Being one of the trusted few to document our community doesn’t come lightly to me. I never set out on this career path, but I’m honored that I get to serve a place that helped shape the young man I’ve become. After a long night of reporting and writing, that thought sat with me as I drove ...
Have you ever seen the movie ‘Big Fish’? Yes? No? Well, if you haven’t, go watch it now, then come back and read the rest of the article. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. So, now that you’ve seen the movie, you know that there is a scene in there at a funeral. At the funeral, all these ...
I’ve noticed a trend on the internet. They want to know if I’m human! I tried ordering groceries online, but they had to verify that I was human. Now, ordering groceries ought to have clued them in. I did expect them to verify that I have the moola in my bank account to place the order, ...
Tuesday night was pretty uneventful, at least that’s how it started. I finished some meetings and work, but still had piles of homework and a bit of work for my actual job. I was walking back across campus to my dorm on the far side of everything (I’m convinced I live the farthest from ...
Dear Veteran, I would like to use this space here to say "Thank You" for being one of the selfless few Americans that has been willing to offer your life on my behalf. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for... Going into harm's way for me, so I can enjoy a peaceful evening with my ...
The projected rapid increase in electrical energy needs, particularly for massive new data centers, could derail our efforts to combat climate change unless ways are found to greatly increase the production of clean energy. Nuclear energy could help fill that need with the development of small ...
When I started college as a music education major, I knew there would be field experiences in schools around a 45 to 50-mile radius of Wartburg. Secretly, I had one dream assignment in mind: Oelwein High School. So when the email came through assigning me to Oelwein, I’ll admit I cracked a ...
October has come to an end and most of the crops in the area have been harvested. My family was able to finish harvest early with crops being dry and the weather cooperating, which left us time to visit a pumpkin farm, carve pumpkins, and get some outside work done. I hope everyone had a great ...
From my very first week at the paper, my partner in crime has been Mike. I still remember when he posted on Facebook that we were the Woodward and Bernstein of the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle. While that might be a stretch, I’ll admit our partnership has led to some great stories—both the ...
It started as a stupid task, a bit of fun, something to do with my buddy. Somewhere along the way, under the cover of darkness, this stupid task morphed into a three-hour voyage of two jolly, puerile nitwits. I don’t know what else I expected. And like most of my tales, this story deserves to ...