The dream woke me with a start — eyes snapping open, heart racing. As I lay there, in the darkest part of the night, after midnight but still well before dawn begins to lighten up the inky black, I tried to recall details of the nightmare that forced me awake...

I think we can all agree that 2020 has been one heck of a year. Many of us feel a bit lost, a bit unsure of what tomorrow will bring, and uneasy about the future. For my industry, a business I have loved since I was in middle school (we called it “junior high” back then), it’s been a particularly painful year...

When the Clay County Fair Board made its decision earlier this month to postpone the annual homage to family fun, livestock, big name entertainment and all things fried on a stick, I wasn't surprised. With COVID-19 ravaging our country, and no way to ensure an event in any way resembling the fair we all know and love, it was the prudent, responsible and correct choice...

In 10 years, or 20, how will we all remember the year 2020? Will it be a year we remember for the fear? Or the loss? Or will it be a year we reestablished priorities? Pulled our family units together more tightly? A year of spending more time making our personal world more comfortable? Of holding on to the wheat and letting the chaff flutter off in the wind?...

Let’s talk about masks. As the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, with accelerating case counts around the U.S. and the death toll rising above 128,000 in this country, it seems unthinkable that the request of citizens to wear masks when out in public elicits such strong negative responses among a disturbingly-large segment of the population...

It only seems fitting that my Father's Day tribute comes late. After all, if you know my dad, you know that "on time" is a fluid concept of which he has very little familiarity. Memories of our gang of nine sliding into church pews as the minister began his announcements are pretty vivid to me. ...

As we near the midpoint of 2020, I’ve been thinking about what my future self will remember about the time spent in amber that has been the last few months. I’ve had some time to ponder big questions, as I took a few days off to escape to the most remote and beautiful place I can get to in a few hours with a car and without running into people — at all. ...

Spencer, you're pretty great. I was awfully proud of our community last Thursday as it supported the March for Justice with welcoming arms and even more welcoming actions. From City Manager Amanda Mack and Police Chief Mark Warburton, who spearheaded the community's preparations, to the parks department staff who were out mowing the lawn and sprucing up East Leach Park earlier in the day, Spencer showed a lot of people what we're made of, and what we value. ...

"... One nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all." Those words, the Pledge of Allegiance, learned as a child, and reinforced through countless school recitations, echoed through my head this past week. As America burned, flames fueled by injustice and frustration and anger and pain, our nation seems these days to be a splintered reproof of those idealistic words...

In ways big and small, 2020 has been a year like no other. And, as we passed through Memorial Day, the traditional kick off to summer, for many of us it will be a summer lacking in some of the things we have always taken for granted. Festivals, concerts, community gatherings have been shelved. Weddings moved back or moved to intimate gatherings of immediate family. Long trips pushed to another year. Nesting close to home, and fun in the sun in the backyard are far more common...

Congratulations, graduates! I know, without the traditional trappings of a graduation ceremony — the cap and gown, stroll across the stage, Pomp and Circumstance — it doesn't really feel official. It feels, deep within you, like something is missing...

I’ve heard plenty of phrases describing this strange time we are in as “unprecedented,” and “never before seen.” Folks wail about the closure of schools, churches, public gatherings. It’s an “unprecedented” suppression of rights, some claim. While these are awfully strange times, that’s for sure, to assume these are unlike any this world, heck, this town, have seen before smacks, to me of a hubris born from a lack of study of our history...

“Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes, we need gigantic, monumental changes. Schools should be palaces. The competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be making six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge to its citizens, just like national defense. “...

The quiet days of spring 2020 have led me into the vaults of our family photo albums. We’ve been going through the photos with my father, as he tries to organize and sort a lifetime of family treasures. Each photo is a trigger to a new memory of my childhood, and it’s been so joyful to remember those wonderful days. We did have a lovely childhood, filled with so many special times. And, oddly enough, many of the things that make me smile the most are simple moments...

We are all spending a lot of time inside our homes, here in the second month of our strange new existence of social distancing and isolation, it would be easy to forget that outside our windows, life goes on. The calendar tells me tomorrow, Wednesday, April 22, is Earth Day. ...

On Easter Sunday afternoon, with the wind howling around our little home in the country, my husband called me out to the garage to take a look at our ash tree in the backyard. That tree, instead of being covered in leaves, was filled with robins. The birds had found a perch which was protected by the wind by the long row of firs to the north and were riding out the storm together...

Like so many of us, I've been spending a lot of my free time in one of three places — my kitchen, baking dinners more complex and time-consuming than I'd ever dream of in "real life" (my name for the days before COVID-19; in front of my television with a book in my lap; or on my computer or iPhone, scrolling news and social media...

I was trying to remember, while spending another Sunday afternoon at home, just how long our lives have been consumed by coronavirus. It feels like this "new normal" has transitioned to a time suspended; with days in amber and weeks on ice. I scrolled through our collective journal of memories, Facebook, and found the last post I made which had nothing to do with this time of unease...

As I pulled into my driveway yesterday, after a hard day at work, a pair of birds caught my eye. Perched, heads tight together on a branch in the early-spring bare apple tree, the mourning doves seemed an apt metaphor for the situation so many of us find ourselves in...

Strange days, my friends. We are living in strange days. I've gone from worrying about the possibility of spring thaws and excess rain causing puddles in my basement, to planning, then replanning, and starting over once again to plan, how to continue to provide area residents with the news they need to keep themselves, those they love, and friends and neighbors they don't know yet, safe...

It's become an early spring tradition, as certain as the sun. March rolls around and along with basketball tournaments, you can count on Paula writing her column imploring people to get on the stick and nominate worthy Spencer residents for the Citizen of the Year award...

Dear March, come in! How glad I am! I looked for you before. Put down your hat — You must have walked — How out of breath you are! Dear March, how are you? And the rest? Did you leave Nature well? Oh, March, come right upstairs with me, I have so much to tell!...

Over the past few years, I’ve gained a greater appreciation for those who came before me. I’ve been fascinated by the stories of how Americans made their way to this country and settle in the its center. My husband and I have been fans of the PBS program, “Finding Your Roots,” hosted by scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., which traces the ancestry of well-known people hundreds of years into the past. ...

The Iowa Legislature opened the 2020 session on Jan. 13. With both houses, and the governor, controlled by the Republican Party, legislators were unanimous in opening statements that focused on the economy, building the Iowa workforce, maintaining fiscal control and cutting taxes. Education continues to be a focus for the Democrats in Des Moines...

Every winter, right in that sour spot when Christmas cheer is over, snow is no longer a photogenic novelty and the lack of sun is beginning to have its way with my mood; and before the “only X days until spring” countdowns have begun to feel attainable, I get a respite...

A few weeks ago, and a few times in the past, we’ve had readers on our Spencer Daily Reporter Facebook page complain about the paywall which blocks them from reading complete stories at no charge. For some folks, the constitutional right to free speech has been interpreted as “I shouldn’t have to pay for reading the results of the work of trained journalists.”...

