Spencer Daily Reporter: Columns: Paula Buenger

Enjoy the golden days (05/21/13)
Nature's first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leafs a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. -Robert Frost "Nothing Gold Can Stay," the classic Frost poem, came to my mind after a couple of days spent surrounded by youth at its finest - a Friday and Saturday at the Iowa State High School Track and Field Championships, and Sunday at high school graduations...

Dear graduates: (05/14/13)
Graduates, The big day is upon you. Hard to believe that 13 years of education has come to an end. You've survived the playground, Algebra II, bad lunchroom food, too many half-pints of 2 percent milk to count, and hundreds of games of dodgeball in physical education class...

A very special birthday (05/07/13)
She may look frail. She may look weak. She may look as though a stiff wind could blow her right into Winnebago County. Looks can be deceiving. My Grandma Read has a core of steel, strengthened by fire. She is the strongest woman I have ever known, and my admiration for her is boundless...

Mother Nature's been a challenge (04/30/13)
This past weekend's beautiful weather had me dreaming of summer, and more sunshine, and days spent playing outside. Dreams of cruising with the ragtop down began to enter my consciousness. Then I saw the week's forecast. One more day of warmth, then gray and chill...

Greatest honor for new Citizens might be closest to their hearts (04/23/13)
One of my favorite parts of my job is honoring each year's Citizen of the Year recipients. Not only is it a chance to shine a light on a deserving person or couple, it's also a wonderful reminder of the good that goes on every day, often unheralded...

Let's talk about (crazy) taxes (04/16/13)
While the pain of sending off your taxes (and that check) by last night's midnight deadline may still be too fresh in your minds to smile about, perhaps it's time to gain some perspective. Courtesy of Turbo Tax, here are some oddball taxes from the U.S. and around the world:...

Farewell to the Iron Lady (04/09/13)
It seems impossible to believe that, when Margaret Thatcher began her 11-year tenure as Britain's Prime Minister, it symbolized a seismic shift in how people looked at women and power. Thatcher's death at 87 on Monday took me back to my high school days, when Thatcher and Ronald Reagan formed a strong bond and shared a joint ideological rejection of communism and cold war ideas...

The good, the bad, and the ugly in sports (04/02/13)
I've had sports on my mind the past couple of weeks - what with the NCAA basketball tournament in high gear, major league baseball kicking off its 160-plus game season, and the Masters golf tournament just around the corner. We've seen the good, the bad and the ugly...

The rest of the delivery story (03/26/13)
It would be impossible to count the number of times I, or one of my staff, have been asked about what we would do at the Daily Reporter if the U.S. Postal Service followed through with its plan to cut Saturday delivery. According to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe, in his early February announcement, that action would save about $2 billion per year for the beleaguered agency...

Time for a 'cuppa (03/19/13)
One of the greatest things in life is to see the student become the master; the child become the teacher. I commented to a friend recently that, just when my son got to be REALLY interesting and great to spend time with, he heads off to college. Not that it wasn't great raising him, it's just that now that he's an adult, we have such great conversations and debates. He's not shy (not that he ever was) about disagreeing with his mom and giving his opinion...

It's the most wonderful time of the (basketball) year (03/12/13)
The most wonderful time of the year, at least for a college basketball fan like myself, is right around the corner. With Selection Sunday next weekend, and conference tourneys in full swing, as Dick Vitale would say, "It's time for March Madness, Baby!"...

Good news Tuesday (03/05/13)
I think there would be general agreement that we are pleased the recent winter storms that roared through the Midwest have only given our little corner of the world a glancing blow. Heading to bed on Sunday night, listening to the sound of ice pellets hitting my windows, did nothing to reassure me that my morning commute (of six miles) would be a pleasant one...

Counting sheep and losing sleep (02/26/13)
While it's winter, we humans can't take our cues from the bears and hibernate. As the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted, we can't seem to get even a minimum needed for our best quality of life. In "chatting" via instant message with family recently, I laughed as I noted how many of our frequent messages were about sleep - when we got to sleep, whether we got to sleep, and when we might be able to "catch up" on our sleep. ...

