One of the best lessons I have ever learned came from a 2019 band event where Mike Carnahan introduced me to the idea of flushing other people’s toilets. While you might think this is gross and you’re going to stop reading, I urge you to think about the statement a little deeper. Sure, ...
With Easter just a little over a week away, here is a story entitled "The Three Trees." I believe the author is anonymous and it's a rather appropriate story for our season of Easter. Here goes.... Once upon a time three little trees stood alongside the other trees in the forest and they all ...
National Agriculture Week is a good opportunity for all of us to appreciate our natural resources and consider how we can all do our part to protect them. As a 4th generation cattle and crop farmer in Tama County, I would like to share how farmers are protecting soil and water in our area by ...
In the last couple of weeks, I have been driven to the brink of insanity, then slowly backed away from the precipice of that nutty abyss. All because of my Father, that old S.O.B. Ya see, my Father retired a few years back. At first, it was awful, for the rest of us anyway, but then his ...
As a candidate for Sheriff in beautiful Tama County, I know how important it is to be connected with the ones you serve. Although I did not grow up in Tama County, I have strong connections here. My great-grandmother Blanche (Sevcik) Rebik was born in Carroll Township, near Vining, with her ...
Returning to the byline. I never set out to become a small town reporter, heck I never set out to be a reporter at all. Somehow almost exactly one year ago I made my writing debut in a duo piece with my lifelong friend and now journalist colleague Michael D. Davis. What all started as a crazy ...
With Easter just a little over a week away, here is a story entitled "The Three Trees." I believe the author is anonymous and it's a rather appropriate story for our season of Easter. Here goes.... Once upon a time three little trees stood alongside the other trees in the forest and they all ...
Last year was my first year with the paper. I didn't have any schoolin' on bein' a reporter nor much trainin'. All of my learnin' was boiled down into two things, helpful tips from my newspaper brethren and black and white movies where the reporter talks out of the side of his mouth and solves ...
There is a good PBS documentary called Amazon Nation, which discusses their exploitative use of our local police vis a vis so called traffic cameras newly installed in Tama. Amazon valued at 1 trillion dollars is promoting their surveillance technology as safe but with their The facial ...
Just to be clear, when I say "random thoughts," they can be closely tied to delusion. My mind is an open book filled with empty pages. But here are a few of my thoughts and maybe a couple of surprises along the way. Next week, our oldest daughter, Sarah will be turning 47 years old! Deb and ...