19th Century words of wit and wisdom for Valentine's Day

VINTON TODAY
February 5, 2015 10:32 am

Well, it’s about that time of the year again – that time when men who can normally talk incessantly about just about anything without pausing to find the right words to say, suddenly find themselves speechless.

Nope, still not the newspaper, still not the 'newspaper guy'

VALERIE CLOSE, EDITOR
February 5, 2015 12:59 am

After 5 years, almost, we have had another influx of people that think we are "the newspaper". A couple things have happened this week that had me thinking maybe we need to say something, again.

A historic, and personal 12th anniversary...

VINTON TODAY
January 31, 2015 2:11 am

    Friday was an unusual and special 12th anniversary for me, although nothing actually happened on that day a dozen years ago.     Confused? Let me explain.

The nearly 50-year-old stolen 'Super Bowl' joke

VINTON TODAY
January 31, 2015 1:18 am

Perhaps you saw an ad on TV, or a flier in a newspaper, or some other form of advertising that refers to Sunday’s NFL Championship Game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks as “the big game.

An inspiring manual for modern communication

VINTON TODAY
January 30, 2015 7:14 pm

I just finished reading an inspiring publication that gives me hope for the future when it comes to how we, as a society communicate – something so unusually and surprisingly terrific I am compelled to share it.

Why Iowa Legislature should continue funding Natural Resources Trust Fund

MATTHEW PURDY, BENTON CO. CONSERVATION
January 26, 2015 10:26 am

In 2010 a constitutional amendment was passed by Iowans to support a 3/8 cent tax increase for additional conservation funds across the state. This has not been administratively acted upon to date.

My granddaughters, the Presidential speech writers

VINTON TODAY
January 21, 2015 1:03 pm

Everyone who knows me knows how ridiculously seriously I take my role as grandfather. We have four granddaughters, three of whom live in Vinton and I have seen every week at least (and often most every day) since the first one entered our lives five years ago.

Thoughts on Martin Luther King Day, from the whitest part of America

VINTON TODAY
January 19, 2015 5:54 pm

Throughout my 22 or so years in this job, I have written about almost every holiday: Christmas. New Year’s Day. Memorial Day. Veterans Day.

The best winter driving safety advice: Don't

VINTON TODAY
January 4, 2015 8:20 pm

    I once had the enlightening experience of working with a teenage girl who had already wrecked her car two or three times.      She did not seem to make the connection between driving decisions and unpleasant results.

2014: The Year of the Wounded Angel

VINTON TODAY
December 31, 2014 7:14 pm

We all learned so much in 2014 – and many of last year’s lessons were from paint, and paintings – and pain. I learned that I could mix one gallon of an impossibly ugly bright green paint with a few ounces of equally ugly of “wet cement grey” paint and a gallon of “historically pale yellow” to create a unique medium-light green that works well in our living room.