My 83-year-young father, along with my mother, raised seven children — put us through college, ensured we had everything we needed, and as much of what we wanted as was possible. They sacrificed to ensure our future success. Needless to say, that focus didn’t prioritize retirement savings or leave time to ponder investment strategies...

With just two weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, Iowans would be excused if they are suffering from a serious case of political overload. The television is packed with candidate ads, and you can hardly go to a coffee shop, town hall or microbrewery in the state that hasn't been visited by at least one presidential candidate over the past year and a half...

Back around the turn of the century, I was drawn, as were so many others, to a television show featuring an idealistic, decidedly-liberal White House staff, supporting its wicked-smart, charismatic leader. The show was “The West Wing,” and for seven years it was “must-see” TV in my house...

When I was young, the most anticipated mail of the year was the Sears Roebuck Christmas "Wish Book." We youngsters fought for our chance to peruse the thick volume, filed with all the must-have toys and games that millions of children would be dreaming about finding under the tree on Christmas morning. By Christmas Day, that poor catalog was dog-eared and ragged, with circles around favorites and corners helpfully turned down so Santa could find our dream Barbie quickly...

Tonight we count down the seconds in anticipation of the start of a new year, and a new decade. Here in the U.S., a kiss with the one you want to spend the coming year with is a tradition embraced (literally) by many. Certain foods are featured in various parts of the country and, of course, football can be found on TV on New Year’s Day...

Christmas Eve. If your Christmas Eve is like mine, all isn't calm, in fact it is hectic. Last minute wrapping, and baking; too many plans and sometimes too many memories can make it tough to stop and take in the blessing of the holiday. How can we recapture the childlike wonder of Christmas? How to slow down enough to reflect on the blessing this holiday commemorates? That’s an issue so many of us struggle with at Christmas...

Hear that sound? The jingle, jingle of sleigh bells getting closer and closer as Christmas speeds toward us. This year, more than any in recent memory, I’ve heard from folks who are overwhelmed, and stressed, and rushing through this holiday season. There haven’t been a lot of weekends, it seems, between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. The checklist of Christmas “must-dos” is as long as ever and the time is short...

A year ago, with Christmas on its way and family gatherings on my mind, I had a thought. Which grew into a passion. Which became a mission. We would get a family photo taken. Now, I know that doesn’t sound like a big deal. But I what I felt in my heart was that we needed a professional shot taken of our entire tribe — all of us. All 50-plus of the clan that grew from my mom and dad together in an image...

With Thanksgiving’s turkey dinner leftovers nearly used up (except for that sacrificial can of wobbly cranberry that is required but rarely finished), it seems we are now in full Christmas mode. With a very short timeline between the Pilgrims and St. Nick this year, it is easy to begin hyperventilating at the thought of all the “required” Christmas tasks that need to be completed before Christmas Eve...

Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for the Macy’s parade, a huge turkey, family gathered around and a crowd in front of the television watching a football game. In my family that is often the case — a crowd of folks related by blood and choice sharing love, laughter and thankfulness for all our blessings...

You must excuse this college football fan when she says she cheers for both Iowa and Iowa State (except when they play each other and then I must admit I cheer for the land grant university). Purists will swear that I’m not a real fan, sort of a state-supporting dilettante who just can’t make up her mind. ...

I spent part of my Saturday afternoon this past weekend hanging Christmas lights outside my home. I really wanted to take advantage of the relatively balmy temperatures to ensure the “halls were decked” at our rural abode. I think, judging from social media, lots of others did the same thing...

I spent the weekend on the road, in the field, and staying the course. I took a road trip with my dad and my sister to Dubuque to watch my nephew, a senior at Buena Vista University run one of his last collegiate cross-country races. The trip was a bit of sentimental journey, as my parents spent hundreds of hours in the car through the decades, chasing after daughters and then grandchildren, to watch them run for less than 30 minutes. ...

I was flipping through television channels Sunday afternoon and noticed The Hallmark Channel, purveyor of films for the chronically-romantic and Christmas-addicted, has already rolled out its 24-hour, two-month marathon of holiday movies. How can that be? I haven’t even opened the bag of chocolate bars I buy every year for the trick-or-treaters who I know will never arrive at my rural door, nor have I plopped on the couch to watch “Hocus Pocus” and eat said chocolate bars before Halloween, necessitating the removal of a couple of full-size Hersey bars from the freezer to thaw on the off chance a little goblin actually shows up.. ...

For readers of this column, it will come as no surprise to hear that I have a few problems with the recent comments by Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO, in a speech at Georgetown University. Zuckerberg offered up a full-throated defense of the social media giant, and its role in society, doubling down on the theory that Facebook is a platform dedicated to free speech. He likened the behemoth to traditional companies, calling social media the “Fifth Estate.”...

“Let it go Let it roll right off your shoulder Don't you know The hardest part is over? Let it in Let your clarity define you In the end We will only just remember how it feels." — “Little Wonders,” Rob Thomas The past six weeks have been a bit of an emotional wash and wringer cycle for this old newspaper woman. The sudden death of my mother, professional challenges and a few other "hang on to your hat" bumps along the way made September 2019 my personal "mense horribilis" — horrible month...

There has been an awful lot of talk in our country about the death of good manners, civility and respect. We decry the lack of positive role models for our children. We shake our heads at the future of America. I have a solution — maybe not for the entire country, but certainly for the young people who are involved — 4-H...

I’ve made no secret through the years of my love of reading. I grew from a child bookworm, wrapped in a blanket in a chair with a book in front of my face throughout most of my childhood, to an adult word vacuum. I’ll suck up any written information I can, hoovering up facts and fiction whenever I get a few spare moments...

I need to start this column with an apology. I didn’t write my usual Tuesday missive last week. I can count on my fingers of one hand the weeks I’ve skipped this assignment in two decades at The Daily Reporter. I was presented with a far larger, and far more important writing task on Saturday, Sept. 7, when my beloved mother, Carol Johnson, passed away suddenly and without warning, at her home in Northwood, Iowa...

I'm making my list and checking it twice. No, it's not a Christmas wish list, it's my countdown of "must-see," "must-do" and "must eat" essentials for the 2019 edition of the Clay County Fair. I always forget how fast nine days goes by when you're having fun, and the gates close before I've made my way around the grounds to all the different places I want to ensure I get to each year...

Evenings have a chill that wasn’t there a month ago. The Clay County Fair is finishing up final touches for our nine days of fun. And teachers are back in the classroom in front of students. I hope you noticed that I said “teachers are back in the classroom,” and not “teachers are back at work.”...

2019 will go down in my personal history as a uniquely exciting year. Come October, I will become a mother-in-law. While I've felt like a second mother to my son's lovely bride-to-be for a long time, we will celebrate that status becoming official with the wedding ceremony. I'm a mom of a single child. This is my one shot at this...

Like the last spoonful of homemade ice cream, the last scene in a spellbinding movie, and the last page in an enthralling book, the last days of summer just cry out to be savored. There’s a bittersweet scent to the air as families begin the transition from lazy summer to the five-day structure of school time...

