~by Colleen O’Brien My daughter and I were driving along a freeway in the middle of Ohio when we saw half a dozen extremely long buildings, a whole mile of them. Behind the windowless structures was what looked like a couple square city block’s-worth of a tightly arranged power plant of hundreds of energy clusters – wires, cables and towers surrounded…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
Whew!
~by Colleen O’Brien The past 20 months did me in. I was both hopeful and frightened about the Midterms—hoping for liberal seats taking over the Senate and House, fearful of the military and ICE at voting sites. At 5 am on Wednesday, Nov. 4 – with the vote count going on for up to two to four weeks in some…
Read MoreView from my window: Lost in translation?
November 1, 2026 Though written on Sunday night for timely submission, readers, me included, will be so grateful to be free of the constant barrage of political television commercials. I am ready for a Prevegen or seed corn ad. I hope you completed your civic duty and were able to cast your vote. I hope and trust we will move…
Read MoreHistory should change what we ask of the living
To the editor: A monument can tell us where to stand. It cannot, by itself, teach us how to listen. Your report on the Schoolboy Soldiers of Rippey monuments describes high school students taking an assignment about local Civil War history and helping transform it into something their neighbors can encounter for generations. What strikes me is not simply the…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: A new conversation about farming
Let’s face it. What politicians (Democrat and Republican) and industry lobbyists have been telling us for years has not been helpful to Iowa’s farmers. We feed the world! Be proud that Iowa is the number one producer in the nation of corn, pork, eggs, ethanol, and biodiesel and number two in soybean production! We will find new and expanded markets…
Read MoreLOST referendum: Accountability, transparency and long-term planning
~by Jefferson city administrator Scott Peterson As the November 3 election approaches, Jefferson residents will have the opportunity to vote on the future of the city’s Local Option Sales and Services Tax, commonly known as LOST. The proposed referendum would continue the existing 1 percent LOST and remove the current sunset date of June 30, 2027. Over the past several…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: Vote against LOSST renewal and removing sunset date
Dear Editor, “There is nothing so permanent as a temporary tax.” This brings up the Local Option Sales and Service Tax, LOSST. The extension of this tax will be voted on at the November 3 midterm election by the citizens of Jefferson. An affirmative vote will renew the tax forever, both renewing the tax and removing any sunset dates in…
Read MoreNorth spur of bike trail needs work – Local author donating proceeds of book sales to the project
~Janice Harbaugh/Raspberry Ridge Publishing The North Spur of the Raccoon River Valley Trail has some of the most beautiful scenery to be found on the entire trail. From Herndon to Jefferson, you travel through farmland, grasslands, rolling countryside, woodlands, the iron bridge with wind chimes over the Raccoon River, and a panoramic, gentle climb to Jefferson. Sadly, the North Spur…
Read MoreView from my window – Reflections of Sarah Turpin, mother of a schoolboy soldier of Rippey
The two, over 9 feet tall, the two obelisk monuments made from India black granite were released and shipped through the Strait of Hormuz to South Dakota. The names of the soldiers and teachers were inscribed there, and they have been shipped to Jefferson Monument Works for installation. They will be placed and dedicated this coming week at the Greene…
Read MoreDream on
~by Colleen O’Brien Things I wished for this morning during that Alpha period (commonly produced when first awake and transitioning from deep theta-wave sleep through an alpha-dominant state), coming out of a happy dream and not quite on this planet yet: That all the cooks and waiters walk off the job at the White House right before the Xi Jin…
Read MoreThe last straw
~by Colleen O’Brien President Trump has accomplished many dastardly actions in his 10-year takeover of the American media, its listeners and the country we live in that is a work in process of humans living together equably. Even during the four years Joe Biden was president, Trump was a daily pain in the heart, soul and brain of thinking Americans.He…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
~by State Senator Jesse Green This offseason, my goal has been to write a newsletter whenever I see a statewide topic mischaracterized on the campaign trail. My last newsletter, published a few months ago, focused on health care in Iowa and the dangers of certain misinformed beliefs regarding how our system is managed. Recently, affordability has become a dominant topic…
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