The American Legion – Why you should belong

The American Legion is celebrating 105 years of service. Founded on March 15, 1919, the American Legion is the nation’s largest veterans service organization, committed to mentoring and sponsorship of youth programs in our communities, promoting a strong national security, and continued devotion to our fellow service members and veterans. If you’re a veteran, consider the below reasons of why…

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The View from My Window – My antidotes to anger

~a column by Mary Weaver ANTIDOTE: a medicine taken or given to counteract a particular poison. It appears that Jefferson and Greene County (and the nation) are experiencing an agonizing emotional polarizing poison over immigration and numerous other hot button issues. Both camps believe they are correct and are passionately pursuing their agendas. At the State of Iowa level, we have recent legislation…

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March -Women’s History Month

March 2024 has arrived. March brings the vernal equinox, Daylight Savings Time, St. Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, and Easter. Baseball, golf and track seasons begin for students. Gardens are cultivated and daffodils poke through the ground. March also brings Women’s History Month, a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society that has been observed in the United States…

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Letter to the editor – Our community has answered the bell for 25 years

This past November, the Rotary Club of Jefferson held its 25th  Annual Charity Auction and raised nearly $64,000 in gross profits. As the chairperson of that auction committee and a past president of the Rotary Club, I would like to thank all the sponsors, attendees, businesses, donors, and organizers for making the event successful. The Jefferson and Greene County communities…

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Securing Iowa’s valuable farmland

~by Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig One of my favorite days of the entire year is the Century and Heritage Farm ceremony that takes place during the Iowa State Fair. During the all-day event in the historic Livestock Pavilion, hundreds of multi-generational farm families, many in matching t-shirts, wait their turns to proudly walk across the stage to receive…

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Capitol Roundup

~by State Sen Jesse Green, R, 24th District Greetings from the Capitol. This week we debated and voted on various bills that survived last week’s funnel week. I would like to highlight SF2096 which repeals gender balance requirements for appointive bodies. There was a time that gender balance requirements had been seen as a floor for women. Evidence shows that…

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Caught in my own curiosity

~a column by Colleen O’Brien What is the solution to bombardment by the U.S. Press and its repetitive boredom regarding their love affair with the illogic of a self-loving mediocrity? Quit repeating him, Press. He is not news, he is reruns. He is not interesting, he is a broken record. He is not informative, for he is ill-informed. He is…

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Improving the lives of Iowans

~by Iowa House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst February 18, 2024 The Iowa Legislature hit the first deadline of session last week, known as the funnel, and it means we’re almost halfway done with the 2024 session. It’s no secret the first weeks of session have been marked by politics, frustration, and division. That’s because most of the bills brought up…

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The view from my window: Public libraries

Today (Saturday, Feb. 10) the Thomas Jefferson Gardens board hosted State Senator Jesse Green and State Representative Carter Nordman, during “Meet Your Legislator.” It was standing room only, with numerous Greene Countians and several from out of county present to hear Jefferson statesman, Rick Morain, pose constituency generated-questions to the elected leaders. The dialogue was videotaped, and I listened intently…

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Not a valentine

~a column by Colleen O’Brien I’ve been reading Elie Wiesel’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Night for the third time. It is a slim book, around a hundred pages, and old, published in 1972. It is the account of a 16-year-old Jewish boy surviving Auschwitz and Buchenwald with his father during Hitler’s reign as the murderer of as many Jews as he…

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