More thoughts and prayers. More flags at half-staff. More words with no action. In a span of less than 24 hours, America once again was visited by the horror of not one, but two mass shootings. At least 31 people died in attacks in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. ...

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” — Ferris Bueller --- As we prepare to flip the calendar from July to August, the end of summer looms like a deep abyss — dark and cold and filled with icy winds and endless obligations...

Summer is the time for beach days and balmy nights; of picnics with family and time at the park. It's not a time to be laid out on the couch for a week, felled by illness. And yet, last week that's where I was, as ill as I've ever felt, laid low by a nasty sinus infection that rendered me weak as a kitten and as fuzzy-headed as a stuffed animal...

I like to say I'm smart enough to know what I don't know. That list of things I don't know is discouragingly long, but I do know quality when I see it. I know when I'm seeing something being done at the very highest level possible. That's why, on Sunday, as I joined millions of people around the world watching the soccer Women's World Cup Finals, I knew the United States women's team I was watching was truly the best of the best...

Temperatures are hot and, it seems, the temper of folks is set on “simmer.” I’ve grown weary of the outrage shown, on our opinion pages and online in various outlets, over all manner of outrages and insults, real or imagined. Isn’t it funny that as the world seems to be more connected than ever before, thanks to technology, people seem more disconnected from one another than ever before? We hunker down in our respective safe spaces, comforted by the incessant hum of our information source of choice, and our beliefs grow, unchallenged by the discordant notes of ideas which challenge our narrow worldview.. ...

I look outside my window to rows of crops, peeking out of the ground 4 or 5 inches above the soil. Those small shoots represent the promise of food for the hungry and a livelihood for our farmers. It would be a reassuring sight to see, except for the fact that, as my calendar says, it is June 25. Those little shoots should be, as they say, “knee high by the Fourth of July.” In the past, that milestone date would usually see plants well over chest-high...

The peonies on my desk smell like memories. Memories of games of hide and seek in the moonlight of my childhood yard. The scent of the row of pink and white peonies was a landmark in the sea of inky shadows. I loved to hide in that row, crouching down amid the bushes, overloaded branches dragging on the ground, making a perfect spot to tuck out of sight. I was happy to bear the near-certain itching of the resident peony ants for a few moments immersed in that heady scent...

It’s Father’s Day this Sunday. A day to celebrate dad for all the things he does for us. I’m lucky, as I’ll get to spend the day with my dad. It’s a gift I treasure as I know so many of my friends no longer get to enjoy that simple pleasure. No doubt the trip will include at least one run out to the farm to do cattle chores, and to the pastures to check the condition of the grass...

“Usually take one last pass through town Stop the car and touch the ground Watch those streetlights swayin' in the breeze Decorated store fronts Rusty old gas pumps Try to fill my mind up With somethin' before I go Picture postcard memories You know they always make for good company.”...

Word of Compass Pointe’s closure last month was a stark reminder of the crisis rural America is facing in meeting the needs of those facing mental health and substance abuse issues. As awareness and openness regarding mental health conditions has increased in recent years, local, state and federal officials struggle to keep up with the demand for services, leaving those in need and their families struggling to find help...

Memorial Day is this coming Monday. As we all know, the holiday is a time to honor those brave men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. The holiday arose after the Civil War, when Americans across the nation began holding springtime tributes to the nation’s fallen soldiers — decorating their graves and reciting prayers. ...

Dear graduate: You close your eyes. You blink. Suddenly the chasm between kindergarten and college has closed, and you are ready to walk across the stage on Sunday and into the “real world.” While you thought this day would never come, and middle school, with all its angst and hormones and drama, would be your whole life. Looking back on it now, does it really seem that long ago?...

Apologies to area mail carriers. Yesterday's Daily Reporter added some heft to their bags as we published our annual Progress edition. It's a time to reflect on the people, businesses and organizations which make our community so special. It's the end product of weeks of work by everyone in our organization. The newsroom, ad department, press staff and mailroom all work extra hard to ensure the edition is the best it can be...

It seems there is a day or a week assigned to recognize nearly everything under the sun. For example, did you know that April 9 was recognized as National Unicorn Day? Or that May 1 is Batman Day? From World Naked Gardening Day (this Saturday, May 4) to International Axe Throwing Day on June 13, there is a day for just about everything...

Is there anything better than the feeling of walking barefoot on your lawn on the first truly spring-like weekend of the year? Like many of you, I took advantage of Mother Nature's benevolence for some outdoor therapy, soaking in as much vitamin D as I could. ...

America loves a comeback story. We love the tale of folks who hit rock bottom, overcome incredible odds, and climb to a mountaintop. We saw a pretty great one on Sunday as Tiger Woods captured the Master’s green jacket — his fifth. While I was traveling and didn't get to enjoy a favorite April Sunday tradition, lounging on my couch watching Sunday at Augusta, I followed Tiger Woods' move up the leader board through radio updates. ...

Intriguing numbers were released last week in a survey of Americans and our attitudes toward social media and technology. A survey conducted by NBC News and the Wall Street Journal indicate that, while we know it's bad for us, Americans just can't quit the dangerous habit of social media...

There are days I feel every single one of my 56 years old. There are days when fighting the constant drumbeats of a chief executive who calls those in my profession “Crazed lunatics” that have “given up on the truth,” and has dismissed what we produce as “fake news,” is enough to make me wave the white flag. I just don’t have the strength to enumerate the ways those statements are incorrect, dangerous and threaten our democracy...

I've watched the college admissions scandal unfolding in the media with equal parts revulsion and a resigned understanding of how it could happen. How money and influence can open doors closed to the more deserving but less flush with cash. How parents, overly invested in the optics of how their children look to the outside world, break the rules to ensure a picture-perfect family...

Folks who know me well understand I do love my holidays. Christmas, Easter, Halloween, March Madness. Yes, for this unabashed college basketball junkie, we are rolling into the most wonderful week of the year — the first rounds of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. I love the excitement. I love the hoopla. I love the story lines...

It's fitting that we are celebrating Sunshine Week in Iowa and around the nation March 10-16. After all, we "sprang" forward on Sunday, which added a little extra light into our lives. Sunshine Week celebrates the work done to protect First Amendment rights, and recognize the press's vital role in ensuring a free and open government. By doing so, journalists provide light on the workings of this great country...

It’s been a long, cold winter. I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time getting very excited about — well anything. It’s easy to get down about the state of the world when the world we’re looking at is encased in ice. However, I want our readers to roust themselves from their depths of winter-loathing, and think warm thoughts — warm thoughts about other people...

Raise your hands if you can remember waiting in a line in a school hallway in order to receive a vaccination from a school nurse with a clunky vaccine gun. Yup, me too. If I close my eyes, I can see the pea-green walls of my elementary school, and I can conjure up the anxiety that grew as I waited my turn for "the shot." As I recall, the anxiety was far, far worse than the actual shot...

