Opinion

Letter: I was depressed and began to seek God

Published by admin on Wed, 07/30/2025 - 3:47pm

To the editor,

Anyone who has encountered Jesus and is reborn (John 3:3), you will not

remain the same (2 Corinthians 5:17). Before I came to know the Lord, my overall personality was mostly negative. I was paranoid, anxious, fearful, impatient, insecure, jealous, judgmental, and an unforgiving grudge holder. I was selfish, cussed like a sailor and drank to fit in. I was justifying sinful behavior. I knew these things were wrong; I struggled to change.

Letter: Joe Biden’s subdued presidency much preferred

Published by admin on Wed, 07/30/2025 - 3:47pm

To the editor,

My friends who voted for former President Joe Biden are frustratingly stuck between his presidential accomplishments, his shoot-himself-in-foot moments since leaving office, and his recent cancer diagnosis.

Biden’s administration gave us the CHIPS Act to bolster’s America’s semiconductor manufacturing and research, the Inflation Reduction Act, and a bi-partisan Infrastructure Law. That’s a short list, but safe roads and bridges come in handy. They benefit everyone. 

Pay attention and find plenty of wasteful spending

Published by admin on Wed, 07/30/2025 - 3:46pm

Andy McKean is a charming country lawyer from Anamosa. He grew up in New York and was drawn to Iowa by his family roots.

He has owned a bed-and-breakfast, called square dances and played in a dance band named the Scotch Grove Pioneers. His tenure in the Iowa Legislature stretched for nearly 30 years, with an additional eight years shoehorned in as a Jones County supervisor.

Honesty on alcohol guidelines needed

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:13am

If U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is serious about making American healthy, he should include updating the alcohol consumption guidelines in the upcoming US Dietary Guidelines for 2025-2030. 

Names make it tough to ignore human impact of news

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:11am

One longtime truism of journalism is “Names make news.” 

That shorthand stems from the fact people better understand the significance and context of news when they learn about events and issues through the eyes and experiences of people they know or with whom they can identify.

Electric bicycles join horse-drawn buggies in Iowa Amish communities

Published by admin on Wed, 07/16/2025 - 8:42am

Buggyland will never be Buggyland again. The New Order Amish bishop has lifted the ban on bicycles and a wave of motion has washed over us all.

For a hundred years, both the Old Order Amish, the more conservative sect, and the New Order Amish, the more liberal, shunned cars and trucks, sticking solely to their horses and buggies. The Amish drove two-seater and four-seater buggies, one horse or two. They also drove carts with plexiglass enclosures during the bitterly cold winter months. Often, they rode bareback down the road.

My whirlwind start headlined by Great Jones County Fair

Published by admin on Wed, 07/16/2025 - 8:41am

Whew!

My first few weeks as editor of your hometown newspaper have gone by in a flash. I certainly anticipated working through some growing pains and having daily drinks from a firehose, but the days have sped by.

Letter: Great Jones County Fair not the same without auto racing

Published by admin on Wed, 07/16/2025 - 8:40am

To the editor,

 

When I was young, my dad would take us to the races at the fair on Saturday, the greatest day of the fair. The grandstand and hillsides were full of people from all over Iowa and surrounding area.

Rural hospitals will need Iowa’s help after ‘big, beautiful bill’ sets in

Published by admin on Wed, 07/09/2025 - 1:19pm

Now that Congress has sent the “big, beautiful bill” to the president’s desk, our focus needs to turn to how we handle the aftermath of its implementation.

     We already know that in Iowa, at least 20 rural hospitals are seriously threatened with closing and six are almost certainly gone. The problem is greater than hospitals closing or individuals being denied immediate, necessary medical care. The impact is going to be felt by the communities that are home to those medical care centers.

Businesses should reengage in the lost art of being open

Published by admin on Wed, 07/09/2025 - 1:18pm

When watching older TV shows or movies, it’s so funny to see things like businesses open after 5 p.m. and the

benefits we used to have of 24-hour stores. I know some of those still exist in places, but they are a lot less

common after the pandemic.

     I was watching a TV show called “Peter Gunn” from the late 1950s the other day,

and they had stores open at all times of night, including pharmacies, lawyers, barbers, florists, and more! I

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