and board of supervisors meetings, the bills that they pay, the people that they hire and other official actions they take. They are the notices that alert you if a ...

Travelers must take advantage of new Denver flights

Editorial

For five years, United Express has provided its Fort Dodge passengers with convenient flights to Chicago - O’Hare International Airport, where they can transfer to United Airlines flights to the rest of the country and the world. Someone can board a plane at Fort Dodge Regional Airport, fly to Chicago, walk to their next gate and fly to their final destination. It’s a seamless transfer - there’s no need to retrieve suitcases and check them in again. And Chicago is a logical place to get flights to the eastern and southern United States. But if a passenger’s destination is ...

Lives impacting lives

Local Columns

As of 2026, LifeWorks has been serving individuals with disabilities for 60 years. It continues to make a big difference. Anniversaries shouldn’t just measure years, but their impact too. I’ve been reflecting on LifeWorks’s impact, especially because March is Developmental Disability Awareness Month. Yes, services impact individuals, but what about the staff? What lessons have been learned? What perspectives have shifted? A sample of just eight employees told quite a story. (To protect the confidentiality of individuals served, names of individuals have been changed to either ...

Local food pantries deserve support

Editorial

Over the last few years, the United States has experienced a surge in inflation that has probably not been seen since the 1970s. The war with Iran is now fueling inflation, literally. The price of oil has gone up, which means the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel will do the same. We have already seen proof of that at local filling stations. And higher fuel prices will push the prices of everything else up because everything is at some point transported by a truck or a train that burns fuel. Everyone is feeling the hit of higher prices. And for some of our neighbors, that hit is ...

Concerned about the direction of the country

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Where there's opportunity, there’s an opportunist. We’re now in Iran and the Middle East. Oppressed people for years and no way changing their government but by force and bombings. It’s like attacking a beehive and more bees retaliate. So, we now have other countries and our bases and embassies being attacked too. More Americans threatened and the loss of lives patriotic? We’re told this is because of bombs being possible in Iran. I wonder how long our country will be safe from this fallout? All we voted for was cheap costs for groceries, insurances, possible ...

D/SAOC Cake Auction time is coming

Editorial

It’s not too early to start thinking about the D/SAOC Cake Auction. One of the tastiest fundraisers this community has traditionally experienced is the annual auction conducted by the Domestic/Sexual Assault Outreach Center. This online event enables people to indulge their sweet tooth while generating money that is vitally needed to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. It begins at 10 a.m. March 26 and ends at 7 p.m. March 30. It is traditionally known as the Cake Auction. For years, bakers tried to outdo each other with elaborate cakes that went on the ...