Cities love big, flashy, expensive projects and miles of infrastructure. But Charles L. Marohn, Jr., says this approach is a recipe for financial insolvency. Here, he explains why making small, incremental investments in struggling neighborhoods yields a far better payoff.In America, it's ...
Fifty-three years ago, I was a high school kid in southern Iowa who knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life: I wanted to be a journalist.The first step on that journey occurred when I walked into the offices of the Bloomfield Democrat and introduced myself to Gary Spurgeon. He was the ...
In many ways, Tama, Iowa, population 2,775, is like many other similar-sized towns around the Midwest. For example, it has its fair share of challenges, from attracting and maintaining retail businesses downtown, to keeping up with an aging housing stock as values decrease and its population ...
As we begin this great month, we all enjoy the superb fall colors that surround us before we head into the big holidays and the cold, frigid, snowy phenomenon called winter. But for now we have October, a most beautiful month of the year that includes so many treasures.First of all, October is ...
Why do we do what we do? I noticed a child the other day sucking on their thumb; but I've seen others the same age, sucking on other fingers. One child was sucking on all of them. What's that about, anyway?Why do some people write with their right hand? I write with my left. Since we know ...
To the Editor,Here's one way you can help Iowa veterans.Many vets suffer from service-related PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. PTSD can cause intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings, including flashbacks and nightmares.Vets with PTSD can feel estranged from other people, including their ...
Every now and then I am asked, "What is it about astronomy that excites you so much?" After all, some have said, not much changes from year to year. I have to admit that they are right, M13 looks the same this year as it did the first time I saw it: a fuzzy ball in Hercules surrounded by tiny ...
The Wieting Theatre is getting ready for a very busy finish to this year.The high school is rehearsing for "Cinderella". It will be performed at the Wieting on Thursday, October 31 through Sunday, November 3.The new Hy-Vee store will be conducting job interviews at the Wieting center starting ...
The share of the U.S. population with incomes below the poverty level dropped between 2017 and 2018 the fifth consecutive annual drop, according to new American Community Survey (ACS) estimates released today. The 1-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau s 2018 ACS show declines in ...
Letter to the Editor:Independent family farmers are wedded to the water and the land. We understand that our fates are bound together. Family farmers are persevering despite underpriced grains and livestock.The industrial system of agriculture hurts family farmers by forcing us to farm fence ...