Opinion

When I was growing up, I was always interested in finding the most exciting shows on television. I just happened to be the right age and had enough free time to catch the early waves of animated shows and films being localized from overseas. While Japanese anime programming certainly had existed and been shared among enthusiasts in the U.S. ...

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...

Sunday morning was one of those God things. Normally on Sundays, our family attends Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Spencer at 10:30 a.m. Because Leah and I had offered to help with registration at the Love Takes Roots golf tournament fundraiser and had to be at Brooks Golf Course in Okoboji by noon, we decided we needed to attend an earlier Mass so we stopped at St. Jospeh's in Milford for the 9 a.m. service...

Gov. Kim Reynolds vetoed House File 732, which would have altered Iowa's cannabidiol program. The veto leaves Iowa's current cannabidiol law in place. HF 732 would have made several changes to 2016 law. The largest of which would be removing the 3% THC cap and allowing a person with a medical cannabidiol card to receive up to 25 grams of THC in 90 days. Patients would be responsible for managing their dosage in those 90 days and would be prohibited from receiving more in that time...

I went on eBay.com and bought a new USS John McCain baseball cap. I plan to wear it to honor John McCain who was a naval pilot shot down in Vietnam, captured there as a prisoner of war, who is a war hero, later becoming a profile in courage as a U.S. ...

Last week some people from our church were helping out at Lake Okoboji United Methodist Camp. We were cleaning, staining, painting, making fence, cutting down a tree, splitting wood and, well, I was accused of driving around looking busy while avoiding work but I was headed after supplies. ...

DES MOINES — Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig commented on the Iowa Crop Progress and Condition report released by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service. The report is released weekly from April through November. “There were 5.3 days suitable for fieldwork last week and farmers took advantage of the drier conditions to get nearly 98% of the state’s corn crop planted,” Naig said. ...

A bit of grooming and care will keep your flower gardens looking their best throughout the hot summer months and into fall. Remove the flower stems of salvias, veronicas and similar flowers as the blooms begin to fade. Use a pruner or sharp garden scissors and cut just above the first set of leaves or above the side shoots where new flower buds are forming...

Throughout its history, Iowa has been a place where women break barriers. Time after time, Iowa women have shown if they set their minds to something, work hard and believe in themselves, they can accomplish anything. On July 2, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Iowans ratifying the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. It granted women the right to vote...

Families and small businesses along the Missouri River have had their lives turned upside down by the flooding that occurred earlier this year. Recent weather has caused reinundation, hindering those who are working to rebuild their lives and communities...

Recently I had a flat tire north of Spencer on the truck bypass road approx 2 miles east of 71. This occurred around 5 p.m. on a Friday afternoon. I tried for 45 minutes to get my tire off but the lock nuts were “frozen” on the hub, I’m not very handy. ...

Medicare patients today, and everyone hoping for a cure for cancer or other catastrophic illnesses down the road, need help from Congress now. There is an upsetting proposal referred to as the International Pricing Index model to change how Medicare decides on reimbursement rates...

I would like to specifically direct this email to whomever decided to attack Delray Bredehoeft by publishing a ridiculous characterization of him standing in water holding leeks. I am personally offended that someone would portray such an upstanding member of our community in such a manner. ...

President Donald Trump’s first visit to the U.K. in 2018 brought out 250,000 protestors lining the streets voicing their disapproval. His June 2019 visit, luckily, coincided with heavy rain on Monday that decreased the number of protestors to only 75,000. ...

There's all kinds of things we can learn about life, from so many sources these days. The people who print "Our Iowa" magazine did a story on baseball recently. Part of their focus was the Field of Dreams, in Dyersville. They also singled out Bob "Rapid Robert" Feller, the Van Meter fast baller who is said to have noted: "That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is." How true. ...