Nominations, please (02/19/13)
Look around at all the great things going on in our area. A robust arts community; school events supported by so many; a vibrant downtown; continued development - the list goes on and on. So much of this is supported, or made possible totally, through the volunteer efforts of our residents...

Time to stand up and cheer (02/12/13)
The center of the wrestling universe? This week, and every mid-February, that would be Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. The Iowa High School Wrestling Tournament is a sight to behold. Hundreds of wrestlers on the mats, thousands more in street clothes, roaming the skywalks of Iowa's capitol city. You can't miss them -- they are the lean, muscular ones with the hungry look in their eyes...

Crying over commercials (02/05/13)
After all the pomp and circumstance, in the end it was an ad for a truck, and another for beer that brought me to tears. The Super Bowl is famous for being the launching pad for television commercials. With rates upwards of $4 million for 30-second spots, sponsors are looking for a big reaction in return for their big investment...

Hope for a very human talent (01/29/13)
After months of tense, Twitter-fueled confrontation, former ISU star Royce White may soon get back to business - basketball business. It was announced on Saturday that White and the Houston Rockets had reached an agreement that puts the player on track to join the team's D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, on February 11...

Unplugged (01/22/13)
It's probably been eight or 10 years since I really realized the world of communication had made a sea change. I was in the car, driving with my sister and my two nieces. After a while my sister and I noticed no sound coming from the back seat, where the teens were sitting...

Locking up the cookie jar (01/15/13)
When the weather is cold and gray and dreary, I like to daydream about exotic, warm getaways. I visit travel sites online and plot my "perfect" trip. I can curl up on my couch and look at all types of vacation destinations. Similarly, when my son was looking at colleges, we paid virtual visits to many schools, using the internet...

Fighting evil with good (12/18/12)
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." Romans 12:21 You can't escape the evil that came to an elementary school on Friday. You can't hide from it and you can't make it disappear. Every parent on earth, every person who ever loved a child, felt outrage at the violation of the most precious, most innocent among us...

Holiday traditions make season special (12/11/12)
A wonderful aspect of the Christmas season is the traditions that make it unique to your own family. They can be traditions passed on from generation to generation - a favorite ethnic recipe, or treasured ornament. They can be a recent addition to family folklore - watching "Christmas Vacation" in your jammies as a family, or picking out your tree the weekend after Thanksgiving...

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas (12/04/12)
The tree is up; the lights sparkle outside my front door. There are presents (wrapped, already!) under the tree. My oven was barely turned off all weekend as I baked and baked, and baked some more. I hate to say this, and folks may stone me for daring to utter the words but.....

Savor the sweet days of Christmas (11/27/12)
Thanksgiving has come and gone, with a year's worth of turkey stuffed (pun intended) into a few short days of hugs, laughs and food. This holiday, often seen as a precursor to the Christmas season, has a sweetness all its own. It's too bad it's so close to another busy time of celebration. You really need to savor the individual sweetness that is Thanksgiving...

History in every stitch (11/20/12)
It's time to go "over the river and through the woods," to grandmother's house. At Thanksgiving, our hearts go home, whether we can physically make it home or not. My thoughts, these past days, have gone father back, to my great-great-grandmother's house...

This movie seems familiar (11/13/12)
It really doesn't matter what genre you're into, it seems there's been something exciting for everyone at the theater this fall. Along with the news that Disney had purchased Lucasfilms last week came the hint of more chapters in the Star Wars story. ...

A top-notch performance, and a friendly reminder (11/06/12)
"Grease" was the word this past weekend, and once again the Spencer High School Drama Department, headed up by Larry Untiet, put on a tour de force performance. The excitement has been building for months over this, the 75th performance of Untiet's tenure in Spencer. Combined with the 75th anniversary of the construction of the auditorium, so many put in so much effort to ensure a blockbuster celebration performance...

