Category: Opinion

Iowa ag secretary also notes economic challenges, progress on water quality, expanded renewable fuel retail options DES MOINES – Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey last week highlighted some of the top ag issues in Iowa in 2016. “Iowa farmers saw record production for both corn and soybeans again in 2016. However, low prices are making profitability a real challenge…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien “Most people were not interested in the things I was, and I wasn’t interested in sports. So I developed my own interests.” At about 11 years old, Rolfe Blaess bought a wire recorder from his aunt for $35. He taught himself how to record off the radio and speak into the microphone. “Rewinding the wire…

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~with U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley Q: Are counterfeit goods a bigger risk during the holiday gift season? A:  Americans work hard for their money and look for ways to stretch their dollars, especially when household expenses go up during the season of gift giving. Savvy shoppers scour sales racks and online flash sales to score decent savings and good deals…

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To the 10 Vietnam War veterans who are on the waiting list for the Honor Flight, Greene County’s citizens proudly say “Thank you for your service and sacrifice”. We have the money to send you to Washington D.C.

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(Editor’s note – This column was originally written for posting Dec. 7.) ~a column by Colleen O’Brien Waving signs for a cause on a busy street corner in the city is a common sight on the nightly news. The causes are legion, and the legions turn out. The First Amendment to the Constitution includes “. . . the right of…

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(DES MOINES) – Today, Gov. Terry E. Branstad issued the following statement in regards to being nominated to serve as the U.S.  Ambassador to China in the Trump-Pence Administration: “I love Iowa and I love my country.  For 22 years, I have been honored and privileged to serve the people of Iowa as their governor. My family and I will always…

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During the weekend of October 21-23, I had the immense honor of visiting the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota to march in solidarity with those working to protect their water, land, and sovereignty as they resist the Dakota Access Pipeline, the same pipeline that is being constructed diagonally across Iowa.

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…all manner of different original variable distinct contrasted nuanced shades of mixed bag = fun ~a column by Colleen O’Brien Thanksgiving is a week gone, but I will remember this one for a long time; it was one Turkey Day that was about immigrants, just like the first one. I was not taking notes, but the conversation, without the many…

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~by Senator Joni Ernst, Nov. 28, 2016 Born and raised in southwest Iowa, I grew up on our family hog, soybean and corn farm. As a child, I was taught by my parents the values many Iowans share: hard work, service and sacrifice. From Day One, I made a commitment to you to bring our shared values to Washington, and…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien It is two weeks after the general election, and lo and behold, it’s Thanksgiving; happens every four years. Every four years some of us get to be thankful. The rest of us look on in consternation — not a lot of thankfulness going on — because our candidate didn’t make it. It’s such a pendulum,…

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Challenges all to form a culture we want to live in Editor’s note: Greene County Schools board of education president David Ohrt provided to the board an update on what he called his “mental health status” at the Nov. 21 meeting. His comments follow. “The thing I’ve been thinking about that is really important to me is we make difficult decisions…

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~a column by Colleen O’Brien The following is a story told to me recently by an American who lived with her mother and father in Salzburg, Germany after World War Two, where Shelly D’s father, a U.S. Army officer, was stationed with the Allied occupation forces. The small wiry woman with barely a gray hair is 85. She is a hiker,…

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