~a column by Colleen O’Brien A brilliant idea has come to fruition. After three years of due diligence, committee work, discussion and grant writing, we have roof art in Jefferson for the enjoyment of Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower patrons; this was the original idea, to cover up the black tar roofs one can see from 14 stories up, high above…
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Branstad issues statement at end of long legislative session
The Iowa legislature concluded the 2015 session at 3:50 Friday afternoon after passing a $7.3 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The plan includes $7.17 billion in ongoing spending and $135 million in one-time payments from cash surpluses expected at the end of the current fiscal year June 30. School funding has been a point of…
Read MoreTo look or not to look; this is the question
~a column by Colleen O’Brien At least half the boxes in the basement have traveled with me for 35 years. They were born in Jefferson, added to in San Diego, carried to Nevada, now they live in Jefferson again. In those other places I never had to look at them because they were inaccessible; here, they live in an area…
Read MoreTree Tracings
Greene County Genealogical Society ~by Valerie Ogren Meeting notice: The next meeting of the Greene County Genealogical Society will be Saturday, June 6, at 10 am in the basement meeting room of the Jefferson public library. Elaine Deluhery will present a program on “Using DNA in your Research.” If you have done this testing, you are welcome to join in the discussion. The room is…
Read MoreConsumer alert: Calls to businesses, threaten to cut power
From Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller DES MOINES – Businesses across Iowa are reporting that criminals claiming to represent their local power company are calling and threatening to shut off their electricity unless they make immediate payment through a prepaid debit card.
Read MoreSanders speaks to enthusiastic crowd in Ames
~by Colleen O’Brien “We need a political revolution in this country!” said Senator Bernie Sanders. 2016 Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, Democrat senator from Vermont, spoke for 45 minutes Saturday to a crowd of 600 in Ames about the moral, political and financial issues facing the country.
Read MorePassing: I pass, she passes, we shall all pass
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I have returned to Greene County many times in the spring to the tidy repetition of planted rows of corn barely discernible in the sloping, rolling, wet black earth; to the lowing skies full of rain; to the barely leafed but fully blossoming flowers of crab trees; to the possibility of snow when one thinks…
Read MoreNaylor: Institutions like ISU are not working for ‘We, the People’
Highland Township farmer George Naylor, past president of the National Family Farm Coalition, addressed the Greene County board of supervisors May 18 about the board’s financial support of the defense of Buena Vista, Sac and Calhoun Counties in a lawsuit filed by Des Moines Water Works. The lawsuit alleges that agricultural drainage tiles are point source polluters and should function…
Read MoreDMWW notes formation of IA Partnership for Clean Water by Farm Bureau
DES MOINES, Iowa (May 14, 2015) – This week, the Iowa Farm Bureau helped form another political partnership to advance a paid public relations campaign, while Des Moines Water Works continues to operate its nitrate removal facility to keep finished drinking water safe for consumption. Des Moines Water Works remains committed to protecting Iowans interests by seeking the implementation of…
Read MoreLetter to the editor
Editor, I have been reading the school board minutes and it has come to my attention that a proposal has been made for the two school systems in Greene County to share a transportation director. I think this is a sound fiscal idea. It seems to me that this is also a good time to address the issue of transportation…
Read MoreDo you have difficulty committing to an apple?
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I just read the weirdest thing: “We know that in a convenience-driven world, a whole apple is too big of a commitment.” Wow.
Read MorePart-time clerk of court office could be result of House budget
Greene County residents could see reduced services at the clerk of court office depending on how the Iowa legislature resolves its budget gridlock. The legislature has returned for a 17th week in session – with legislators paying for their own meals, lodging and other expenses – as the Code allows for only 110 days of expense payments. An impasse on…
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