This presidential campaign cycle has been relatively quiet in Storm Lake. Iowa was judged not to be in play long ago, left for Donald Trump and the Republicans. Recently, the Iowa Poll showed Kamala …

Newspaper people are painfully aware that many Americans don’t get their news from traditional trusted sources. For a variety of reasons these folks have turned instead to get their information …

In a town where Republicans outnumber Democrats by more than two to one, it was interesting to note the sprouting of a Harris-Walz sign here and there some weeks ago. Every few days, another one or …

The 17th annual BVRMC AWARE 5K Walk/ Run and Kid’s Fun Run was held Saturday, Sept. 21. We had 390 participants and raised almost $20,000 for cancer awareness. These funds will help support …

Avian flu has jumped to mammals. More dairy workers are reporting the illness. In California, a major dairy producer, up to a third of the herds may be infected. Pasteurized milk is reported safe to …

Morning breaks crisp as the soybeans come in. They’re shooting geese and dragging in docks. We’re not even a month out from a presidential election. Our politics is being reorganized, and …

Most Americans believe in democracy — or say they do. The United States operates as a representative democracy. That means we elect leaders to do the work of governing, and we get to vote for …

Rob Sand, Auditor for the State of Iowa, recently did what no statewide elected official in Iowa has done in a long time — he brought attention to problems in nursing homes. A report from his …

Mr. Cullen recently wrote: “The people of Iowa didn’t ask for an abortion ban, really.” So if this is really true, as we prepare to cast our votes in the 2024 presidential election, …

JD Vance has a Yale Law degree. Good thing Tim Walz coached football and not debate at Mankato West. Vance was polite and skillful. He was not loathsome as he can be. Walz had to admit that he can be …

To listen to Donald Trump tell it, America is going to hell in a handbasket. The economy is in free fall, Christianity is under siege and the scourge of immigrants is destroying our culture. …

Talk about lousy optics — and I am not referring to out-of-style eyeglasses. Public perception is the topic for today. There were a couple of recent news nuggets that illustrate in …

Whenever I hear an old 60s song on the radio, I smile remembering how I danced to it as a teenage girl in Storm Lake! Being a good dancer was an absolute MUST in the 60s and I was not only a good …

I've lived in Storm Lake for 60 years and have never seen anything like the current lawsuit involving our city and our county. I've had conversations with the mayor, the city …

A late September, 200-mile drive through the sunny center of northern and central Illinois reveals blue sky, yellowing fields, and not one roaring red, green or silver combine gathering in any of the …

It’s easier to house hogs than humans in rural Iowa. You can put up a confinement just about anywhere you want. If the neighbor finds swine a nuisance, good luck making your court claim pay …

What comes after Nov. 5? Most Americans and the betting markets believe that Kamala Harris will win the election. She’s even close in Iowa. No matter what happens, we need to find center …

This is a nostalgia column. When you’re 83, you’re allowed some nostalgia, provided you can remember what you’re nostalgic about. And that it has some relevance to the current …

I’m a 34-year-old who farms, manages farmland and sells farms in rural Iowa. I am the grandson of people who’ve worked the land and a proud citizen of a town of 5,400 people. I am also a …

No scene is more gorgeous than West Lake Okoboji at sunrise looking east from the Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. A bit of rain fell early Tuesday but the clouds gave way to blue sky, and the day was …