A trip to Illinois and Indiana last week gave us a view of the economic future — and it doesn’t look pretty. Gasoline prices were $5 per gallon and diesel was going for as much as $7.28 …

Donald Trump and his followers are crying wolf again, trying to scare Americans that Democrats are communists. They’re even trying it out on Rob Sand and Josh Turek, Democrats running for Iowa …

Can you remember what you were doing when something historical happened in your lifetime? For each generation, there seems to be at least one date that, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt said …

The Advertising Guide, which has been published weekly for nearly six decades in the Storm Lake and Cherokee trade territory, is switching to a monthly schedule beginning now. This free …

The United States of America reached a milestone last week that didn’t get the attention it deserves. Our national debt exceeded $40 trillion for the first time. That deficit far outstripped …

Hey Boomers! How many of you remember Iowa’s old-style license plates that began with the number for each county according to its alphabetical order? So license plates on cars registered in …

We’ve been in Michigan for the last few days. Over the weekend we were in Benton Harbor for a wedding, then took a side trip to the Upper Peninsula to visit famed vacation getaway Mackinac Island. …

Hardly a week goes by that we don’t get a press release from our United States Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, hoopin’ and hollerin’ about waste, fraud and abuse in various government …

We were bummed last week by the announcement that St. Mary’s High School is ending its athletic program after a century of competition. Beginning this fall the former Panthers will compete as …

“The Odyssey” is one of the most-hyped movies in years. We’ve been hearing about it for months, and it finally opened last weekend in Storm Lake and across the nation. The three-hour epic …

Storm Lake’s Star Spangled Spectacular, Iowa’s biggest Fourth of July event, had another successful celebration of our nation’s birthday Saturday. The Big Day was kicked off by the Big Parade …

Have you ever noticed that whenever you do something nice for someone, it makes you feel good? Even little things, like holding the door at the Post Office for someone juggling an armful of mail. …

On Saturday Storm Lake joins the rest of the nation in celebrating the 250th birthday of the United States of America. It was on July 4, 1776, that our nation’s founders, meeting in Philadelphia, …

Normally we Cullens try to stay out of the news, but last week we made a little of it ourselves when a big thunderstorm ripped apart an ash tree in our front yard. Mary and I were pictured with the …

I just saw a preview of a new movie coming out in mid-August, “The Brink of War.” It tells the story of the 1986 summit in Reykjavik, Iceland between President Ronald Reagan and Soviet President …

For the past dozen or so years, at the suggestion of my doctors, I’ve been walking two to three miles per day and feeling quite impressed with myself for my physical fitness. But my pride took …

When Storm Lake citizens proposed the LakeTrail nearly 30 years ago, they envisioned walkers and bikers enjoying safe passage together from Emerald Park on the west shore to Lakeside on the east. …

Memorial Day ceremonies across the nation Monday, including the courthouse square in Storm Lake, highlighted the sacrifices men and women have made to secure our freedom and preserve democracy. …

I don’t put much stock in political ads on TV, but I’ve noticed that many candidates running for office in the upcoming Republican primary are really embracing Trump. More like bear-hugging him. …

The New York Times reported last week on the death of a 76-year-old man in the subway. The story referred to him as “elderly.” “Elderly?” I turn 76 today and I don’t consider myself …