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Local Columns

Just Jonathan: Speaking?

I would wager that the majority of folks who read the paper have no idea what my voice sounds like. I’m sure they understand my style of writing, maybe even a bit of my humor, but not everyone knows the sound of my voice. This week I was tasked with giving a speech to the incoming freshman ...

Magic Mike 6XL: Up and Out

I am here to dispel rumors this week. Members of my family and I have received a few questions over the last few months that I’d like to clear up here. Ya see, when I was but a young pup, and my sister was a teenager, she spoke of moving to New York. Once she turned eighteen, she was gonna ...

Magic Mike 6XL: The Ghost of Future Mike and The Survival of Tuesday

It is difficult to describe my day in one sentence, as it was filled with capricious plans, the occasional screaming, and a visit from the ghost of Mike future. Okay, so I have wanted a heavy duty H-frame easel for some time, and a couple of days ago, I saw a nice one on Facebook Marketplace. ...

Just Jonathan: Senators and team spirit!

As many longtime readers of this column may be aware, my life changes on a day-to-day basis. Last Thursday I had an experience that I don’t believe anyone else may have ever had before. The combination of privilege, journalistic integrity, and some good old-fashioned team bonding. I started ...

Just Jonathan: A gamble?

At times, I feel like I’m a guy with a bit of an older soul. Some of my habits in and around the casino only make me believe that a little more. To set the stage, last week I was getting ready to move back to college for my senior year. After spending a little too much time packing boxes, ...

Magic Mike 6XL: Schrodinger’s Door in Theory and Practice

For me, as an artist, ideas are fascinating. For all the books, paintings, articles, and other projects that I’ve done in my life so far, there have been a million that never got past my frontal lobe. But that rare case when an idea ya had so long ago comes to fruition, well, there’s ...

Pastor’s Corner: Seize the Yay!

Baskin-Robbins made popular their new tagline, “Seize the Yay” in 2022 to highlight that each day should be enjoyable. They established themselves as the place to go, for 31 flavors, one for each day of the month. The idea was to seize the moment and enjoy life. As a kid walking home from ...

Just Jonathan: An enjoyable week of work

I like my job, dare I say it. In working for the newspaper since 2023 I don’t really feel like I’ve been working all that much. Before I started with the paper I had a great interest in what was happening around us, and that hasn’t ever changed. This week’s collection of stories and ...

Pastor’s Corner: Monkey physics!

I recall my college statistics professor telling the class that you can prove anything with statistics, meaning also that statistics can lie! For years, we have been told that people only use 10% of their brain. While this may be true about your boss, certain neighbors, and congress, think this ...

Just Jonathan: Community cheating

All right, fine I’ll admit it. I covered the Winding Stair Festival Parade. In my time as a reporter, I’ve taken my commitment to our two towns that start with the letter T, Tama and Toledo, very seriously. I’m not sure I have what it takes to add a third T in the mix. I’m sorry Traer, ...