Older, but not grown up (10/30/12)
When I was young, I sat at the "kid table" at family gatherings. We children were segregated in the basement family room, using piano benches and stools, seated at a card table. The "grown ups" sat together in the dining room, around the "real" table...

What's your password(s) (10/23/12)
My biggest concern, when moving from elementary school to junior high, back in the "good old days" was my fear of forgetting my locker combination. "Right 14, Left 7, Right past 7 to 12" Talk about pressure. I feared immortal humiliation at the hands of ninth-graders as I stood helplessly in front of my locker, attempting to crack the code so I could gather up my science book and make it to the next class on time...

Picturing a mother's love (10/16/12)
I heard the story on the news. As I was rushing to get ready for work, I had to stop, one shoe on, one hanging from my finger, to watch. "The Mom Stays in the Picture," the graphic at the bottom of the screen read. The words I heard made me tear up, and nod my head...

It's easy being green (10/09/12)
Feeling green this week? Well, there's good reason. It's National 4-H Week Oct. 7-13. Green, as in 4-H clover green, is the in color, as we celebrate the great youth programs available through 4-H. I'm a 4-H'er through and through. I remember my first 4-H calf (Daisy May, a gorgeous Simmental heifer), my first sewing project, (a flannel sleepshirt, which was finished in the car, on the way to the fair), and my first view of the nation's capitol, courtesy of the Citizenship-Washington Focus trip I took as a 17-year-old.. ...

A wide array of interesting things to see (10/02/12)
Mother Nature's been a bit of a show-off lately, blessing us with sunny days, nights with just enough chill to warrant an extra blanket on the bed, and that uniquely fall light that makes the hues of the changing leaves seem even more other-worldly beautiful than can be imagined...

Let the sun shine in (09/25/12)
"Everybody knows that corruption thrives in secret places, and avoids public places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety." Pres. Woodrow Wilson. I'm in the news business, so it makes perfect sense that so-called "sunshine laws," and the idea of an open flow of information between public officials and the public, are concepts which are pretty important to me. They should also be pretty important to everyone else...

Dandy fair in the books (09/18/12)
The smell of the fair lingers in my garage. Ok, I'll be honest, it's the smell of the cattle barns, and it's emanating from the boots family members were kind enough to abandon prior to entering my home. Some sad, lonely cotton candy remains on my countertop...

High drama Saturday (09/11/12)
Here in Iowa we like our sports full contact. On Saturday we saw examples of two of our favorite sports, as football and politics came together at the Clay County Regional Event Center ballroom. A crowd gathered to watch "The Only Game That Really Matters," or, for the non-Iowans out there, the ISU-Iowa football game. Following that nail-biter, we had the first public debate between contenders for the 4th District Congressional seat...

Everyone has fair role to play (09/04/12)
For the past, I don't know, decade or so, part of my Labor Day weekend has consisted of placing little pieces of Velcro to the back of photography labels. Then I alphabetize them. And I take them to the 4-H Exhibit Building at the Clay County Fairgrounds...

When the best of intentions go haywire (08/28/12)
Cecila Giminez had the best of intentions. She only meant to make some much-needed repairs to a water-damaged, century-old fresco in her church in northeastern Spain. Instead, she's become an Internet sensation, both vilified and praised, for her amateur repairs to the artwork...

He said what? (08/21/12)
Republican, Democrat, it really doesn't matter what political party you support. If you support intelligent, rational leadership you've got to be shocked by the statements made by Missouri Congressman Todd Akin on Sunday. The Republican Senate nominee is locked in a tough race against Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill. When asked about his views on abortion in cases of rape, Akin opened his mouth and stupid came out...

The very best of times (08/14/12)
When you were very young, I held your hand as we walked to the end of the lane. I had combed your hair carefully, and double-checked to ensure your notebook and pencils were packed securely in your backpack. I got out the camera and posed you beside the apple tree we planted the summer before...

