I’ve never cared much for poetry, unless they’re dirty limericks. I much prefer prose when a person wants to explain their thoughts. But there is one poem I love — the only one …

Now Trump wants to send military troops into Chicago because he thinks the Windy City is overrun with crime that only he can control. He ought to know about crime, convicted felon that he is. I …

This weekend we celebrate Labor Day. It’s supposed to honor the hard-working men and women who empower America, but mostly it’s a day that marks the end of summer. Meanwhile, a lot of our …

I’m surprised at how many readers have asked me about my tomatoes this year. Actually, no one has asked me, and that doesn’t really surprise me. But I’ll tell you about them …

President Donald Trump seized control this week of the Washington, DC, police force, ordering the military and FBI to patrol the streets to stop a supposed crime wave in our nation’s capital. …

Interest is running high for the 13th running of “Storm the Lake,” the Hy-Noon Kiwanis Sprint Triathlon/Duathlon set for Saturday, Aug. 16. As of Monday this week, there were 91 …

Hats off to MidAmerican Energy for its response to power outages in the aftermath of all too many storms this summer. We were hit with another thunderstorm in the wee hours of Monday, which …

We’ve been doing a fair amount of driving this year, from coast to coast, and while the country may be divided on a lot of political issues, one thing everyone seems to agree on is that speed …

I never went to business school. I was a glorified English major in college. But I feel I’ve earned a PhD in economics running this small business for the past 35 years. My business …

Last week we celebrated not only the Fourth of July but also the 35th anniversary of The Storm Lake Times. Our first edition came out just before the Fourth in 1990, and featured the upcoming …

Art and I were in Los Angeles for a few days last week. No, we weren’t auditioning for roles in a new “Dumb and Dumber” movie. We were there to see what’s happening in the …

If you watched CBS Sunday Morning last weekend, you may have noticed that former Storm Laker Dave Diamond was mentioned prominently in one of the features. CBS correspondent Anthony Mason was …

I hope all fathers out there had a good Father’s Day last Sunday. I did. We headed out to northwest Indiana at the invitation of our daughter Bridget and her husband Branden. As we sat …

We celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday. It’s a good day to also celebrate George Washington, who was the “Father of Our Country.” George did not have any children of his …

I had only been to Decorah once, nearly 50 years ago, and Mary had never been there, so on our way back from Out East a couple of weeks ago we passed through the northeast Iowa community. It was a …

Iowa should strike its own trade deal with China instead of standing by while the federal government destroys our farm economy. As it is now, Iowa farmers stand to lose bigly in sales of ag …

After touring the new residence hall at Buena Vista University last Friday afternoon, the consensus among us Baby Boomers was we’d all like to go back to college. The new building, as yet …

Our representatives in Congress and Statehouse don’t really represent all of their constituents. They only represent the constituents of their own party. And that is way less than half of all …

Mary and I missed last Friday’s straight-line wind storm that caused considerable damage in Storm Lake. We were on our way to our daughter and son-in-law’s home in northwest Indiana for …

With the bankruptcy of Holzhauer auto dealerships in Storm Lake and Cherokee, it seems unlikely that the Ford brand will reappear in The City Beautiful, ending more than a century of Blue Oval sales …