Opinion

While Thanksgiving is still a couple of days away, I will freely admit I jumped the gun a bit on my Christmas decorating. As the song says, “I need a little Christmas, right this very minute.” The pandemic is raging, nearly unchecked it seems, and for most of us, Thanksgiving is not going to look the same this year, with families like mine forgoing large gatherings, opting to stay in for intimate dinners. ...

It’s going to be a different Thanksgiving for many of us this year. Normally in my household, we’d be gathering with our children and significant others, grandchildren and several members of my wife’s side of the family to feast and enjoy fellowship as we take a day to reflect a bit on our many blessings. Traditionally we do it twice a year, Thanksgiving and Christmas...

As you prepare your landscape for winter don’t overlook the trees, shrubs and perennials you have growing in containers. These need a bit of extra protection to help them survive cold winter temperatures. The small amount of soil in container gardens does not always provide sufficient insulation. The roots are more exposed to temperature extremes than those of their counterparts growing in the ground. Extremely cold temperatures can damage or kill the roots and even the plant...

Mickey Baker has owned The Strand — our local movie theater — since the new releases starred Virginia Mayo. The Strand, naturally, is an icon here. More than a few of our long-lasting marriages in the area began with a first date there. Most of us have consumed more than our share of Raisinettes and Jujubes while watching Duke Wayne whip the bad guys. ...

I’ve visited houses where the walls are painted fun colors; cheery pictures hung. Carefree and whimsical fun-loving souls reside here. Some houses have shutters falling off, windows boarded up and gates chained and padlocked. These home dwellers are shut up and locked down. Well maintained yards, perfect trees and complementary architecture show these people are ordered and structured...

With the presidential election remaining in the news for last several days, now is a good time to review the important election reforms recently implemented in Iowa. These reforms ensure all legal votes are counted and only legal votes are counted. Over the last four years, Senate Republicans led on policies to provide security and protection for elections and voters in our state...

Monday's prime-time address from Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn't a terribly long message to Iowans, but I imagine the goal was to have the state's full attention rather than lose it during a lengthy speech. She told us that, where once it took our state about five months to generate 52,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, we're now racking up that many in just two weeks. ...

Selected article by Rev. Calvin Rigdon “In everything give thanks: For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you,” I Thessalonians 5:18. The scene of the first thanksgiving is a village of seven log dwellings. The logs have been cut in the forest a mile away and have been dragged, rolled, or carried to the site where the buildings were to be erected. ...

It's after Nov. 4. The president had promised that we would no longer be talking about the COVID pandemic because it would just go away after the election. Has any prediction ever been more wrong? COVID positives are up near 200,000 per day. At that rate the country in on track toward herd immunity without vaccines. ...

I'm not going to speak for anyone else, but these past nine months have been a trial for my soul. Losses, big and small; and heartaches of seismic proportions have buffeted my family, and countless others. And now we are heading into the holiday season with frightening case numbers in this slow-rolling disaster of a pandemic...

It was Greek physician Hippocrates (living some 400 years prior to Jesus), who is alleged to have said: "Desperate times call for desperate measures." I'm not sure he was looking ahead some 24 centuries, but his words ring true in 2020. When it comes to wearing a face covering/mask in public, we note the desperation in our governor's request, as well as in the urging of local, county, state and federal health officials. ...

I am writing to you as managing editor at an important business of our community. We are living in trying times not only for us as individuals but also for the businesses in our communities. During November 2020, Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide are endeavoring to share a positive message with all the businesses in their local communities. ...

I know the heartache when your candidate loses. But I don’t have a pink hat, coloring book or throw temper tantrums. I also do not show up with guns where votes are being counted or make veiled death threats to election officials. And I definitely don’t donate money to a lying, self-proclaimed billionaire, reality TV show host loser...

In this season of gratefulness, Grand Avenue Improvement Corporation would like to thank the city of Spencer and in particular, the Spencer Parks Department for maintaining the beauty of North Grand Avenue Boulevards all summer and fall. In contrast to many rural communities, Spencer has resisted spot zoning and has enhanced its city entrance with well-maintained historic homes and graceful boulevards. ...

Newspaper, television and radio often overflow with articles that slander and generate negativism toward our country. For those who might worry that this bombardment may promote and end to democracy as we know it, I say: Fear not, for this country was built by men like my father, many of whom gave their lives so all men might enjoy the benefits of democracy. ...