Spencer Daily Reporter: Opinion

Columnists

Paula Buenger

Paula Buenger >>

Randy Cauthron

One Man's Perspective >>

Jeff Hasselmann

Jeff Hasselmann >>

A bit of March madness (03/16/10)
They needed a research study for this? "Women are guilty of feeling too guilty." Yep, Spanish psychological researchers have found that while women feel guilty about, well, everything, men appear to be guilt-deficient. Now, I know that's a pretty broad statement, but the study says the sexes need a balance...

Iowa coach taking his licks (03/13/10)
Iowa coach Todd Lickliter seems like a wanted man. Hawkeye fans want him to leave. His players want him to stay -- it seems like it anyway. "I know that I came here to play for Coach," said freshman guard Cully Payne. "We've got a great, true foundation and we're excited for Coach, so we're kind of by his side the whole way. I speak for (the) freshman class and the whole team that Coach is our guy."...

One Man's Perspective: ACLU's sword of 'justice' (03/13/10)
A teenage girl in Mississippi won't be attending her high school prom this year. Neither will her classmates. This after the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit against Itawamba County Agricultural High School in Fulton accusing the district of violating the young lady rights...

Recognize those spark plugs in our community (03/09/10)
Look around our community. There's a new child care/preschool addition at the Spencer Family Y. The walls are up and the work is going on at a rapid pace at the Spencer Community Theatre. The Parker Historical Society is putting finishing touches on plans to remodel the former Johnston Automotive building on Grand Avenue into the Clay County Heritage Center...

One Man's Perspective: Lots happening (03/06/10)
A couple of major events in the next few days that you should consider checking out for entirely different reasons. Maybe it's the tendency of the slight warm up and the mild snow melt that's underway - but I'm feeling the urge to start getting out and about...

C'mon, get happy (03/02/10)
It's official. I'm SAD. OK, it's not official, since I self-diagnosed. And I'm not SAD, I'm just convinced I have SAD - seasonal affective disorder. In fact, I'm convinced there are a LOT of SAD people here in northwest Iowa these days. According to the Mayo Clinic website (If you're gonna self-diagnose, go the best, I say!) seasonal affective disorder symptoms include: depression, hopelessness, anxiety, loss of energy, social withdrawel, oversleeping, loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, appetite changes, especially a craving for foods high in carbohydrates, weight gain and difficulty concentrating and processing information.. ...

One Man's Perspective: Little picture makes a big impact (02/27/10)
There was no mass marketing campaign. We've been hearing about "Shutter Island" and "The Wolfman" for months leading up to their recent release. TV ads, previews in theaters, radio spots, large ads in major newspapers. And it worked. Viewers flocked to the theater for both and made the film producers and movie studios quite a bit of cash...

Looking a gift horse in the mouth (02/23/10)
I'm generally not one to go wading into the fray when it comes to issues of great comment on our website but, I'm afraid I'm gonna do it this time. Website readers have weighed in, and weighed in heavily, in opposition to the Spencer Library Board's plan to move ahead with a "Dewey-less" logo. And I've got to agree with them...

Olympic dreams (02/16/10)
It's Winter Olympics time and, for two weeks, millions of us are glued to the television to watch sports which, for the other three years and 50 weeks, we just don't think about. Bobsledding, for example. In my winter sports watching schedule, college basketball is on my mind. But, come Olympics time, I can't get enough of bobsledding...

One Man's Perspective: It's the little things (02/13/10)
I'm in the process of re-reading a magnificent book called "The Slight Edge." I've read it once before, but firmly believe that much like the much better known and widely distributed Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends And Influence People," this is a book that should be read at least once a year. As a matter of fact, both of these pieces of literature should be mandatory reading in the high school curriculum...

Activities of young people keep winter's cold at bay (02/09/10)
February is here. That darn groundhog saw his shadow, and winter is bound to stick around just a little longer. However, thanks to the young people in our community, things are going to heat up a bit over the coming weeks. With the athletic and dramatic events going on at a frenzied pace, there's no reason to feel the winter's chill. You could keep warm just by running from one event to another...

Warner MVP on, off field (02/02/10)
It's been 17 years since Charles Barkley infamously said in a commercial for Nike, "I'm not a role model." Why were we, as a people, shocked by that statement? After all, in the years since then, we've been inundated with stories of athletes behaving badly...

Junior Moment: Nostrils of nonhuman matter (01/30/10)
As the new writer here in town, I am not afraid of my "junior" status. In fact, before I came here, a fellow journalist in Osceola County commonly called me "Junior", which she said was short for "Junior Genius." I suspect it had more to do with the fact her tenure spanned nearly as many years as my entire life. ...

One Man's Perspective: Valentine's Day is just around the corner (01/30/10)
Times are tough folks. And with this economy, you've got to be looking to pick up any extra cash that's out there. Me, I'm always thinking -- what kind of service could I provide to the American people that would meet a need not already being addressed?...

Creepy concept adds to the 'full-service' hotel experience (01/26/10)
Somewhere in Great Britain there is a PR person who deserves a raise. The hotel chain of Holiday Inn, known here for its solid, if unexciting accomodations, has been in the news in England twice over the past two months for unexpected and provocative promotions...

One Man's Perspective: America to the rescue (01/23/10)
Over the years, Americans have developed tremendous hearts and very thick skins. How many times does the world spit in our eyes, decry our gluttonous and capitalist ways, besmirch the evil western culture - then turn to us every time mother nature gives them a smack down...

One Man's Perspective: Working to make our paper better for you (01/16/10)
It's awful early to be in such a state of transition, but that's what we are in the newsroom. Beginning Monday we will be welcoming a new staff writer to fill the desk that award winning writer Russ Mitchell occupied. Russ has moved on to take over the role of managing editor at the Dickinson County News - our sister paper located in Spirit Lake. ...

Remembering when winter was fun (01/12/10)
The winter of 2009/2010 will go down in the record books. It's been downright miserable. With over 50 inches of snow, and temperatures so cold you needed to take a second look at that thermometer to ensure it was correct, we've all endured a pretty rough go the past month...

One Man's Perspective: What's going on behind those doors? (01/09/10)
It's hard to see all the transparency behind the closed doors. I remember a certain political candidate who said during the 2008 Presidential campaign that his would be an administration of transparency. I understand that transparency only goes so far in government dealings. After all, there are matters of national security that require an amount of secrecy and covert behavior...

Battling life in the icebox (01/05/10)
Thirty-one below zero. That's what my thermometer said Monday after I had dragged myself out of bed, poured some scalding coffee down my throat and wedged open my eyes with some leftover holiday almond bark. I'm seriously rethinking the wisdom of living in northwest Iowa...

Holidays happy despite changed plans (12/29/09)
It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! -Grinch We all had plans for Christmas. Big plans, small plans, new plans, old plans. Mother Nature, however, had plans of her own. Christmas 2009 became the holiday of improvisation. ...