Opinion

Advice and definitions for city-dwelling farm writers

       In order to enlighten us city folk journalists about the realities of farm life so we can write better stories about farming, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the ...

Regifting etiquette: Making the most of Christmas 2011

       After learning what you received for Christmas from friends, family, neighbors, customers, associates, and your ex-sister-in-law’s first husband’s second...

\'Moonbeam\' history

       A 30-year-old nickname that made its way back to the headlines of early 2011 has had many in the American media digging up old newspaper articles to find out why, and...

Keep Facebook about faces, PLEASE!

Tonight I turned on the computer after a few hours completely off line, checked into Facebook, had those warm fuzzies as I commented about how we had just had our whole family out for our Christmas...

Provoking your New Year's agitations with force and persuasion

       Every year at this time, we hear people talking again about "resolutions."      Lose weight.      Stop smok...

Old Long Gone Song: An ode to resolutions soon forgotten

       It only takes, according to people who like to count this stuff, about 17 days for the average American to say, "Oh, never mind" to his or her New Year'...

The sights and sounds of a prison in progress

Jerry Petermeier and Kelly Yeager look over part of the plans for the new LEC.        In a few months, perhaps, the unwilling occupants of the new Benton County Law Enforcement Center will hear the sound most-often associated with prisons: The echo of...

Why many in law enforcement are concerned about Iowa\'s new \'Shall Issue\' gun law

       If – under the new law that went into effect Jan. 1 – Mark Becker had walked into the Butler County Sheriff’s Office on the morning of June 23, 2009...

A friendly visit from the Ghost of Christmas past

       For Ebenezer Scrooge, the Ghost of Christmas Past was sort of creepy and scary. And sad.      But for us, this year, it was kind of cool....

'The View' for men offers evidence there is no constitutional right to be heard

       We were playing one of those “tell your secrets” board games.      The question I had to answer: Which of your five senses would ...