In the words of Darth Vader, “If you only knew the power of the dark side.” In the last week, I’ve felt a bit of my own dark side, believe it or not. Through some practical jokes, witty humor, and a bit of deceit, I’ve stayed entertained in my college social circle. Take Grace, for ...

When my sister was learning to drive, my dad would have her drive out of town. She was behind the wheel every time we went somewhere because she was learning how to drive. When I started learning how to drive, my sister was still the one behind the wheel. I’ve thought of this a lot recently, ...

Happy Labor Day and start of the school year! I cannot believe August is over already. The summer months seem to go by so fast, but the cooler air is refreshing and finally a slow down on lawn mowing. One of the main topics discussed by the Board of Supervisors in August was the Salt Creek ...

I’m writing this from cross country camp—our annual tradition of running too many miles, eating too much pasta, and pretending sleeping in bunk beds is somehow good for “team bonding.” Two years ago, I was here in the exact same camp in who knows where Illinois, but I was a very ...

Finally, we're the "top of the class." Eighth graders at St Joseph's School in Chelsea, Iowa. Top dogs! No more being second-class runts! We're the Cats! Numero Uno! Our 8th grade class of 1963/64 included Lindi, Becky, Jeanne, Connie, Susie, Marlene, Kathy, Tom, Tom, the twins, Jim ...

I believe memory is sometimes a collective thing. Occasionally, a person will have a memory which will cause another to remember something else which will then in turn cause another to remember something entirely different. However, if all this sparks from your Ma remembering something from ...

There’s nothing quite like the Iowa State Fair to remind you what “Iowan culture” really means. Naturally, I went with my friend Tommy to do some deep anthropological research, because what better way to study culture than by watching a group of women holler “Haaaarrrr-old!” at the ...

If you want to understand a place, the U.S. Census is a good place to start. Every ten years, it freezes a community in time, counting every person who calls it home. But here’s the thing—numbers only tell part of the story. In small-town Iowa, the real truth lies between the lines, in the ...

This has been an unprecedented summer. In the last few months I have had experiences that I never imagined possible. The first being the office. So, back in 2023 me and the kid (thats Just Jonathan to those of you familiar with page four of the Chronicle) started with the paper. However, the ...

August is here and we are in the home stretch of summer. July has been very eventful for the Tama County Board of Supervisors. We appointed three new members to the Board of Adjustment and one new member to the Zoning Commission. I welcome the new members who’ve been appointed and am ...