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Opinion

Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa: Election Integrity or Intimidation?

Editorials

There’s been a lot of talk lately about election integrity, especially from the Trump administration. What’s disturbing is that the rhetoric doesn’t seem to be lining up with his administration’s actions. Take for example the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Created in 2002 after ...

District 53 Newsletter: Aug. 4, 2026

Editorials

The 2026 session is long over, the legislature adjourned in early May, and Governor Reynolds had signed the bills into law by early June. In previous newsletters during session I talked about the property tax reform, and now I want to update everyone on what was finally passed and signed into ...

Magic Mike 6XL: The Birthday Grief

Local Columns

Well, Sunday was Ma’s birthday. I won’t tell ya how old she turned, but let's just say she's north of ten and south of a hundred. And like every day in the Davis household, the whole thing seemed fraught with ridiculousness. Everything started a few days before when my Father, the Old ...

Heather’s Highlights: County Government and You, July 2026

Local Columns

I hope everyone stayed cool with the hot weather we experienced in July. County roads were one of the main topics of discussion during Supervisor meetings in July. E29 still has an embargo on it due to the West Bridge Approach being damaged. We’ve approved a quote for these repairs, but ...

Pastor’s Corner: Rabbit to the rescue?

Local Columns

Sometimes, you just gotta wonder about some folks. Why would authorities find Civil War cannonballs in a passenger’s suitcase at an airport? Don’t tell me he was going deer hunting. Or why would you “paint” a museum floor with peanut butter? Why do people run in races with high heels? ...

Just Jonathan: Principles and practicality

Local Columns

Something that’s been on my mind this week has been more of a philosophical question: the balance between being principled and holding strong ideological views versus being adaptive and responsive to the world around you. By no means am I an expert in philosophy, nor do I have the life ...

Iowa Outdoors: Upcoming hunting and trapping seasons

Local Columns

The 2026-27 hunting and trapping seasons will soon be upon us. There are several regulation changes heading into the upcoming seasons that I want to highlight in this article. Deer hunting licenses will now go on sale at 9 a.m. on Aug. 15, 2026. Online deer and turkey licenses sales will stop ...

Pastor’s Corner: Sufferin’ succotash!

Local Columns

My wife wore a cute multicolored shirt with Tweetie Bird, a small, innocent and sweet canary printed on it. It came from the cartoon featuring Sylvester the cat, who used to chase Tweety Bird. It began with Tweetie Bird’s catchy expression, “I tawt I taw a puddy tat!” followed by ...

Magic Mike 6XL: Curiosity And The Dead Cat

Local Columns

I don’t talk much about my schooling because it is a sore spot, a sore spot more akin to a festering boil located on the perineum than a bug bite on the leg, but I digress. It is my thought and my experience that knowledge is gained better from curiosity than by browbeating repetition. I ...

Just Jonathan: Morning machinations

Local Columns

At what point did we transition from real alarm clocks to simply using our cell phones? I, for one, enjoy using my running watch to gently buzz myself into consciousness. Well, now that you’re probably weirded out thinking about me waking up and tapping a few buttons on my watch, I’ll get ...