At my house, 2021 has been the summer of the insurance claim. An ice dam on the roof that leaked into a spare bedroom started the ball rolling in February. We ended up replacing the roof, which was finished less than a week before a July storm pelted us with golf-ball-sized hail. The new roof ...
During Mass on Sunday morning at the Iowa State Fair, Father Ed Hurley paused in his homily to issue a warning: He said he usually tried not to talk about politics. That’s often a sign that what comes next is going to make some people mad. “I think we’ve gone overboard with this ...
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley took to Twitter last week to encourage all eligible Iowans and Americans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. “The Delta variant scares me so I hope those that haven’t been vaccinated will reconsider,” he wrote. It scares me, too. Iowa’s new COVID-19 ...
I read the April 9th North Tama Telegraph coverage of Union Middle Teacher Mark Hookham’s resignation and as a parent of two girls and a boy who had Mark as a Science Teacher, I was saddened by the district’s loss of a good teacher. Having two children the same age a Mark’s kids, I got ...
Bored? Not inspired? Have a hankering for something to do? Play card games. The oldest trick in the book. Grab a deck of cards, and everyone will have fun. No need for a fancy board with miniature game pieces which always go missing, or trying to keep track of the fake cash. None of it. Only ...
The seventh week of session was busier as many bills moved out of committee. Next week is the first funnel week of this legislative session, meaning all Senate policy bills need to be out of Senate committees in order to be considered for the rest of the year. This deadline will narrow the ...
In my last newsletter I reported on the use of the “Black Lives Matter” curriculum in the Ames Community School District (ACSD) and that the Government Oversight Committee would be holding a public hearing on the issue. This hearing was a result of parents in Ames contacting the Republican ...
The 89th Iowa General Assembly has begun. There is much the same as previous years of course, but much that is different as well due to the Wuhan virus. We continue to social distance, we are meeting in larger rooms, and we are taking care to minimize the number of meetings. What hasn’t ...
Dear Constituents, I hope this finds you all well and healthy. Our state has been through a number of unique challenges since my last newsletter and I am proud of Iowa’s determination to persevere and rise above the derecho and all the complications from the pandemic. The Legislature has ...
Letter to the Editor:This time of the year there's a lack of sleep for everyone at my house. Yes, daylight saving's time is one factor, but March through May is 'calving season' on our farm when our mama cows are due to have their babies. And as a cattle farmer that means getting up, putting on ...