Opinion

Letter: Express coverage appreciated

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 11:03am

To the editor,

To all at the Monticello Express: I look forward to Wednesday’s mail delivery knowing that my Express will be in my mailbox. 

The information and articles are so well “Expressed” in words that make a reader feel that the reporter enjoys the topic or event being presented. 

Who’s watching city hall? In some places, nobody

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 11:03am

If it seems like the local news you read and watch doesn’t cover the breadth of issues, and doesn’t cover them as well as they used to, you’re not imagining it.

A new study details a shocking decline in the number of journalists covering local news today, compared to 20 years ago.

Letter: Help Monticello’s tree canopy by applying for Tree Board grant

Published by admin on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 1:13pm

To the editor,

Letter: Riverside Gardens is beautiful but could use more help

Published by admin on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 1:12pm

To the editor,

Congratulations to Monticello for their fine police force! 

A dew days ago I witnessed a delicate service call, and I was impressed by the calm, firm, kind and altogether professional way Officer (Brian) Tate handled the situation.

This a police force like that our community is well guarded! 

                                                     Thomas Funk

                                                           Monticello

Letter: Visit Edinburgh Pioneer Village Aug. 24

Published by admin on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 1:12pm

To the editor,

Jones County, lowa is rich in history from corner to corner, in all 16 townships. Right in the middle of the county is the Pioneer Village of Edinburgh and the site of the Jones County Historical Society.

Letter: Riverside Gardens is beautiful but could use more help

Published by admin on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 1:11pm

To the editor,

A couple years ago I became a gardener at Riverside Gardens. I chose to do this for a couple reasons, to lend a hand to a deserving organization and give back to the community. Riverside has been a great experience. 

As a gardener you are free to plant and tend to your garden. They do not dictate or nit-pick. If you need gardening equipment, hoes, rakes, and waste bins are on site and available for use. Water spickets are conveniently located making it easy to access a water source. 

Good fences aren’t always what make good neighbors

Published by admin on Wed, 08/20/2025 - 1:11pm

A month ago, my 87-year-old neighbor Donna had a stroke in my yard.

I was down on my hands and knees working in my garden. I glanced up to see Donna standing calmly above me. “We need to go to the emergency room,” Donna said, leaning on a cane, her leg stiff, the right side of her face drooping, her eye enlarging.

Some local officials just plow ahead with secrecy

Published by admin on Wed, 08/13/2025 - 2:41pm

Lyman Dillon resides in the dusty recesses of Iowa history for his role in 1839 in one of Iowa’s earliest infrastructure projects.

Dillon’s work also figures indirectly in a modern-day lesson on how not to run a government.

This how-not-to-do-it tutorial occurred last week during a Jones County Board of Supervisors meeting. A similar lesson is playing out in Storm Lake to a growing audience of discontented residents there.

Take some time to reacquaint with the classics

Published by admin on Wed, 08/13/2025 - 2:40pm

It’s amazing how fast a summer can go. As I sit here and think about getting my kids ready for going back to school, I always think about the grades they are entering and what I remember about those years. 

One of the things I remembered as I got older is that I would have to take classes I didn’t want to take and do assignments I wasn’t going to be fond of doing. I’m sure nothing has changed in the years since I went to school and students are still dreading the classes they have to take and work that does not fit their future wants or needs in life.

Iowa nonprofit seeks quality water for all

Published by admin on Wed, 08/13/2025 - 2:39pm

Across Iowa’s rolling fields and meandering streams, the question of water quality touches all who rely on the land — farmers, communities and wildlife alike. 

As concerns about nutrient runoff and sedimentation have grown, so too has the recognition that protecting our water resources requires collective effort and innovative thinking.

Subscriber Login