The Maple River Solar team was thrilled to receive unanimous approval for our conditional use permit on March 26. TED Renewables first began the process of developing Maple River Solar in 2023, and …
Sunshine is good. It can power a solar array. It also can illuminate what goes on in the dark recesses of our government. The Cherokee County Board of Supervisors surprised the public with a 4-1 vote …
Let’s be honest. America is no longer the greatest nation in the world, and it certainly isn’t the happiest. It is usually considered the richest country by gross domestic product, but we all …
Noah Petersen and Priscilla Villarreal live 1,200 miles from each other, Petersen in Newton, Iowa; Villarreal in Laredo, Texas. They share a key connection despite that distance. Each has …
It’s pretty amazing how much progress the medical community has made in the past century or so. Some basics haven’t changed much, but new research, medications, treatments, surgeries and …
There’s a saying in business: “Where there’s mystery, there’s margin,” meaning complexity, confusion and a lack of transparency create profit opportunities for those at the top. Sounds a …
My name is Don Johannsen. I am a landowner in Cherokee County directly affected by the proposed Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline. In Iowa, the 1,070 mile pipeline segment is intended to connect 31 …
Besides the ill-defined Iranian war, DOJ-FBI created Epstein file debacle, tariff fiasco, Venezuela, Ecuador, Greenland and Cuba interventions, special elections turning in Democrats’ favor and the …
Spring often just burst onto the southern Illinois farm of my youth. One morning you’d see a green blade of something peeking through the bare ground by the mailbox and by the time you got off the …
The 11th week of the legislative session means we have gotten through both funnel deadlines. We now will focus on any remaining legislation that will be considered in this legislative session. With …
Your typical dude avoids doctors and their probes because they would just find something wrong with him. Who needs that? Been there myself, for sure. Sometimes you’re forced to go and a blood …
Yo, nerd alert! I loved studying poetry and literature in college. nnI’m grateful to have been educated in an era when such things were valued. I work at Buena Vista University and in my job …
Tuesday of last week was St. Patrick’s Day, “the day when everyone’s Irish,” as the saying goes. I’ve always gone along with the celebration, wearing green and saying “top o’ the …
There’s a line spoken by Harry Potter, the literary creation of author J.K. Rowling, in the film “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” that many in U.S. agriculture can relate to: “I …
For over 250 years, Americans have relied on the United States Postal Service for timely processing of their mail, no matter the conditions. After we dropped it in a box or gave it to a letter …
The 10th week of the legislative session kicked off towards the last major legislative deadline. The final "funnel" deadline is this week, narrowing our focus on any legislation that will be …
Iowa Corn Growers Association and Iowa Renewable Fuels Association say that the landowners who are fighting the use of eminent domain for carbon oxide pipelines — who are fighting FOR property …
Storm Lake is a portal for refugees in pursuit of happiness, whatever that may be. Lao. Sudanese. Karen. It ain’t easy trying to be free. That’s an immediate impression after a sneak …
It’s not fair to put the blame for ballooning property taxes solely on the Iowa Legislature and Gov. Kim Reynolds. They are responsible. So are local government officials who don’t know what they …
NOTE: A few weeks ago, I wrote about how owning a reliable car is a privilege most of us take for granted. It is. Now I want to explore another kind of privilege. I grew up walking or …