Farm-raised, farm-grown and farm-proud. A part of me always needs to have a view of neat, rustling rows of corn and soybeans while looking out my kitchen window. I need to be able to walk out my door and pluck tomatoes ripe and warm from our big garden, and live in a place where fall brings with it apple boughs hanging low to the ground, laden with ripe fruit. ...

What kind of dreams do young Iowa girls dream as they sit on the sloping roof of a rural Iowa hog house and stare at the endless sky? It's hard to imagine that Michelle Johnson, Spencer native, retired Air Force lieutenant general, senior vice president of the National Basketball Association, and lucky for me, a friend, ever dreamed of the life she came to live when she sat on that roof and daydreamed...

I will be loading up and heading to Des Moines Wednesday morning for a three-day gathering of friends as the Iowa Newspaper Association kicks off its annual convention with board meetings of the association. It will be a milestone convention for me as it will mark the end of my decade-long tenure on the association's foundation board of directors. ...

According to the weather folks, it's gonna be a little chilly here in northwest Iowa for a couple of days. And by "a little chilly" I mean highs forecast in negative territory and lows set to hit the "Whoa, Nelly!" range. We knew it was coming. After all, we've been blessed with some downright balmy conditions thus far this winter, aside from a day here and there, like last week, that made us wish we had grabbed the hat from the hook before heading out the door...

January and February in my house is the time for baking, and braising, and crockpots simmering all day long. There's just something about below zero temperatures that sends me back to the cupboard of cookbooks. It must be genetic, as I have always associated the scent of soup in the air with childhood winters, and my son is also a wintertime chef...

I grew up in northwest Iowa. I married a northwest Iowa boy. I raised my son in northwest Iowa. I have found the people of this area to be kind, giving, fair, accepting and supportive. I love the country roads and friendly cities. There's an ease to life here off the interstate. ...

There is something about the turning of the page to a new year that makes me, and a lot of others, I suspect, instinctively reach for the broom. I want to sweep away a year’s worth of flotsam and jetsam in my house, my office, my life. There’s a reason retailers prominently place their totes, vacuums and other cleaning and organizing supplies in their stores in January. We seem to have an instinctual need to pitch as the year begins...

“Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.” ― B.C. Forbes Santa Claus came to town on Sunday, and instead of a sleigh and eight tiny reindeer, he was riding in big brown UPS trucks and huge Spencer fire trucks...

What a difference a day (or four) makes. Last Monday, I was pretty blue. Our Holiday Family Adoption program was running behind. With 22 families yet to be selected for adoption, I worried that this might be the first year in my tenure that we didn't get everyone taken care of...

Waking up Saturday morning to news of the passing of George H.W. Bush sent a pang of sadness through me. While I may not always have agreed with his policies, Bush was a reminder of the "good old days" of politics. He became, particularly after his retirement from politics, a beloved figure in our country...

Saturday morning, I took advantage of the gorgeous weather and sunshine to celebrate Small Business Saturday with an excursion to chip away at my Christmas shopping list. What a great day! What a great vibe permeated up and down Grand Avenue as I strolled from shop to shop...

I was watching a news show on Saturday morning, and an etiquette expert weighed in on the appropriateness of decorating our homes for Christmas prior to Thanksgiving. She said it's just not done. Well. I do it. While I used to put up my tree and deck the halls the weekend after Thanksgiving, last year I did it a week before. I had time. I had ambition, and an extra week or two of glittering lights and sparkling ornaments did my cold heart good...

I’ve been a fan of “Saturday Night Live” since it was my slightly-risque late-night television viewing of choice as a preteen back in 1976 when it debuted. It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. It was bawdy, timely and rip-roaringly funny. It launched stars and introduced comedic geniuses and musicians to the world at large. It also propelled cultural touchstones into the universe...

Public Service Announcement: This column is being published on Tuesday, Nov. 6. That means its Election Day. If you haven’t yet voted — do so. Now. Before you read this column, which is about the holiday season, and Christmas, and things you can deal with tomorrow...

It’s easy to understand why some folks would just like to hide under a rock for the next week or so. No robocalls from candidates, no hysterical television ads with words like “Liar,” “Cheat,” and “That’s just not true” in the most horror-movies typefaces available interrupting your viewing of that “Fixer Upper” rerun. No news stories of pipe bombs sent to our leaders, former leaders and news media...

You have to forgive those folks around the office with the faraway look in their eyes, and a slight smile on their faces. They are just daydreaming of what they would do if they won the record-breaking Mega Millions jackpot tonight. With an estimated $1.6 billion (I want to put my pinkie by the side of my mouth like Dr. Evil when I write those words) at stake, dreamers from coast to coast are putting down their $2, picking up a ticket and buying their chance to dream...

It was with a twinge of regret, and the acknowledgment of the passing of time, that I read Monday morning that Sears was declaring bankruptcy. This woman of a certain age has many memories of that stalwart middle class shopping mecca. You could get everything from tires to prom dresses at Sears and, you only need to drive down a few Spencer streets to see that at one time you could buy your home from Sears. ...

There’s a lot of talk in the media recently about “tribalism” in American politics. Reporters describe the Supreme Court selection as a form of tribalism, where votes are cast not on what individual senators think about a nominee but on what the party leadership, the head of the “tribe” proscribes for them...

I was thinking about birdies yesterday afternoon as I watched the Tour Championship golf tournament. Not the golf birdie, which signifies a score of one stroke below par on a hole. My mind went to a more esoteric kind of bird — the mythical kind. The winged creatures of two myths were top of mind as Tiger Woods took his 80th golf tournament crown — Icarus and the Phoenix...

I recall a news item published a couple of months ago about the traveler who was refused boarding on a United Airlines cross county flight with her “emotional support peacock” as a traveling companion. Now, there was great hue and cry over the denial, and scoffing from those on the other side of the fence. Therapy animals have become a common sight, and the emotional benefits of pets are widely accepted...

The Clay County Fair always has me feeling nostalgic, and sentimental. A walk through horse barns takes me back to those days, eons ago, when it housed cattle, rather than equine competitors. I close my eyes and I can picture myself, aged 12, filling feed buckets and brushing the tawny coat of my entry in my very first Clay County Fair...

How did it happen? I closed my eyes in May, and suddenly September is here! Summer raced by on balmy winds and breezes scented with lilac and morning dew. We are lucky here in Clay County. The melancholy that can accompany the end of the lazy summer days is mitigated by the knowledge that we have nine days of fun to ease us through the transition to fall...

I came home Sunday night from an eventful weekend spent in the big city, (well, Des Moines which is as big as we Iowans get) visiting my son. It's a trek I make often, for work and for play. As a young girl, I dreamed of living in a big city, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of people living their lives cheek to jowl with one another...

You reap what you sow. I thought about that admonition the other day as I was out in the garden, so lovingly sown by my husband. He's the sower in our family, and the tender of the crops. He hands off much of the reaping and dealing with the fruits of his labor to me. Our tag-team garden method has worked well for a long time...

