Thursday, May 21, 2026
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Letter to the Editor: Who is the real conservative?

When looking at the pool of potential presidential nominees on the Republican side, I am stunned to see that according to some polls, the front runners in the race include Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, both of whom have a record of maintaining more liberal standards and beliefs as opposed to conservative.

What I've learned while sitting next to Santa

  I was only in this business a year or so when I realized that the philosophy of journalism was changing -- for the worst. I saw a quiz that some so-called professor had given his students.
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“Food for the Soul”

  So, what’s your favorite part of the Christmas season?  Let me guess- gifts and presents, or family and friends, or snow and decorative lighting, or the manger and the Christmas story, or food and fellowship?   Most likely, you have a combination of favorites like myself.

New restaurant: A reason to smile

  Jon Tafa looks up from the grill, where steaks are sizzling over an open fire, and smiles. He's been cooking -- and smiling -- in a restaurant kitchen in Vinton since the summer of 2005.

Harold Nelson remembered

  Last Friday, Vinton lost a truly unique person when Harold Nelson passed away. I knew Harold had a serious medical condition but the last time I saw him at the Benton County Democratic Central Committee in November, I thought he was looking better and told him so.

How 'schizophrenic' Iowans should respond to Atlantic Monthly article

  Iowans are yelling, and we should, about an article by a University of Iowa professor that says some not-so-nice things about our state. The article, recently published in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, was written by Professor Stephen Bloom, who calls Iowa (among other things), a "schizophrenic, economically-depressed, and some say, culturally-challenged state.

How Romney's friends are insulting Iowa voters

       "….truth embraceth truth…"      The book used in the church where Mitt Romney brags (in one of his earlier TV ads) about attending all his life includes those three words from the The Mormon "Doctrines and Covenants.

Being Anonymous isn't all that bad

   Dear Editor,   I just wanted to take a minute to write about your policy that requires folks leaving comments to attach their name.