Turning up the heat on renewable fuels (08/07/12)
Lunchtime conversation Monday with some longtime ag types touched on calls by some to suspend federal renewable fuels standards in light of the drought the US is going through right now. We've all heard the scary stories of higher food costs coming as a result of the drought. ...

Farewell Weekly Reader (07/31/12)
Back in the day of rotary telephones, four television channels and Trapper Keepers, a highlight of my school week was the handing out of the newest edition of the Weekly Reader. Condensed into a handful of colorful pages was a week's worth of kid-friendly news and information, a puzzle or two, and a half hour of guaranteed reading time in class...

Those little extras add up (07/24/12)
Hear that "drip, drip, drip?" That's your money being slowly, surely and stealthily siphoned away from your wallet. Sometimes you realize it, sometimes you don't. Product companies, airlines, hotels, service businesses all have been finding "creative" ways to separate the consumer from his or her cash...

Summer pleasures, familiar and not (07/17/12)
When the temperatures seem they can't get any higher, and humidity is almost visible in the Iowa air, you know it's a special time of the year - county fair time. Now, we all know that Clay County has the king of all county fairs, but I must admit that I've been to my "fair" share of other county extravaganzas around the state...

Festival would be music to my ears (07/10/12)
Spencer has been blessed through the years with an embarrassment of riches in the cultural arena. We've got a great community theatre, widely respected throughout the state and the region. There's Arts on Grand, with its wide array of exhibitions and classes...

Curtain going up on another unforgettable show (07/03/12)
For a 17-year-old girl from Iowa, there was nothing to compare to the excitement of being in the center of the theatre universe that summer. Heat waves rising off the pavement, the hustle and bustle of millions of people, the breathless excitement of new sights, new sounds, new scents...

This column brought to you by... (06/26/12)
I'm showing my age again, but I remember the days when convention centers and ballparks had names like Rosenblatt Stadium or the Civic Center. Center court wasn't covered with a corporate logo. Our lives weren't "brought to you by..." Today, the College World Series is played at TD Ameritrade Park. The Iowa high school basketball tournaments are hosted at Wells Fargo Arena, not Veteran's Memorial Arena (now called Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, by the way.)...

Look on the bright side (06/19/12)
It's all a matter of perspective. I ruminated on that idea while traveling the last half of the way home from a quick weekend trip to Minneapolis. Earlier on the trip home, visiting with son Drew, following the flow of traffic on Interstate 35, I had noticed that my fuel gauge said I had 110 miles left before a fill was needed. Then, 30 miles down the road, the fuel gauge still said 110 miles...

Coming together to lift up our own (06/12/12)
If I needed another reason to love to call this area home, or just a reminder of what a big-hearted community we have, the recent tragic loss of one of our areas' own precious little ones shone a light on our best nature. The love and compassion flowing from the community, and the grace and strength shown by the grieving parents, illustrates God's hand in our lives...

Finally, a competition I can sink my teeth into (06/05/12)
As I grow older, I grow more realistic, more clear-eyed, about the skills and talents I possess. I no longer dream, as I did when I was a gawky, already stick-thin eight-year-old, that I would be an Olympic gymnast. A world-class equestrian, my pre-teen ideal? I held on to that hope while racing our quarter horse through the field behind my childhood home...

Ready for summertime fun (05/29/12)
Fireflies. Bonfires, smoke sweetly rising into the starry sky. Toes in the water, sitting on the edge of a dock. A chimichanga (or three, or four) eaten on the deck of the Taco House. The smell of newly-mown grass. Ice-cold watermelon, juice dripping down my chin...

Lilacs a casualty of warm early spring (05/22/12)
The mild winter and early spring weather was a blessing for so many. Our bones grow weary of the bitter cold, and an early spring was welcomed. I remember my excitement in March, looking out the window to the west and noticing our ancient windbreak row of lilacs already in bud...

