Jonathan Meyer.

Another year with the Tama-Toledo News Chronicle has passed us by, faster than anyone may want to admit. With the New Year fast approaching, I want to take this opportunity to give a rundown of my year. Ups and downs, leaps and bounds, late nights and early mornings — everything was on the table. This year taught me to put my head down and get to work.

Starting off, the year was pretty lackluster until it got busy. Right off the bat, I ran a campaign for student body vice-president alongside my great friend Owen. Though we may have come up ten percent short in the end, I learned about my peers and explored my passion for service and leadership. That whole two-week campaign experience was a great example of getting right to work.

After the election loss, I stepped up around campus. I joined more Senate opportunities and started to value my voice in college. My schedule was starting to fill out again, which timed out perfectly with the increase in work at the newspaper.

It is my experience that working a job is becoming increasingly less common for college students, and working in your hometown an hour away is even more rare. Regardless of the practicality, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. This year has been a year of saying yes to new opportunities. When something popped up at the paper, I said yes as much as I possibly could.

In April and May, I spent a lot of time working in Des Moines covering track. Not going into specifics, but when an opportunity presented itself, I put my head down and got to work. Not that reporting on track and field is really work — those are some of my favorite stories to tell. I spent my spring break from school working, and I had an absolute blast.

The last day of school in May was a bit of a fever dream. I packed my car to the brim with belongings and went to the state track meet instead of going home. Something I’ve enjoyed about youth is the fact that I can still handle going from one thing to the next. Believe me, people warn me that it doesn’t last forever. Until that day, I’ll keep going at this pace.

Something that aided this pace has been the introduction of coffee into my routine. I have been an avid fan of the beverage, often marveling at the sweet and delightful treats that a certain few corporations sell — stimulating your taste buds and keeping you coming back. At the end of the school year, Owen introduced me to the wonders of straight black coffee. I have not looked back since; I like it stronger and stronger every day.

A day that will live in infamy is June 18, 2025, when Mike and I gained access to our new office — a little hole in the wall that fits our needs. It’s our workspace and a great place to spend hours talking about whatever occupies our brains on any given day. I sit here in our conference room working on the stories of the week and feel immense gratitude for having this space to continue improving our craft and providing coverage to the community. We’ve done some of our best work here and, might I add, have done a great job decorating.

Outside of work and school, I finally did some traveling this summer. I not only experienced my first plane ride — I was on four of them in the course of a week. I went to visit my roommate, Chris, in Monterey, California. The visit helped me gain quite a bit of perspective, not only on what he has experienced in his life, but on the many different ways of life across our vast country. While I love my Midwestern roots, it was enjoyable to see how other walks of life handle things — although I could have done without the food poisoning from some oysters I ate on a solo dinner trip.

The same sentiments were true on our family trip to Denver, Colorado — minus the food poisoning. Not even a week after I returned from California, we loaded up the Traverse and set course for the mountains. This trip was to celebrate my parents’ 25th wedding anniversary, and although it was still a few days away, it was great getting to be a family full-time for a few days.

With both Jenna and me in college, it’s hard to line things up with our parents. I remember reading a statistic that by the time you’re in college, you’ve already spent the majority of the time you will ever have with your parents. Ever since reading that, I try to be as present as I can — but I’ll admit it’s difficult, and I’m not perfect. As rewarding as working constantly and filling my schedule can be in the short term, nothing will ever replace time with the people you love. Looking back, I should have done more of that this year.

When the summer came to an end and I returned to Wartburg, I felt like I had grown up a few years and lived a whole new life, all in the span of three months. A certain murder trial relevant to Tama County became a point of interest to my peers. While not every 21-year-old is reporting on that kind of story, it was an honor to help tell the story of a good man who was taken unjustly from the world. I will not speak the names of the two held responsible for that tragedy in the newspaper; instead, I will share how honored I felt to help tell part of Ryan’s story. May God rest his soul.

On a lighter note, I had a great fall cross country season back at school. I set personal bests in the 5K, 8K, and half marathon. I was the most fit I’ve ever been, doing it all alongside friends new and old.

That’s a point of interest Mike and I spend a lot of time talking about — the social life of an atypical college student. I had my share of coming up short in the relationship department, which has been widely documented on our editorial page. Relationships with my friends went much better, though. Through relationships new and old, there’s plenty to be grateful for.

I won’t lie — this year has tested me in ways I haven’t experienced before. I have felt the weight of this job and its importance, particularly in recent months. Being able to put your head down and keep pushing ahead pays off; no one can take away your hard work and accomplishments.

2025 has been quite the ride, and with less than a week to go, I’m ready to see what lies ahead for Just Jonathan.

Until our next story. Until next year. And until we see each other next, I’m Just Jonathan.