I was unexpectedly touched, and moved to tears by a Facebook post I saw on Sunday. Jen Hatmaker, a social media force and wife of a pastor in Austin, Texas, shared pictures and the story of how their congregation descended on the cities' Pride Celebration March to share something very simple - and very needed...

I could tell my niece was feeling a bit blue Sunday evening. She has recently packed up her bags, her sofa, her boxes of baking supplies and tons (I mean tons!) of books, and headed west. After eight years of working and building a family of friends in Omaha, she was chasing a long-held dream of living in the mountains in Colorado...

Like many of you, I suspect, I spent the past few days reveling in Mother Nature's benevolence. With puffy white clouds dotting the sky, cool evenings, humidity in the low 40 percent range and highs in the upper 70s, these were the kinds of days we dream of...

It’s hard to believe it’s been less than a decade since I first signed up to be a part of the Facebook Nation. Back then, in 2009, I had listened to my nieces and nephews talk about posting things on a new social platform. They said they saw friends’ vacation photos, and noticed someone else had a new beau (They didn’t say beau, that’s an old person term)...

It’s mid-July, prime time for summer vacations. Folks are packing up the family truckster and hitting the road. Our Facebook feeds are filled with photos of sunburned cheeks and milewide smiles snuggled up to waterfalls, holes in the ground, and the World’s Largest Ball of Twine...

As I drove away from my “undisclosed remote vacation destination” on Sunday morning, my phone, which had been blissfully disconnected to the outside world for the most part, began “chirpping” and “tweeting” and lighting up with a few days worth of backed-up communications...

"Don't ever forget that you're a citizen of this world, and there are things you can do to lift the human spirit, things that are easy, things that are free, things that you can do every day. Civility, respect, kindness, character. You're too good for schadenfreude, you're too good for gossip and snark, you're too good for intolerance. ..."...

Generally, in my position as publisher of The Daily Reporter, I withhold any comment on local editorial pieces we publish on our opinion pages. My staff has their photos and names attached to their opinions pieces. The thoughts included are their own. The opinions are their own...

In a world where speed and convenience is prized, where we expect to be entertained day and night by devices feeding us a constant diet of “stuff,” there is something to be said for taking a step back and taking a break from the information superhighway for a spell in the slow lane...

“Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: To know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom ... is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.” —Anthony Bourdain The death of designer Kate Spade, by suicide early last week, made me sad. The shocking news on Friday morning that chef, writer, television star and all-around raconteur Anthony Bourdain had also succumbed to the same manner of death, shook me even more strongly...

Spencer's annual citywide welcome to the summer season — Flagfest — is set to gear up this weekend. Started 36 years ago by a group of city boosters, Flagfest has settled into "tradition" territory quite nicely. It's changed and morphed over the years — with locations of events moving around the city, and events coming and going. But the core of the festival has stayed, blessedly, the same...

The Memorial Day holiday just passed marks the beginning of summer vacation season. Immortalized in the classic comedy, "Vacation," road trips are one of the most popular ways to get away from the 8 to 5 routine, connect as a family, seek adventure, and play the license plate game...

We joked, as winter overstayed her welcome, that we were likely to skip right over spring and head straight into summer. Well, with the Memorial Day weekend around the corner, that seems to have happened. Wasn’t it only last week the ice went out in the Iowa Great Lakes? Come Saturday, those blue waters will be filled with colorful boats. Grand Avenue in Spencer will be in its summer holiday gridlock as trucks hauling boats, and campers packed to the gills will race like geese, north to summer...

Dear graduates: While it's been a long (long, long) time since I was in your shoes, ready to graduate from high school, my memories of that time remain. I was excited and a little anxious; impatient for the next chapter to begin and strangely nostalgic for the life I was preparing to bid adieu. I was, in short, a bundle of mixed emotions — all laying very near the surface of my skin...

I’m a big fan of the "behind the scenes" heroes. The folks who just see a need and fill it. No fanfare. No need for applause. No lust for the spotlight. Just shoulder to the wheel and head down, they gets things done. So, it makes sense that I'm a big fan of our newest Citizen of the Year...

In these days of tribalism, with groups of Americans divided among lines of race, politics, gender, I've been doing a lot of thinking about my own beliefs. Why do I feel the way I do about issues? How do these beliefs color my choices — of literature, media, friends?...

Ah, spring. Welcome back, we’ve missed you! The warming sun has done its best to erase the snow that blanketed our ground just a week ago, and the plump robins are tweeting away from the trees outside my home. The squirrels have been dragging out the corn cobs they nibbled on through the cold days, depositing them around my driveway, stripped bare reminders of cold days past...

As a young bookworm, I loved to immerse myself in the pioneer life of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Her “Little House” series of books chronicled her growing up years in Minnesota and the Dakota Territories. I thought about those books on Saturday as I wandered, lost, around my chilly, dark house, as the winds howled and the snow flew ... and my power remained off...

I have a sneaking suspicion I wasn't the only person lounging on my couch this weekend, as the snow swirled outside the windows, watching the Masters golf tournament. I am also fairly certain that there were a good number of those folks who were watching the tournament mainly for the shots of green grass, flowering shrubs and folks in short-sleeve shirts. The bucolic chirps of the birds just added to the image of warmth and spring...

Back in the Cold War days of my youth, we often heard about the Soviet party line being touted in Pravda, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The paper served as the mouthpiece of the Soviet leaders, and facts took a back seat to the message the party wanted to convey...

On Saturday, as the wind howled and I was homebound, I spent a lot of time transfixed to television coverage of the March For Our Lives, organized by student survivors of the mass shooting at Margory Stoneman Douglas High School. The National Mall, a spot perfectly designed for gatherings of citizens with something to say, was a sea of humanity — young and old; black and white; gay and straight. ...

It's in my basement, under my bed and in and on my mind these days. I've reached an age where I spend more time trying to clear things out than with accumulating more stuff. Our parents are passing away, or moving into smaller homes. With that comes the clearing and sorting of their belongings. ...

When a friend of mine, also in the news business, said the Steven Spielburg film, "The Post" had made her cry, I was incredulous. How could a movie recounting the battle between the Washington Post and President Richard Nixon over the publication of the Pentagon Papers be classified as a tear-jerker?...

It's become an early spring tradition, as certain as the sun. March rolls around and I write my column imploring people to get on the stick and nominate worthy Spencer residents for the Citizen of the Year award. Hey, I understand procrastination — after all, I'm a journalist and we love deadlines. ...

William the Conqueror, after the Norman Conquest, divided the land under his control into manors. His Norman barons who had been loyal to him were rewarded with these lands. For generation after generation, the land, along with a title, was handed down to the eldest son of each family...

Another day, another massacre at the hands of a maniac armed with a heart full of darkness and a high-powered, semi-automatic firearm. Columbine. Aurora. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook. Las Vegas. Parkland. The list seems to roll on and on. Innocent lives taken. A nation shaken by the evil. Families distraught...

