To the editor: Our country and world are in deep grief. First the coronavirus which drastically changed our daily life without warning. Stay at home orders. Even advised to not see family in person. Essential workers having the stress of being in the public even knowing it may not be safe. ...
Anyone paying attention to the news lately has seen both heartwarming and heartbreaking stories about residents in Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities, their “homes,” and their families. In our best efforts to protect LTC residents from COVID-19, we have created another health risk. Our safety ...
Iowa’s lawmakers recently demonstrated that they are capable of getting things done in a short period of time. After an unprecedented recess prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic sent the legislators home in the spring, they returned to Des Moines during the first week of June and proceeded to ...
To the editor: Integrity: The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. I was appalled when I first read about the TikTok tactic used to reserve seats, knowingly not intending to use them, for the Tulsa, Oklahoma, campaign rally. When I read on the front page of The ...
To the editor: If you have strong concerns about crime, I’d urge you to let your representatives on the council know. If, instead, you believe that concern about crime in our town is overblown they need to be hearing that, too. If your council members don’t hear your voice on the issue you ...
There’s little doubt that COVID-19 is stealing away a lot of summer vacation options for local families. But what if there was something really cool close to home that the whole family could enjoy? Well, there is such a thing. It’s the Fort Museum and Frontier Village here in Fort ...
To the editor: I just want to thank all involved in assisting a young Afghanistan veteran whose motorcycle broke down on Webster County Road P59 a few days ago. The young man from Michigan was in dire straits as he had lost his phone and credit card while in Fort Dodge. David McGaughy came ...
Members of Congress were wise to pause their campaign of priming the economic pump to counter the effects of the coronavirus epidemic. Nearly three trillion dollars in aid to individuals, families, businesses and local and state governments needed to be given time to work before more federal ...
To the editor: We are grateful to live in a community that has so many people donating their time, talents and treasures in so many different manners. One such individual is Mike Murphy. Mike took it upon himself to heavily invest in the continued success of Twin Lakes in Calhoun County. ...
There’s more than corn and soybeans growing in Iowa’s rich soil. Iowa’s farmers grow staggering amounts of corn and soybeans, so it makes sense that those crops are the first ones many people associate with the state’s farms. But there is also a surprising amount of fruits and ...
Father’s Day is upon us once again. That’s good news for the greeting card vendors. In recent years, they have sold upwards of 100 million cards to Americans intent on paying tribute to good old dad. About half of those cards are purchased by dutiful sons and daughters. Wives honoring a man ...
To the editor: The ability to have our voices heard at the ballot box is fundamental to democracy. My mother was the first person in my family born with her right to vote protected by law. Tremendous work and personal sacrifice went into making the Voting Rights Act of 1965 happen. In fact, ...
We all have a favorite place to eat. For some, it’s a popular chain restaurant providing the quick comfort of an affordable and consistent menu. For others, it might be a family-owned diner where they know your order by heart, or the fancy restaurant where you celebrated a special event. All ...
To the editor: After an extended period of cabin fever with winter leading into the coronavirus, our town seems to be finding itself back in a similar position to last fall with regards to crime. I know that coronavirus slowed down the city government’s ability to meet and get things done, ...
Millions of Americans remain unemployed as the nation struggles to get an economy stalled by COVID-19 back in gear. Some success has been seen; by June 13, the U.S. unemployment rate was 13.3%, much better than the 14.7% a month before. Still, we have a long way to go. Prior to the coronavirus ...
To the editor: Since Gov. Reynolds said that grocery stores don’t have to redeem cans and bottles due to COVID-19, people in cities and towns across central Iowa are struggling to find a place to take their containers. A lot of them are traveling to rural redemption centers like mine. I own ...
American taxpayers should not be handing out hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to businesses without having at least some idea of where our money is going. That seems obvious. However, demanding such transparency puts the U.S. Treasury Department — and some of the businesses being ...
To the Editor: What happened to George Floyd, the black man who died at the hands of a rogue police officer while in police custody in Minneapolis was reprehensible, outrageous and a tragedy. The behavior of the three other officers present not coming to the aid of Floyd was completely ...
A powerful symbol of the United States stands all by itself in the middle of the Des Moines River in Fort Dodge. It’s a large American flag flying from a pole that extends skyward from a block of concrete that once helped to support the Bennett Viaduct. Called Old Glory on the River, it ...
To the editor: I am writing an open letter to the police department . Do you train your officers to de-escalate? I just saw a man killed by Georgia police because he was perhaps drunk, fell asleep in his car and blocked traffic, hardly a capital offense. Perhaps, the situation could have been ...