Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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A beautiful sight to behold Hartley's new pool a welcome addition to City With a Heart Hartley children have been able to enjoy something they haven't experienced in four years – a pool in town. The ribbon was cut on the city's new aquatic center late last month following two years of delays. That saga is well known by now and there's no need to dwell on the details. Hartley finally has its pool, and residents in the City With a Heart can be grateful for that. The facility has been well r...
May 19-25 marks National EMS Week, where Americans salute our quiet guardians who are there for us in our time of need. Here in rural Iowa, their presence is an immeasurable blessing. This year marks National EMS Week’s 50th anniversary. It’s a time to show our gratitude toward EMTs and paramedics who provide lifesaving care across the nation every day. EMS Week is also a time to educate the public about EMS and the essential service it provides our communities. Paramedics, EMTs and other EMS professionals work diligently to care for their pat...
Reminders come in several forms. Sometimes it’s the ding of a phone; other times it’s a Post-It note. Last week, it was tornadoes. A scourge of dangerous twisters ripped across Nebraska and Iowa last Friday, wreaking havoc and leaving a path of destruction in its wake. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, and many people are homeless now – they’re just feeling lucky to have escaped with their lives. That will count as a huge victory down in Minden. Drone footage from the small Pottawattamie County community revealed a harrowing scene a...
Caitlin Clark’s legendary Hawkeye career will be remembered for decades to come The monumental career of Caitlin Clark came to a close Sunday when Iowa lost to South Carolina in the NCAA championship game. The defeat marked the second-straight year the Hawkeyes fell in the title game, but this one hurt a little bit more. This was the end of the road. Clark’s career is hard to put into words. Her stat line is five miles long and her awards seem too numerous to count. Phenomenal, fantastic, outstanding – no amount of superlatives do her justi...
A report released last week should have Iowans thinking twice about their icy-cold vices. Health experts unveiled the 2024 Cancer in Iowa Report, and results were extremely concerning. Iowa once again has the second-highest rate of new cancer cases in the U.S., alongside the fastest-growing rate of new cancers. The state also reported the fourth-highest incidence of alcohol-related cancers in the country and the highest in the Midwest. Health experts at a news conference last week cited alcohol usage as a possible driver in Iowa’s cancer r...
Golden girl Iowa’s Caitlin Clark takes sports world by storm It doesn’t take someone who bleeds black and gold to appreciate what Caitlin Clark has done in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes’ unstoppable guard last week became the all-time scorer in NCAA women’s basketball history. She sunk Iowa’s first eight points against Michigan in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, breaking the record of 3,527 by splashing one of her trademark logo three-pointers. She now stands alone at the top with plenty of season left to keep racking up the tally. Clark’s star has shined...
Fourteen years is a long time to ignore the will of the people. In Iowa, lawmakers don’t seem to mind. The Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation Trust Fund was established by popular demand in 2010. Back then, 62 percent of Iowa voters agreed this constitutionally-protected fund was needed to generate additional revenue for natural resources and conservation projects. Several lawmakers over the years have proposed using the hypothetical revenue to fund new water quality initiatives that help fix Iowa’s polluted lakes, streams and rivers. Unf...
Far too often are we reminded of the horrors of gun violence in America. It seems like mass shootings command headlines weekly, and if not that frequent, at least monthly. Last week, it hit home. A gunman entered Perry High School on Jan. 4 before classes started wielding a shotgun and handgun. He opened fire, killing 11-year-old Ahmir Jolliff and wounding seven others, including Principal Dan Marburger. The high school student identified as the shooter also killed himself. Prior to the Perry incident, Iowa had been mostly spared from mass...
Shopping has become an exercise in convenience over the last two decades. Everything we could ever need or want is a simple click away on the internet, and you don’t even have to leave your house to shop for the holidays. Sure, it’s nice to avoid crowds, but online shopping leaves a gaping hole in communities like ours whose backbone is comprised of hard-working small business owners trying to make their hometowns thrive. The reasons for keeping your money local are many, but sometimes easy to forget when advertisements from big box stores flo...
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds turned heads this month when she endorsed Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis in the 2024 Iowa GOP Caucus. The Florida governor is currently sitting in second place (depending where you look) in polls, trailing significantly behind former President Donald Trump. You can debate the significance of endorsements, but Reynolds' decision is certainly impactful – if not immediately, historically. Caucus endorsements from Iowa governors for presidential candidates o...
Their sacrifice cannot be ignored Saturday marks our annual celebration of the men and women who so selflessly served the country as members of the United States Armed Forces. Veterans Day is an important holiday, and one that every freedom-loving American should acknowledge. Sometimes it’s easy to ignore occasions like this one. People are busy, work is hectic and there’s just simply too much else going on. However, all of those excuses seem futile when you really stop and think about it. Our veterans gave us a commitment that’s almost impos...
Accentuate the positives when you can Progress comes in all shapes and forms. Just look around at our local communities. In Hartley, progress took the form of demolition last month when city’s never-opened new pool had its never-used deck torn up. The goal is to pour a new one with proper electrical bondings in place and inspected. Failure to inspect the bondings one year ago led to its indefinite closure, which has been a sore topic here in the City With a Heart. Everyone just wants the pool they paid for and hopefully we’re on the right track...