No doubt you regular readers of The Daily Reporter picked up your Monday edition and had to do a double-take to ensure you had the right publication. The Daily Reporter sported a brand new, bright and bold front page look. Inside too, subtler changes, in headlines, page headers and typeface. It is a new face to a tried and true product...

I recall speaking with an honoree at our Citizen of the Year reception a few years ago. I asked him if he had enjoyed the event. His reply made me laugh, but it also seemed appropriate. "It was great. Everyone said such nice things. It was like being at my own funeral, without actually being dead."...

One by one they approached the podium. One by one, they stood tall, proud and angry. One by one, a parade of tiny, impossibly tiny, young women came forward and stood down a monster. One by one, these women, long-honored for their athletic skill, showed they are so much more than back-handsprings and vaults...

I remember pretty clearly the early days of the internet. This new technology would revolutionize the way humans lived. We would be able to share knowledge and communicate easily with those a world away. The internet would bring people together. The internet seemed like a game-changer in the human experience...

On Saturday morning residents and visitors to Hawaii woke up, as usual, in paradise. That heaven on earth quickly became a nightmare as cellphones beeped, and disembodied voices came over the television to warn of an incoming ballistic missile. Suddenly, folks who were dreaming of lounging by the Pacific, umbrella drink in hand, were faced with the unthinkable. What to do when you may have only moments to live?...

When the Christmas tree is taken down and winter has settled in for what seems like a never-ending stay, it’s easy for me to get a bit down in the dumps. Spring is a dream, and the reality is wind chills and snow shovels. But, every four years there’s a respite from the February blues. There’s something that makes even a winter-hater like me applaud the snow...

hi·ber·nate verb (Of an animal or plant) spend the winter in a dormant state. Synonyms: lie dormant, lie torpid, sleep; overwinter "bears hibernate in winter." (Of a person) remain inactive or indoors for an extended period. "The pilots who have been hibernating during the winter months get their gliders out again."...

As we roll out of bed on this day after Christmas, rubbing our eyes to clear them of those visions of sugar plums that had filtered our sight the past few days, we reflect on time spent with loved ones, laughter, and the very real need to count our calories for a while in the coming days to make up for so much glorious food...

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. ...

My grown-up Christmas list Dear Santa: Well, it's that time of year again. You're putting finishing touches on toys for good girls and boys and preparing your sleigh for that long journey around the world. I understand that your main focus is on the young ones, but I wonder if you will indulge this "not so young" woman who has some requests this year...

I spent the weekend up to my elbows in flour and sugar; babies and laughter; stories and hugs. It was a family bonding, Johnson girls holiday baking weekend. Flush off the success of a fall getaway for just girls, we inaugurated the holiday baking event this year as well. We focused less on wine and glitter and more on caramel and chocolate...

As we were traveling over the river and through the woods to grandmother's house this past weekend, the radio in the car was tuned to one of the 24-hour Christmas channels on the subscription radio lineup. We sang along to old favorites, as well as giggling through appallingly bad modern renditions of classics. It was fun to see that there are some things that transcend the generations — "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch," is one of those things...

I decorated my tree this past weekend. I decked the halls, too. Traditionally, those tasks are done the weekend after Thanksgiving at my house. Family obligations will mean we won't have a chance this year and, instead of waiting an extra week, I opted to open the season early. After all, I'd rather have an extra week of basking in the soft glow of a brightly-lit tree. When the days get shorter and nights long, there's nothing like the festive lights of a tree to brighten my spirits...

I have a blister on my thumb. And one to match on my index finger. It must be the Christmas season. Fellow holiday crafters will nod their heads in agreement when I say blisters are a predetermined outcome of utilizing an essential crafting tool — the hot glue gun. ...

I freely admit it — I'm Christmas crazy. If my husband wouldn't revolt, I'd have the tree up and decorated now, the holiday tunes on low in the background, and artificial snow falling lazily outside all my windows to create the perfect Christmas ambiance. I have multiple decor themes to choose from, and rotate them depending on my mood each year...

Tired of the gray, chilly, windy weather? Depressed by the current political state of our nation? Have the blues thinking about the uncertainty in the insurance markets? Well then, while there is so much fertile ground to till in the over-heated world of Washington politics — particularly this week — I'm going to give you what you need — a feel-good story to lift your spirits, warm your hearts, and make you happy to be alive...

I have come to an age where I am often seen as an "elder stateswoman" in terms of my career. I started in the newspaper business at a time when stories were typed on a Smith-Corona (I got mine as a high school graduation present), then reset using a Compugraphic machine. ...

I've written in the past about our messy, broken world. About how hard it is at times to see the positive when wave after wave of heartbreak seems to break over us, and people are blinded by divisions. It's enough to make you lose hope. Tragedies big and small conspire, sowing seeds of doubt and despair...

"October, baptize me with leaves! Swaddle me in corduroy and nurse me with split pea soup. October, tuck tiny candy bars in my pockets and carve my smile into a thousand pumpkins. O autumn! O teakettle! O grace!" — Rainbow Rowell I'm a sucker for autumn. ...

Another Monday morning. Another story of horror. Another heartbreak for our country. This time it was a madman with murder in his heart and an assault rifle in his hands. As we all turned on our televisions Monday morning, we saw images of terror. And we see on social media that sides are being taken and madness is being politicized...

I'm a collector — of memories, photographs, meaningless items and of beautiful words that, when strung together, have the effect of an arrow to the heart or a symphony to the ear. Certain phrases are so wonderfully constructed that in a few short words a world can be created in my imagination. ...

I woke up on Monday morning groggy, with low-level melancholy dragging down my bones,and the faint perfume of a cattle barn wafting in from the entryway where I kicked off my shoes on Sunday night. The drum of rain on my home's tin roof and the gray scene outside my window matched my mood...

Sitting down at my computer, on 9/11, to write a story about catastrophe striking our nation, sure brings back memories. This time, the disaster we are facing is natural, not the work of terrorists, but the back-to-back hurricanes hitting our south and wildfires in the west still strike a blow to our hearts...

Can you believe it, the summer is over! And the Clay County Fair kicks off its 100th anniversary celebration this Saturday! Through my haze of jet lag and dealing with a garden overflowing with the bounty of September, I'm processing the arrival of fair, and all the fun that comes with it...

There's a bittersweet tinge to the back-to-school excitement this year. I'm in that middle-of-life stage of being too old to have a child in school and too young to have grandchildren heading off. Seventeen years of "first day of school" photos in front of the apple tree in our yard are done, the photos packed carefully away in a box. I smile as I peek at the shots of friends and family sending their little ones away...

Terrorism came to our shores again this past weekend. A rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, turned deadly when a white supremacist who was characterized as a supporter of Nazism, turned his car into a weapon, mowing down a group of people holding an alternative rally against the hate groups. Nearly two dozen were injured and one woman was killed...

I was wasting some time, scrolling on Facebook the other night when I came across a shared post that made my heart break. A young father in Illinois was left trying to pick up the pieces of his shattered life after a horrific car accident claimed the life of his pregnant wife and three young sons...