Dear graduates: (05/08/12)
I've been writing letters to graduates every year I've been here at the Daily Reporter. It's my May tradition. Graduations, after all, are a big deal. And graduations hit me somewhere very deep. The tears flow as soon as the first chords of "Pomp and Circumstance" begin in any high school gym. It doesn't matter if I know a single senior or not. I'm a graduation softie...

End of school year comes in a rush (05/01/12)
Buckle up, parents! Like the proverbial bell curve used for grading classwork, the school year seems to follow a similar pattern. The kiddos head off to class in August, often reluctantly dragging a bag full of brand-new, and very heavy books, reams of smooth, clean paper, and dozens of unchewed pencils...

Perfect prom storm (04/24/12)
There was some rumbling going on with the rocking and rolling Saturday as area students prepared for prom. In fact, Clay Central-Everly officials might want to consider moving that school's prom to January next year. For the second year in a row, severe weather, tornado warnings to be precise, added some excitement to the traditional glitz and glamor of prom night. Last year, CC-E students rode out the severe weather that spawned the Mapleton twisters at the prom dance...

Mother Nature rumbles, and other observations (04/17/12)
The storms that rumbled through northwest Iowa on Saturday night resulted in only much-need precipitation, a "million dollar rain," as they say before planting gets going hot and heavy. After our dry fall and winter, the parched ground needed a nice, long drink...

Bubba style just fine by me (04/10/12)
Years ago, Charles Barkley, he of the irrepressible humor and irritable sound-bite, said "Athletes are not role models." His comments drew a firestorm but, in essence he was telling parents it was their job to mold their children, in their image, rather than in that of a man or woman paid to be good at a sport...

Back away from that petunia (04/03/12)
On your mark.... Get set..... Wait! Mother Nature may be sending signals that it's time to get those flowers in the ground, and those plants in the garden, but it's important to take a look at the calendar. Mother Nature can be a pretty capricious lady, and 90 degree heat on April 1 doesn't necessarily mean no snow on April 10...

The dream still hasn't come true (03/27/12)
The death of a 17-year-old young man in Florida -Trayvon Martin- has ignited a national debate. Killed by a Neighborhood Watch volunteer while walking through a gated community near Orlando, Martin's death has stirred outrage. It has also brought forward a painful debate on race relations...

Youth in the spotlight (03/20/12)
'Tis the season. Not of Christmas tress and caroling, but of high school dramatic endeavors. At my house, that has meant hours of running lines to that family classic, "The Wizard of Oz." At Spencer an imaginary 6 1/2 foot tall rabbit takes center stage in "Harvey."...

Follow your heart, and your head (03/13/12)
When my son Drew was 8 years-old, a visitor to our church spoke about Compassion International, an organization aimed at matching donors with young people from disadvantaged parts of the world. Drew was so affected by the stories, he begged his father and I to let him "adopt" one of the youngsters...

Why can't we be friends? (03/06/12)
It's ironic that, with the world as close as just one click, some use that inclusiveness not to spread kindness and understanding, but vitriol. I don't care what your opinion is on the birth control provision the President's health insurance proposal, don't tell me you weren't shocked by the behavior of conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh...

Love letter to my missing stove (02/28/12)
I miss my stove. And my sink. "Camping out" in my own home has lost its allure in the light of a week and a half with no kitchen. As contractors fit the puzzle pieces of my new kitchen together, I make do with the most rudimentary of cooking methods. Take-out has become the norm, not the exception...

Can it be tournament time without a storm? (02/21/12)
Excuse my confusion, but it just can't be late February in Iowa. It was downright balmy on Saturday in Des Moines, with nary a state wrestling tournament snowflake in sight. The 10-day forecast shows highs above freezing every day for the next week and a half...

Houston death sad, but not a shock (02/14/12)
Don't call it shocking. Call it sad, a waste, an inevitable end to a life that started with so much promise and ended in a bathtub in Beverly Hills. The death of Whitney Houston on Saturday filled the airwaves the rest of the weekend. No doubt, in the days to come we will hear countless "friends" discuss their close relationship with the troubled star, and the "pressures" that led to her demise. They will express their shock in the "sudden" death of the singer...

