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Editorial

Sunshine Week affirms freedom of speech

For more than two centuries, the bedrock of our liberty and prosperity as Americans has been our right to know what is going on around us and to discuss it freely. Our nation’s founders believed that was so important that when they wrote the Bill of Rights, they made freedom of speech the First Amendment. This week, we celebrate Sunshine Week, a time designated to think about that freedom and the importance of defending it. We in the newspaper business believe freedom of the press is critical — and always under attack. Warnings these days about “fake news” merely bring out ...

Second legislative funnel will reduce bills to be considered

The first funnel date has passed by and the second funnel date is this week. As you recall, the first funnel killed any bills that were not out of committee in the chamber where they originated. So, House files had to be out of House standing committees and Senate files had to be out of Senate standing committees. The second funnel, which is Friday, forces House files to be out of Senate committees and Senate files to be out of House committees. Bills that do not make it out of their respective committees will die in the second funnel. Governor’s Student First Scholarship ...

Donation from Linking Families and Communities helps babies

Ezra Peterson hit the sack – literally – for an afternoon nap recently. That sack was a HALO SleepSack, a sort of sleeping bag with arm holes for babies. It keeps the little ones nice and warm as they sleep on their backs. Sleeping on their backs is the recommended position for babies because it greatly reduces any risk of suffocation from excess bedding. Linking Families and Communities has donated about 1,600 of the SleepSacks to UnityPoint Health – Trinity Regional Medical Center in Fort Dodge and Stewart Memorial Community Hospital in Lake City. That supply is expected to ...

Iowa Central shows enrollment increases

Iowa Central Community College continues to attract students to its high caliber programs and is seeing hefty increases in enrollment. The college’s Board of Directors was recently informed that the total number of students is 4,557 across its three campuses in Fort Dodge, Storm Lake and Webster City. That’s up 7.9 percent. Those students come from 94 of Iowa’s 99 counties. Additionally, the student body includes people from 44 of the 50 states. There are also students from 33 other countries. In addition to the head count, educational administrators pay a lot of attention to ...

It took collaboration to put on a show

Small utility vehicles, window frames and storage containers to be used in the kitchen were among the dozens of products on display at the recent Home, Garden and Lifestyle Show, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And if someone came to the show in need of some information about services available to help homeowners they were in luck because companies that provide everything from renovation work to disaster cleanup were on hand as well. Attendance at the show resulted in prizes for some lucky people. A Husqvarna riding mower valued at $2,400 was given away. Also given away were five ...

Tribute to volunteers set up in Clare

Walk into the Clare Community Center and a big axe on one wall just might catch your eye. That axe is part of a larger tribute to some of the town’s volunteer firefighters. The tribute is about four feet long and a little over two feet high. It features the names of the original15 firefighters who formed the local fire department in 1962. It also has space to list the names of other long-serving firefighters who have retired or died. The axe that is part of the display came from the Clare Fire Department. It was polished and a Maltese cross, the traditional symbol of fire ...