I always feel a tinge of sadness when I see the aisles of school supplies replacing the flip flops and sunscreen in area stores. How can summer be over? It's impossible. There is far too much left to do — too many ice cream cones to eat and rivers to float down. Too many barefoot days and firefly nights...

Hey, Spencer — ya did good! Months of preparation, endless calls for volunteers, an enthusiastic and untiring committee, and the goodwill of our community all came together for one heck of a welcome to the thousands of bicyclists from around the state, nation and world who made a "one night only" visit to our town...

Spencer is used to welcoming crowds to our city. After all, every September we host the biggest and best county fair in the Midwest. Our community just seems to expand effortlessly every year, putting out the welcome mat for those 300,000 visitors. This Sunday, we're going to see a similar influx, as RAGBRAI rolls into town for an overnight stop. Instead of trailers hauling livestock, it will be bikes flooding our streets...

I went over for a short visit with my parents this past weekend. While it's always nice to spend some time with Mom and Dad, I had a mission — to find photos of my grandparents to be displayed at the wedding of my nephew this weekend. My parent's home is the archive for our family. ...

We're less than a month away from hosting a great, big slumber party here in Spencer. Thousands of folks, from all around the country and all around the world will descend on our community as RAGBRAI rolls into town. This is an amazing opportunity to showcase our city. Who knows how many business leaders, entrepreneurs, young folks with families and recent college grads looking for a place to start out are along on this ride?...

One of my very first memories as a child is of sitting on my father's knee, singing along to the 1966 Eddy Arnold song, "Make the World Go Away." The silky smooth tones came from the console radio/stereo record player that had a place of honor in our home. ...

American workers — we have a problem. It’s a problem that’s hurting our productivity, our health and our career progress. The problem? We aren’t taking enough time off. Really. Multiple studies show the negative effect to employees and workplaces when folks don’t use their vacation time to unplug, walk away from the office and relax...

While Memorial Day has passed, somehow, for me, summer doesn't really get rolling until we celebrate Spencer's own summer party — Flagfest. I'm looking forward to another great weekend of red, white and blue fun, starting on Thursday night with a favorite native daughter of the region, Shawn Mayer, who will be playing the greenspace at Gary's on the River in a SPARC concert that's bound to kick off the events with a bang! I'd encourage everyone to head over to the Spencer Community Theatre or The Bear to buy tickets to the show. ...

As someone who has made a living for the past 30-plus years, stringing words together, stacking paragraphs upon one another, it's no surprise that the power of words is something I've always appreciated. The greatest thinkers of history have understood that. The giants of the ages have known the virtue of a well-chosen word. They also extolled the wisdom of staying silent...

Every year, as Memorial Day approaches, I consider my summer options. It could be due to my role putting together our Explore Spencer magazine which focuses on activities and events in our area. I'm always astounded by the sheer volume of things to do within a 30-mile radius of my home...

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." — Ferris Bueller Hey, you. You with your hunched shoulders and eyes glued to the screen in front of you. Stop it. Stop it right now. This is your graduation week. It's kind of a big deal. Take it from me, in the years to come, your mind will wander from time to time to these days, the ones you are living in right now. You will feel nostalgia for old friends, fun times...

I got a text wishing me a "Happy Mother's Day" this past Sunday. I laughed and realized again a hazard of being the mother of an only child — and a son at that — there's no one else to remind him of life's important dates. Or to tell him he's got that date wrong...

With his distinctive voice and trademark bucket hat pulled over his head, it's hard to miss Del Brockshus. For area residents, who have depended on Del's commonsense horticultural advice, he's an institution. For Clay County citizens, who benefitted from nearly a quarter century of his service as a county supervisor, he was a supporter of the public's voice in county affairs. For those who utilize the services of the newly-created Autumn's Center, he is a steadfast supporter...

Like beautiful exotic birds, with colorful plumage and bright-eyed optimism, the photos jumped off the pages of my Facebook feed on Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Young people you remember as toddlers shined up like a new penny, suddenly, unbelievably, nearly grown...

The robins are back, browsing the buffet of worms that is my front yard. Pickings are good, judging from how portly these harbingers of spring appear. My windows are open throughout the day, with the scent of greening grass wafting through a winter-stale home...

I have a secret to share. It's nothing scandalous, and I have a sneaking suspicion it's more common than we'd like to believe. Like lots of women in today's society, I've been carrying around an extra load, and it's not the extra dozen pounds that have made themselves comfortably at home around my midsection the past decade or so...

While basketball fans were awaiting the final game of the 2016-17 season which was played last night, for other sports fans, a long winter was over, and a hallowed day arrived on Sunday. Major League Baseball's opening day. A high holy day for those who worship the game, opening day brings with it a fresh slate, high expectations, and a giddy dream of a race for the pennant. ...

While I'm loathe to admit it, I am no longer a young woman. While the spirit is willing to do lots of crazy things, the body is weak. The creaking knees and sciatic pain are a fact of life. I've been working hard over the past few years to minimize the toll age and a desk job take on my body. I've been religious about twice-weekly training sessions, but I will admit that I falter when it comes to getting in my daily cardio exercise...

While a Greek philosopher said those words around 500 BC, they ring as true today. As much as we would like things to stay just the way they are, for a perfect moment to be frozen in time, it never happens like that. Days pass, things change. Parents joke that they want to keep their babies little. Coaches want to hold on to winning teams. Gamblers want the hot streak to last forever...

It's fitting that we are celebrating Sunshine Week in Iowa and around the nation March 13-19. After all, we "sprang" forward on Sunday, which added a little extra light into our lives. Sunshine Week celebrates the work done to protect First Amendment rights, and recognize the press's vital role in ensuring a free and open government. By doing so, journalists provide light on the workings of this great country...

While I probably don't hit the mold of a "typical" March Madness addict, my family will quickly set you straight. For the next month, beginning with conference tournaments this week, through Selection Sunday, and onward to April 3 in Glendale, Arizona, I am as rabid a fan as you will find...

It started out simply enough, as these rabbit holes often do. I had a blank spot in my entryway. A large mirror hung on the wall, but the space below cried out for a narrow console table. That realization led to the first dangerous foray — into the world of Pinterest. I scanned design sites looking for just the piece that said "Me — I'm your table." Alas, like the bed in “The Princess and the Pea,” one was too big and one was too little. None were just right...

Man, it’s easy to get depressed about the state of the world when you turn on the television or look at a national magazine or newspaper. Yes, we have challenges. Yes, our nation is more polarized and openly angry than I can ever recall. Yes, we are on edge...

My father, whom I adore, was honored Sunday night by a livestock association he is a member of, with a prestigious award. That surprise honor meant my mom, siblings and I trekked to Des Moines to help commemorate the night. For me, it was the fourth trip to the capital city in two weeks...

You have to excuse community newspapers if we’re feeling a bit under attack these days. We have a president who assails us with a bombardment of “alternative facts” and deriding statements. We’ve got an Iowa High School Athletic Association which sold out all local media (and by extension, the coverage of student-athletes) for $60,000 per year...

