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Opinion

Heather’s Highlights: County Government and You, September 2025

Local Columns

Harvest is in full swing for my family and parents. I’m proud to be a 4th Generation Farmer. My main role is trucking grain to town and the grain bins in a semi, combining, and picking up repair parts. I’m thankful to have a small family farm and the opportunity to be a part of it. The ...

Dengler Domain: Soybeans

Local Columns

As it stands today, delivering a bushel of soybeans to Tama-Benton Cooperative would be $9.35. For farmers, this is probably below their cost of production. These soybean prices have been in the tank, and they appear to be staying there for the near future. The main reason prices are so low is ...

Q&A: Red Flags in Farm Economy

Editorials

Q: What red flags are catching your attention in the U.S. farm economy? A: As a lifelong family farmer, I understand Iowa farm families weather the storms of cyclical markets and natural disasters. Managing risk is central to the job. As harvest season gets into full swing, I’m keeping a ...

The importance of an updated family and consumer sciences classroom

Editorials

Union High School has a rich tradition of offering high quality, varied Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses. These courses include Agricultural Education, Business Education, Industrial Technology, and Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS). These classes are only possible with up-to-date ...

On Nature: Climate Choices

Local Columns

Recently, in less than a week, Texas, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Chicago, Ill. all experienced 1-in-1000-year rainfall events. Really weird. Moreover, this was not the only weird thing happening. Ocean currents are being altered, animal migration patterns of many birds and the monarch ...

Brass Tacks from Rural Iowa: The worst of the worst?

Editorials

Leading up to last year’s election, then candidate Donald Trump campaigned heavily on deporting immigrants on a massive scale. It’s something he’s followed through on, regularly claiming that his Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency would target “the worst of the worst.” ...

Grassley Awarded for Biofuels Leadership

Editorials

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a lifelong family farmer and member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, accepted Growth Energy’s 2025 “Fueling Growth Award” for his efforts to support biofuel production. “Homegrown biofuels are good, good, good. They’re good for lowering prices, good ...

Tree Talk

Local Columns

It may seem strange to plant trees in the fall, but fall is an ideal time to plant many varieties. It gives the roots time enough to get established before cold weather. They avoid soggy spring months and summer’s intense heat as they adjust to their new location. Most tree species can be ...