There’s a certain point in every semester when all the neat little boxes on my calendar stop behaving like boxes and start behaving more like small campfires — scattered everywhere, all burning at once, and I’m just standing with a garden hose with little to no water pressure. Welcome ...
Wow! Here we are beginning the month of December. What a time of excitement as we start our journey towards Christmas. The Christmas lights are starting to appear throughout the town, the volunteers are ringing the bells for Salvation Army, the snow is falling & falling & falling and ...
Happy December! I hope everyone had a great November and Thanksgiving. A Letter of Engagement was signed with Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce for Economic Development purposes. Supervisor Doland and I met with John Hall, President and CEO of Marshalltown Chamber of Commerce multiple times ...
Growing up on a farm, free-range chickens meant that you’d have to catch ‘em, to eat ‘em. Today, they gotta print that fact on the packaging. “Wild caught” meant that either you shot them out of the sky, hooked them in the crick, or ran over them with the pickup. Everything that ...
I cannot resist checking out the latest Christmas gift ideas for the totally clueless us! This year’s suggestions top them all! So, here we go! There’s the “yodeling pickle,” the makeup and skin care Advent calendar (no kidding) competing with the whisky Advent Calendar! There’s the ...
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 ...