There's a phenomenon I experience every year come mid-to-late January. I call it my "travel dreams" time of the year. I quite literally dream of trips to exotic locations as I sleep,and when I wake, I daydream of jetting off to parts unknown. I think about learning a new language. I leaf through guidebooks to Umbria...

A new phrase entered the American vernacular on Sunday morning — “alternative facts.” Uttered by Senior White House Advisor Kellyanne Conway in response to queries by Chuck Todd, NBC News political director, the phrase was soon trending on Twitter as the public began to digest its import...

The breathless anticipation. The overheated rhetoric. The graphics! Oh, my goodness, the colorful graphics blazing across my television screen. Inauguration? Nah, the Icepocolypse of 2017. Since last Thursday, our senses have been bombarded with ever-more-intense discussions of Winter Storm Jupiter and its anticipated devastation of northwest Iowa. ...

Saddest day of the year in my house? The day I take the Christmas tree down. Which is why it remains, lights on, shining in the corner of my living room. Judge me if you want, but I am just not ready to let go of the singularly comforting glow that comes from a decorated tree...

There was a tug on my soul as 2016 wound down, a melancholy ache for younger days and a mourning for days past. The end of 2016 saw me in an introspective mood, and the loss of two old friends this past week was another nudge into thoughts of days gone by. An old tune, by Al Stewart, played through my head:...

In a thoughtful piece I read over the weekend, poet and novelist Jay Parini discusses the vital importance of the Christmas season to all of us, this year more than ever before. The biblical message of peace, inclusion and racial equality strike a chord in a year filled with anger, mistrust, and division...

"Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world, I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow Airport. General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. ...

Tis the season ― for the Christmas letter. You know, the year-end recap of family life, tucked inside a Christmas card. For far-flung friends, it's a way to keep up to date with growing families and milestone events. It's a tradition that is equally reviled and adored. I fall on the "adore" side of that fence...

The tree is trimmed, the stockings are up. There's tinsel in my hair and carols on the stereo. It's the most wonderful time of the year. The Christmas gift list I carry in my bag at all times is whittling down nicely. It seems I'm ahead of schedule in my Christmas shopping, but I know that, on Christmas Eve, I will likely be running about the town, looking for "just one more" goodie to fit in a stocking. It happens every year, and it's part of the Christmas fun...

It's funny how actions, particularly during the holidays, morph from "just something we do" into treasured family traditions. I thought about that this long Thanksgiving weekend as my family put up and decorated the Christmas tree on Thanksgiving night...

In 1621, after a successful corn harvest, a band of immigrants who had arrived and established a home in a new land, had reason to celebrate. Only half of the passengers and crew who had made landfall in America survived to see their first spring in a new land. Thanks to helpful natives, they slowly adapted to life in the raw land. They learned to extract sap from maple trees, catch fish and cultivate corn. They grew stronger after that brutal winter...

I started a little project nearly a month ago, when the din and roar of a nasty election had everyone snarling and gnashing teeth at one another. I decided, instead of political posts on social media, I would embark on "21 Days of Joy." I did it because I was being drawn into the deep well of discontent and uncertainty and anxiety that negative rhetoric was creating in our country. I was internalizing the discord and divide. I wasn't sleeping well and I sure wasn't feeling well emotionally...

Despite the gloom and doom filling our airwaves these days, we are pretty darn lucky to be Americans living in the 21st century. We have, as Warren Buffett famously said, "won the ovarian lottery." We are free. Our children have open access to education...

A trip through local stores and shopping mall shows that while the weather is unseasonably warm, the holidays are around the corner. I got a notice from my satellite radio provider that the holiday-only radio channels start broadcasting this week. Soon the sounds of Nat King Cole will be reminding me of the upcoming holidays. And, a true harbinger of the season — the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel — have already begun airing...

I should say this quietly, so folks don't club me. "I'm not a baseball fan." Nope. I understand that it's "America's game." I understand it's universal. I understand that for many, baseball isn't a sport, it's a religion. I understand it's a risk to step out of the shadows...

I've written several times about my lifelong love of reading. From my earliest memories, books were constant friends, instantly taking me from my run-of-the-mill life into different lands, different times, different personas. I read it all — fiction, nonfiction, the dictionary. .....

There has been an awful lot of talk in our country about the death of good manners, civility and respect. We decry the lack of positive role models for our children. We shake our heads at the future of America. I have a solution -- maybe not for the entire country, but certainly for the young people who are involved -- 4-H...

There's nothing like October in the Midwest. Warm, golden days and chilly, crisp nights. Football on Friday night and some more on the weekend, and sweaters, cozy and comforting. I'm a big fan of October. Not too hot and usually not too cold. The hay fever that bedeviled me all summer long is tamped down by the first good frost. My birthday and anniversary both fall in these 31 days, another reason to celebrate...

A dear friend in the news business shared a great piece of editorial page writing last week. It encapsulated the feelings I've had for so long about the perception of the public and some in the political arena about our business. You've heard it. Someone railing about "the media," as if they were discussing a singular enterprise. ...

The Clay County Fair shut its doors Sunday evening after a very successful nine-day run. For all of us who grew up with the fair we know that re-entry to normal life is tough. We're tired. We are behind in our work. We have piles of dirty laundry at home. We are just so not ready to dive back into the workaday grind...

Like nearly everyone else around, (With a two-day gate admission of almost 120,000, everyone must have been there!) I enjoyed the opening weekend of the Clay County Fair. Even the weather did its part to ensure visitors had a great time. I'm always amazed at how the fair seems to be the dividing line between summer and fall in our little corner of the world...

I spent Labor Day weekend the same way I've spent it the past 15 years or so -- setting up the photography display in the 4-H exhibit building on the Clay County Fairgrounds. While the sound of hammers and the backup "beep-beep" of trucks unloading their goods outside is my background music, inside the building it's just me and a couple hundred photographs...

In his novel, "The Last Tycoon," F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, "There are no second acts in American lives." I would beg to disagree. I see inspiring second, and third, and fourth acts all the time. I see people who have rolled with the heavy punches life throws their way. I see curtain calls worthy of standing ovations...

In the news business, we are often called upon to write stories that cover tragic events, or pen news items about folks on the wrong side of the law. We get called out from our homes, cameras in hand, to take photos of a fire, or to report on an accident...

Youngsters are enjoying the last bittersweet days of summer, and evenings are growing cooler. The sunsets seem almost golden, hearkening to the harvest season just around the corner. So many of my friends on Facebook are describing the process of helping children move back to college or buy school supplies. Past that stage of life now, I've been thankful for the distraction of the Olympics this year to occupy my mind...

It's been the summer of our discontent for the nation. The political heatwave, pumped up with a side order of racial tension and general late summer malaise has put many of us in a funk. It's pretty easy to imagine moving to a remote island, with a few good books and no other people. The very word "politics" causes my temples to throb...