No 'friending' me (02/07/12)
I'm getting old. More and more often I find myself longing for some lost thing - a television show, a courtesy that no longer lives, a service no longer rendered. We've gained so many positive things, that's true. Efficiencies have been made, communications have speeded up. The world has become a smaller place...

This mystery could be a best-seller (01/24/12)
After playing hide-and-seek for a couple of months, winter has finally arrived, with snow blanketing the ground, and enough ice and wind to make staying in with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa a pretty tempting option. For many folks, a good mystery makes the best reading on a cold day. A real-life mystery appears to be shaping up down in Des Moines, as Iowa officials are trying to unravel the ever-twisting yarn of the last minute lottery winner. Call it a $7.5 million (in cash) whodunit...

Clearing the clutter at home and in mind (01/19/12)
With the new year comes a need to jettison things from the past that weigh you down. For some folks, that's weight. Gym owners can attest to the January "resolutioners" who join, intent on fulfilling their New Year's resolution to shape up and lose weight...

My ho-ho-ho has got up and left (01/03/12)
Santa has left the building. The stockings, pilfered of all the "good" candy, are limp, lifeless shapes, with only some hard lemon drops and a peanut husk or two left in the toe. The tree, if you've not gotten the energy up to take it down, is not a cheery reminder of the season, but rather a blinking, shedding testament to your lack of ambition...

Reflecting on endings, beginnings (12/27/11)
Santa has come and gone, leaving gifts for children, both young and old. Once again, he proved he grades on a curve in the "naughty or nice" category, even leaving a stocking stuffed full for this newspaper publisher. Now it's on to the New Year, reviewing an eventful 2011, and looking ahead to what 2012 has in store...

No snow, but plenty of cheer for holiday program (12/20/11)
I've been privileged to be a part of the Holiday Family Adoption Program for many years. It's a highlight of the holiday season for me, and to be honest, a highlight of the year. It's easy to be cynical, particularly in my line of work. You look for the angle, for the motivation, behind actions. You remember that a good tool of a journalist is a healthy dose of skepticism...

It's Christmas letter time (12/13/11)
I have a little secret to confess. I know it's not cool, and I know it's not hip, but I LOVE to get Christmas letters. Really. The much-maligned holiday letter, included in Christmas greetings from friends and loved ones, is a favorite part of the holiday season for me. I enjoy seeing the pictures of children, who seem to have grown like weeds over the past year and, I DO love to hear about the exotic vacations my friends take...

Taking a Christmas journey (12/06/11)
A snowy Saturday seemed the perfect time to turn up the Christmas music and trim the tree. Of course that meant digging through the detritus of my basement for ornaments and lights, tinsel and trimmings. "It would be a great idea to somehow identify the contents of each of these identical large tubs," I thought to myself after pulling down yet another large, heavy, and identical blue tote from its shelf above my head, only to find out it held craft supplies, not holiday bows...

Slow down and find true meaning in the season (11/29/11)
Thanksgiving is in our rear view mirror, and the Christmas holidays are just around the corner. It's so easy to get caught up in the holiday merry-go-round of activities, shopping, food, food and more food. While those things are all good, if we find ourselves moving too fast, in too many directions, we lose sight of the meaning of the season. We find making lists has replaced making memories...

Starting a new holiday tradition (11/22/11)
Thanksgiving is almost here, which means the holiday shopping season is getting in full swing. Everyone is making their lists and checking them twice - comparing prices, wrapping, pondering the perfect gift for that certain someone on their list. We all have heard the news about Black Friday, the retailer's "official" kick-off to the season. ...

When institutions become more important than people (11/15/11)
As a nation, we've been shocked by the news coming out of Penn State the past 10 days. Ironic that "Happy Valley" should be the epicenter of a scandal that defies belief and shows a horrific side of human nature, and a horrific side of high-time college sports. Children were sacrificed at the alter of big-time athletics, while officials turned a blind eye to a monster in its midst...