Safety is something many of us take for granted. We have video cameras at our front doors, our vehicles remind us when to buckle our seat belts, and our cell phones alert us of any rain cloud within a 100-mile radius. Still, danger lurks. Nowhere is that more evident than for our area farmers. With harvest season looming, we're reminded to be extra careful during National Farm Safety and Health Week. The event runs Sept. 17-23 and raises awareness about the many dangers farmers face in their...
Watch any sporting event broadcast in America, and you’ll be bombarded with ads from sports books urging you to bet on the game. “Deposit your first $5, get $250 in free bets!” “Refer a friend, get $100!” “Cast your first $50 bet, get $500 in bonus bets!” America has gone bonkers for online sports betting thanks to a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down laws banning its existence. Now, basically anyone over the age of 21 has the opportunity to bet on a game from the comfort of their own couch. Making things easier is the fact that...
The idea of congressional term limits has been a pie in the sky for both American voters and ambitious candidates for eons. Recent incidents from some of Washington’s most tenured lawmakers have sparked worthy debate about just how long our elected officials should be allowed to rule over us. On Wednesday, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R–Ky.) appeared to go completely blank for several seconds while answering reporters’ questions at the Capitol. The senator, 81, was whisked away by colleagues and staffers, later returning to the podium and stati...
Ronald Reagan famously said, “Thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican.” Apparently the late president’s 11th Commandment doesn’t apply in the Hawkeye State. Just as summer’s heat is about to peak, so too is the mudslinging from river to river. Alas, caucus season is in full swing. Many folks may greet this news with a loud groan. With incumbent President Joe Biden slated to make another White House run, Republicans from across the country have been coming out of the woodwork over the past few months announcing their campaigns. They’re a...
At long last, some positive pool news Remediation plan’s approval is first good news in a while The ribbon has yet to be cut, but Hartley’s never-open new pool appears to have some new life following a recent decision by a state board. The Iowa Electrical Examining Board (IEEB) last month approved a remediation plan submitted by the pool’s contractor to address issues that led to a failed electrical inspection last year. Whether the city moves forward with the plan remains to be seen, but there are at least flickers of light at the end of th...
Suffice it to say, Iowa Republicans had a “great” legislative session in 2023. With suffocating majorities in both chambers and a friendly face in the governor’s office, the GOP had little trouble pushing through its agenda with ease. Bills forcing taxpayer dollars to be used on private K-12 education and other school-related changes faced little chance at being stopped. Other issues of monumental importance to Republicans in 2023 – like book bans, transgender-related legislation and loosened child labor laws – also topped the list. And then...
With the recitation of a few speeches and the tossing of mortarboards, the Class of 2023 will be sent into the "real world" this weekend. Local seniors from throughout the area will gather in their respective gymnasiums with fellow classmates, teachers and family members for one final sendoff before they start the next chapter of their lives. Graduation Day is always a bittersweet event. It's a celebration marking an end to the many years of hard work our local students have put into their...
The best season in Iowa basketball history came to a heartbreaking end Sunday in Dallas. Hopes of a national title for the Hawkeye women came crashing down at the hands of LSU. The Black and Gold tallied 85 points in the matchup, but it was all for naught – it felt like the Tigers never missed a shot the whole game. LSU’s marksmanship sent Iowa packing with a 17-point loss and enough heartburn to last a lifetime. The unfortunate ending doesn’t take away from Iowa’s storybook season. This team was great, and they proved that during the tournam...
"Reform" is a loaded word when it comes to politics. It can be tacked onto most nouns, from health care to taxes to anything in between. We here in the Hawkeye State have been beaten over the head with "education reform" over the past month. The governor's Students First Act was rammed through the Legislature, and thanks to procedural tactics by the Republican majority, it received little debate and no amendments. Iowans shouldn't be surprised and those who oppose the bill can save their...
Big winter storms are always a spectacle here in Iowa. The wind chill numbers never cease to amaze, and the size of drifts always drop our jaws. Numbers and pictures aside, these storms can be dangerous and downright deadly. It's important to remember that reality no matter how badly you want to leave the house when the white stuff is flying. Last month's holiday storm was monster. Wind chills hovered between -20 and -40 degrees with the lowest dipping to -50 degrees. Conditions like that are no...
Iowa Democrats took another one on the nose last week when it was announced South Carolina would likely leapfrog the Hawkeye State’s first-in-the-nation presidential nominating status. The move wasn’t unexpected, but it dealt a significant blow to Iowa’s national political relevance. Democratic Party officials last Friday moved a step closer to making South Carolina the first nominating state of 2024, followed by Nevada and New Hampshire, Georgia and then Michigan. Even President Joe Biden has endorsed the change. He, like others in his party...
Don't worry about catching your breath following this month's election – we're heading right back to where we started. The Nov. 8 election came with expected results here in the Hawkeye State. Republicans ransacked Iowa, further cementing their absolute monopoly in Des Moines. Gov. Kim Reynolds coasted to an easy victory over her hapless opponent Deidre DeJear by winning all but four of the state's 99 counties. The GOP also easily retained majorities in the House and Senate. What's worse for r...
Though many parts of the state are experiencing drought right now, Iowans are wallowing in the mud. It’s election season, which means candidates are throwing everything against the wall that will stick. This state has been a Republican stronghold for the better part of six years. Iowa went blue for Barack Obama twice in 2008 and 2012, but has since veered hard right. It went to Donald Trump twice, a result that has been reflected in Des Moines. Republicans have held controlling majorities in the House and Senate since 2016 – by a lot, too – a...
