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Local Columns

On Nature: Birds warn of climate change

In olden days miners took canaries into the mine to give them an early warning if toxic gases were present. Now birds in the natural world are giving us a warning. Over the past 50 years, more than 60% of the wintering North American bird species have shifted their winter range northward, ...

Rural America needs investment in home construction repair

Communities in every corner of the country now struggle with a lack of affordable homes, an ailment long associated with fast-growing urban areas. I used to think that if the market would take care of any problem facing rural communities, it would take care of housing. If we could get jobs, ...

Dengler Domain: Summer Food

Certain foods only feel right during the summer. Gnawing on a hot dog in negative twenty-degree weather does not make sense. It’s best to enjoy the summer foods during the right time of the year, and there are only a few foods that truly matter. Watermelon is one of these foods. Have you ...

Dengler Domain: Farm

Last week, the North Tama Telegraph published an article about residents stopping Iowa Select Farms from putting up a CAFO in Tama County. The aura of building next to the homestead of the “Butter Cow Lady” was one reason it was doomed despite Iowa Select Farms receiving DNR approval. This ...

On Nature: Remembering the Passenger Pigeon

The last Passenger Pigeon died over 100 years ago. I would like to reflect on its passing with the eloquent words of Aldo Leopold, On a Monument to the Pigeon, Sand County Almanac, 1949. “There will always be passenger pigeons in book and in museums, but these are effigies and ...

Dengler Domain: Fourth of July

Fourth of July is close. A celebration of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. While it has become more about who makes the best burger, brats, or fireworks, it is the most important holiday. Without declaring independence, the United States of America would not have existed, nor ...

On Nature: Carbon Fee and Dividend

If we are ever going to stop the warming of the Earth, we must find ways to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. One proposal growing in popularity is to encourage the use of clean energy by putting a fee on the carbon emissions from fossil fuels. The collected fees would be returned to citizens ...