Time of thanksgiving, and giving (11/08/11)
'Tis the season. Wait, wait. Before you begin to put me into the camp of those pushing the Christmas holiday season further and further up the calendar, let me clarify. While I do have Christmas in mind, I also have a great deal of thanksgiving in my heart...

Young people are doing a lot of things right (11/01/11)
Too often, it seems, we focus on what's wrong. What's wrong in our community. What's wrong in our state. What's wrong in our nation. Heck, even what's wrong with the whole, wide world. Every now and then, it's nice to shine a light on all the good things going on...in our community, our state, our nation and our world...

Zombies rising (from the dead) in popularity (10/25/11)
Sorry, vampires. You've been dethroned as the hottest Halloween horror around. After years of vampire dominance, in the movies and in the costume aisles, this year it's all about the zombies. Halloween's right around the corner, and it's easy to see that zombies are where it's at this year for those getting in to costume...

Running out of patience with 'Occupy' protests (10/18/11)
While we've seen plenty of headlines, and many hours of television coverage of the "Occupy" movement since it began with a march on Wall Street in New York City on September 17, its goals are as nebulous as its leadership. Claiming to represent the "99 percent," those protesting have yet to provide a platform, demands, or solutions. ...

Thinking differently was key to Jobs' success (10/11/11)
"Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them...

Enjoy the beauty of fall in Iowa (10/04/11)
Living as we do in the Midwest, it's easy to forget what a beautiful place this is. I call it the "grass is always greener" phenomenon. After all, we don't have mountains. There's no seashore within a convenient drive. And, our primary nature view involves miles and miles of corn and soybeans...

Was Chicken Little right? (09/27/11)
Admit it, you looked up at the autumn sky a bit more than usual Friday. After all, along with billions of stars twinkling on a particularly clear, bright fall evening, there was a piece of space junk the size of a school bus somewhere up there. It was falling - fast...

Phil's final act was a doozy (09/20/11)
I've gotta tell you - I CAN get enough. What I couldn't do was get to it all. The Clay County Fair wrapped up a record-setting nine-day run on Sunday and, as I collapsed on my living room sofa Sunday night I realized that I hadn't seen it all. Despite my daily attendance, miles spent roaming the grounds, and tastes of countless fair food delicacies, I didn't get to experience all that the Clay County Fair has to offer...

Opening with a bang (09/13/11)
Could we have had a better opening weekend of the Clay County Fair than the one just passed? Sunny skies, great crowds, cool evenings with hot acts on the grandstand stage - yep, it was an opening evening practically perfect in every way. From my view across the counter while working in the Clay County Pork Producer's Chop Shop on Saturday, I got a nice view of a cross section of the fair-goers in attendance. ...

It may be the greatest, but it's also "our fair" (09/08/11)
We all know the Clay County Fair bills itself as "The World's Greatest County Fair." To many of us, however, it's simply "Our Fair." The most striking impression I've gotten, in reading the submissions sent to the Daily Reporter in response to our request to readers for their favorite fair memories is that, while it's a huge endeavor for the community, at its heart it is a very personal experience...

Waving an unwilling goodbye to summer (08/30/11)
The calendar says summer is still with us. The early morning chill says it's on its way out. The lights of small-town football fields have already spread their glow over fields of beans and corn nearly ready for harvest. The grounds of the Clay County fair are buzzing with activity...

Go ahead, take a few days off (08/23/11)
So, the president is taking a vacation. What's the big deal? I've heard radio analysts and columnists going crazy because President Obama and his family are on vacation in Martha's Vineyard. "With the economy in a mess, and the world in a mess, the President needs to be back in Washington, on top of these issues," they shriek...

Straw poll a true measure of state's Republicans? (08/16/11)
While the Iowa State Fair was drawing crowds this past weekend to stroll the grounds, grab a bite of something deep-fried on a stick, and to take a peek at the 100th-birthday-celebrating butter cow, up in Ames on Saturday true believers were gathering for the Iowa Straw Poll...

