Opinion

    I was asked to speak last week at the annual conference of the National Freedom of Information Coalition. My remarks boiled down to a simple message: The public needs more information *about* their governments, not more secrecy *from* their governments.

   I explained a troubling trend I see worming its way through local governments in Iowa. This trend cuts at the heart of the public meeting law that has served our state and its citizens well for 50 years.

To the Editor,

   Congratulations to the Jones County Supervisors and especially County Engineer Derek Snead after applying for, and receiving, a $5.4 million BIP (Bridge Investment Program) grant. The grant will be used to replace the Landis Bridge in rural Jones County that has been closed due to structural deficiencies.

To the Editor,

   In this season of Thanksgiving, we want to say thanks for your support for all the MMA (Monticello Ministerial Association) programs. You, this community, partnering with local churches and volunteers, help feed people every week. You provide the funds when someone is in need of a little help for utilities, rent, gas, or transportation. You, through MMA, provide assistance in getting the help people need to cope when life has to be too much. Thank you.

To the Editor,

   In Shakespeare’s play “Henry V,” the king is told, after the Battle of Agincourt, that the French have been defeated, suffering over 10,000 dead, while the English have lost only 29 men. King Henry V immediately recognizes that such an astounding result could only have been accomplished through the hand of God:

   “O God, thy arm was here,

   And not to us, but to thy arm alone

   Ascribe we all!... Was ever known to great and little loss