To the editor, As my husband and I have transitioned our farm to organic, the experience has been very rewarding, as well as quite challenging. Even though my husband has been farming for over 40 years, connecting to other farmers, to researchers, and to professionals has been an important aspect of this organic learning curve. To assist more Iowa farmers…
Read MoreCategory: Opinion
A gift to the people of Greene County
~an editorial by Janice Harbaugh The Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower, a gift from Floyd Mahanay and built over 50 years ago, has become a spot of joy to people of the county, musicians, and visitors since the bells actually became playable several years ago. The Bell Tower Community Foundation and the Greene County board of supervisors have been acting as…
Read MoreSnowbird says Covid exposure is due to someone else’s stupidity
Sad but true story. Mr. and Mrs. John Doe for some unknown reason decided to get a Covid test on Thursday, Jan. 21. They then went about their business doing all the activities available to them within the RV park, specifically the sewing room and the main hall, perhaps the swimming pool and, who knows what else. On Monday they…
Read MoreCapitol Roundup
~by Sen Jesse Green January 29, 2021 Greetings central Iowa friends and neighbors! This week at the Capitol was very exciting. I finally had the opportunity to push the “YEA” button to let your voice be heard. To keep building on the farm illustrations I’ve been using the past couple weeks, we are finally starting to ‘bale some hay’ here at the…
Read MoreAh, poetry
~a column by Colleen O’Brien We were warned that the presidential inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr. would be different, unlike other inaugurations. And they were right. There were hardly any people. This wasn’t because no one wanted to attend, it was the imperative to distance because of the coronavirus. The Biden Presidential Inaugural Committee managed it well. There were…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: M. Weaver opposes state funds for non-public schools
Dear Tori, I am writing to inform your readers about Senate Study Bill 1065 that allows “scholarships” for individual student choice of schools. These funds can be used for homeschooling with the funds going directly to the parents, charter schools, or private schools, all which allows tax payer dollars to leave Greene County Schools. Per pupil cost for Greene County…
Read MoreErnst statement on impeachment trial
U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) released the following statement after the House of Representatives delivered an article of impeachment against former President Donald Trump to the Senate: “Violence, no matter your party affiliation, is wrong. Destroying homes and businesses is lawlessness. A mob attack on the U.S. Capitol is inexcusable. The political rhetoric that has reverberated throughout this country for too long…
Read MoreThe Capitol Roundup
~by Senator Jesse Green January 22, 2021 Last week I talked about some of the unique things I experienced being a first time legislator. In the newsletter I referred to the reality of our situation at the Capitol with this being the largest Republican trifecta since at least 1970. To describe the situation I used the farmer illustration, “When the…
Read MoreWe can heal our divisions
~by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) January 20, 2021 Forty-six years ago this month, I swore an oath to the Constitution as a newly elected representative of Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District. Those were tumultuous times in our nation’s political history. President Richard M. Nixon resigned three months before the midterm elections that would determine representation in the 94th Congress. I was…
Read MoreI finally understand what ‘stooping to conquer’ means
~a column by Colleen O’Brien On the evening of President Obama’s first inauguration, Jan. 20, 2009, leading Republicans spent four hours in a high-end DC restaurant plotting how to waylay anything they could in the new administration’s plans. The dinner was reported by Washington Post reporter Jonathan Capehart on Aug. 10, 2012, and by Frontline on Jan. 15, 2013. The…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: G. and P. Naylor on protests, democracy and farming
To the editor, As we write this on January 18, a day to collectively remember the non-violent leadership of Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, we also recognize National Women Farmers Day in India where farmers are leading the largest protest in human history. Over 250 million farmers and farm workers are protesting, brought together through farmer…
Read MoreLetter to the editor: What would Floyd Mahanay think?
To the editor: On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, Americans across the country will unite to celebrate the Inauguration of President-Elect Joseph R Biden, Jr. and Vice President-Elect Kamala D. Harris. A website https://bideninaugural.org/ details arrangements for the Inaugural events. The FAQ provided by the Presidential Inauguration Committee (PIC, for short) states: “President-elect Biden and Vice-President-elect Harris will take their oaths…
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