I want to thank express my sincere gratitude for the support you have offered me over the years. I leave with many memories to cherish. I really appreciate all the kind words, cards, calls and well wishes. As I look forward to a new life after my retirement, I will certainly miss the enjoyable time I have spent serving Greene…
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The Behn Report
~by Senator Jerry Behn (R-Boone) January 18, 2019 This week was the first week of the 88th General Assembly and the first week of the 2019 legislative session. We heard from Governor Kim Reynolds as she gave the Condition of the State, as well as speeches from Chief Justice Mark Cady on the judiciary and General Timothy Orr on the…
Read MoreLetter to the editor – David Weaver
To the editor: One year ago, I was in the midst of announcing my intention to be a candidate for the Iowa House of Representatives. It was an exciting time; I was daunted by what would be required and hopeful for the opportunity to represent Boone and Greene Counties at the Iowa Capitol.
Read MoreDream on
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I sit at the automotive place I have frequented after trying five different such establishments in my area over several years. I just learned I need a repair to my car to the tune of $499.78. The service manager has become a friend because I spent quite a bit of time in his place six…
Read MoreThompson sworn in to Iowa House
Rep. Phil Thompson (R-Jefferson) is pictured taking the oath of office in the Iowa House chamber as the 88th General Assembly kicked off Monday at the Capitol. During the session, Rep. Thompson can be reached at phil.thompson@legis.iowa.gov or through the House switchboard at (515) 281-3221. The swearing in ceremony of all 100 State Representatives begins a week full of ceremonies,…
Read MoreThoughts too depressing or short-winded for an entire column
~a column by Colleen O’Brien Odds and ends of ideas litter my desk at the beginning of each year. They are leftovers form the former year when, hoping they had potential, I could not bear to throw them out. I did learn, about the 10th year of column writing, that if I used them all in one column, I got…
Read MoreErnst’s statement on Trump’s Oval Office address
WASHINGTON – Following President Donald Trump’s address to the nation Tuesday evening, Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) issued the following statement: “Make no mistake: we have a humanitarian crisis as a result of the 60,000 illegal and inadmissible immigrants a month on the southern border. The President has been abundantly clear that the Democrats need to start working with Republicans –…
Read MoreSo you like free news?
A year ago I wrote that stories reported in 2017 made us “proud, angry, sad, optimistic – all those things that make life such an interesting journey.” The same can be said about the stories of 2018, but “proud” and “optimistic” would be in all capital letters if I were using social media. If we were excited and optimistic as…
Read MoreQuotes worth starting a new year with
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I collect quotes as if I am a Bartlett of Familiar Quotations fame. I stash them in diaries and on scraps of paper in pockets and purses, wishing I had written them myself. Here are a few to start you off on a good and interesting year. I am heartened by the words of the…
Read MoreNaig provides 2018 ‘Ag in Review’
Long-term water quality funding, trade challenges, ongoing economic uncertainty among top Iowa ag issues this year DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig on Monday highlighted passage of dedicated, long-term water quality funding, a challenging trade environment and ongoing economic uncertainty as some of the top issues facing Iowans involved in agriculture in 2018.
Read MoreWhere credit is due
~a column by Colleen O’Brien It is the season of giving, of charity and goodwill (peace on earth to men of goodwill), it’s an apt time to remember someone who changed things for the better, in several ways. Sixty years ago, in 1958, a retired teacher, a woman of goodwill named Ethel Percy Andrus, founded the American Association of Retired…
Read Morebefore
~a column by Colleen O’Brien I just got a glimpse in my mind’s eye of my life before: before electronic gadgets (computers, smart fones, Alexa). before even phone machines (there was a time you didn’t know that anyone had called; you had no responsibility for that person’s calling you at all) before small appliances that work better un-electrified (scissors)
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