First impressions do matter (08/09/11)
"You never get a second chance to make a first impression." That thought passed through my mind the other day as my son and I visited the third college in two days, part our "Iowa Higher Education Rock and Roll Road Trip," or what the Iowa association of private colleges calls "Iowa Private College Week."...

After 30 years, kids still want their MTV (08/02/11)
When I heard the news on Monday morning, I was instantly 18 again. MTV, music television, turned 30 years old. I closed my eyes and was transported back to my freshman year in college. Our after-dinner routine was to walk across the bridge in the center of campus, saunter into the student union, and sit, silent and rapt, for an hour or two in the dark of the television lounge. ...

The open road beckons some of us (07/26/11)
Vacations as a child meant packing up the station wagon (three sets of seats, the last one facing backward), loading up the homemade car topper, ensuring the carefully-prepared picnic lunch for the road was stowed in a cooler and heading off. A huge, slightly musty tent, camp stove, sets of clothes individually placed in plastic bags (one set for each of the seven children for each of the days), boxes of food, and absolutely no electronics were stowed away above. ...

Keeping my cool (07/19/11)
It's warm. It's been warm for a few days. It sounds like it's going to be warm for a few more. OK, I know, I'm understating the obvious, but back in January, I made a vow that I would not, absolutely not, complain about heat come summertime. No matter what...

Birthing a high school grad (07/12/11)
We've got one year left before our son heads off to college and out of our immediate orbit. I've got to admit, it's been on my mind - a lot. In listening to friends and family, I've decided the process of sending a child off into the world is much like the process of pregnancy and childbirth, I've decided...

30 years on, life looks pretty sweet (07/05/11)
When I was 18, I was going to leave my little hometown in the dust, heading for the lights and action of the big city. In an interview upon my graduation from Spencer High School in May, 1981, I was quoted as saying (and I paraphrase) that I was " going to be a big fish in a big pond."...

Time for some International Pickers (06/28/11)
It sounds like it's time for my favorite pair of pickers to go international. In the wake of Greece's ever-widening debt crisis, its creditors are leaning on the ancient nation to sell off assets to help dig its way out. That's where Mike Wolf and Frank Fritz, of my guilty pleasure television show, "American Pickers" come in...

I get that from my dad (06/21/11)
When I picked up the phone on Sunday to call my father to wish him a happy Father's Day, I dialed his cell phone number. Even as he nears his 76th birthday, you will never, ever catch my dad tethered to the landline in the house. If I waited until he was home to answer the phone, I'd never talk to him at all...

Flagfest, strawberries and folks behaving badly (06/14/11)
Congratulations to organizers of another spectacular Flagfest event! They shook things up a bit, moving the games and entertainment, and went back to the old, with the traditional parade route. Spencer alumni from various classes made it back for reunions this past weekend, and I'm sure those who hadn't been back to their old stomping ground in years were impressed by our community...

Lending a hand (06/07/11)
Mother Nature has been flexing her muscles and testing our nerves. Tornadoes, floods, drought in Texas, end-of-July heat the first week of June. It's enough to make you wonder if our carbon-heavy, arrogant attempts to control the world around us have wrought us this...

Looking good in all neighborhoods (05/31/11)
If you travel around the midwest, you'll see communities dealing with the shrinking rural population in different ways. Some towns give up. Empty storefronts and decaying buildings mark their community centers. Others roll up their sleeves and fight flight with action...

Starting my summer bucket list (05/24/11)
The school doors open this week, releasing students for a summer of fun. And parents are scratching their heads, wondering how they are going to keep their little angels busy, productive and out of trouble. When my son, Drew, began school, we started a tradition of Mom and son outings to celebrate the end of the school year and the start of summer. On the first day of summer vacation, we'd go to the lake, to a zoo, to the golf course...

Paula Buenger
Paula Buenger

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