Letters to the Editor

This “Letter to the Editor” is in response to Jane Shuttleworth’s letter to the editor dated April 18, 2021, regarding refugees coming to this country during Robert Ray’s term as governor and Kim Reynold’s term. Ms. Shuttleworth was very favorable toward Gov. Ray and quite critical of Gov. Reynolds. This comparison was not accurate as the circumstances of the refugees was totally different, which she did not address. By leaving these details unaddressed she implied they were similar...

Hope Haven recently received $6,504.28 from the Good Neighbor Fund of Spirit Lake and Okoboji. We are so thankful for their generous support of the renovation of our office building located in downtown Spirit Lake. The building was in great need of repair and restructure, and the renovation also honored the building’s history as a local firehouse, with some restoration to original architectural details. ...

The American Red Cross is so thankful for the gift of $9,613.17 given to us from the Good Neighbor Fund of Spirit Lake and Okoboji. With this gift, you are helping make the mission of the Red Cross possible. The crucial services the Red Cross provides to our communities and those impacted by disaster can only be done with the generous support of donors like the Good Neighbor Fund of Spirit lake and Okoboji. ...

In last week’s Dickinson County News the author of a Letter to The Editor complained that Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds should welcome all the illegal immigrants with open arms. I am happy the governor did not jump at the chance to subsidize the housing, food, medical care and education for an unknown number of persons to be paid by Iowa taxpayers...

The Pearson Lakes Art Center would like to sincerely thank the Good Neighbor fund for their donation to the education department. Their commitment to the nonprofit organizations in the Lakes Area is appreciated by the PLAC staff and, most importantly, by the children and families who reap the benefits of the children's education program and our Art Smart Interactive Children's Gallery...

Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault (CAASA) would like to extend an enormous thank you to all of the community members who generously donated a total of $8,3030.94 to our nonprofit organization. This donation is far more than we could have ever expected and will be of such benefit to so many sexual assault survivors and their families. This donation comes at a time in which we are in need of donations more than ever, as we are facing a budget cut of $120,000 over the next two fiscal years...

The situation of unaccompanied minors at the US/Mexico border has grabbed state and national attention. According to the U.S. Customs and Border Control, in Fiscal Year 2021 through Feb. 29, 792 unaccompanied children and single minors have been encountered along the southwest border. Children are being held in crowded conditions without proper nutrition, health care, water or sunlight. Sen. ...

What a TV adventure, watching SpaceX launch in the early hours of a Florida morning, sending three men and a lady to the International Space Station. Plans are already in motion to send man back to the moon, including the "first" woman to land on the moon. This sounds exciting...

The recent John Boehner book sadly demonstrates the ongoing Republican Party ineptness which he rightfully attributes to the Newt Gingrich party ascendance. Gingrich’s philosophy of burning the house down through “weaponized ethics” and “abandoning bipartisanship and civility to obtain power” has guided Republicans to obstruct any meaningful legislation for decades except for tax cuts. ...

Over 250 bills from 43 states, including Iowa, have been introduced or enacted based upon the big lie that the last presidential election won by Joe Biden was due to fraudulent or irregular ballots cast. Since free elections form the bedrock of our Constitution, such actions jeopardize preservation of our democracy. Further, dozens of lawsuits on behalf of Trump have been thrown out or rejected by multiple courts, including the Supreme Court, for lack of evidence or facts...

During this terrible pandemic, so many people have lost their jobs, health and employer-provided group health care insurance. Sadly, many of these jobs are not coming back, leaving people uninsured. If applying for private insurance, a previous health condition - including a COVID-19 related complication - could lead to denial of coverage. ...

The Democrats seem very strong in their view there is no voter fraud. One would have to be pretty naïve to believe there is no voter fraud. In any human endeavor, there are people who cheat. Democrat emotions ran pretty high in the 2020 presidential election. ...

In mid-December 2020, I received an invitation from my son to spend three months living with him and his family in Fairfax, Virginia. The Democracy-challenging national events that occurred during my three months stay have been absolutely astounding and memorable...

Voting rights are under attack nationwide as states pass voter suppression laws. Iowa is about to join the ranks of oppressors as a bill progresses through the Iowa Congress, cutting the early voting window time and further impeding the constitutional fundamental right to cast a vote, particularly by Black people, the elderly, students and people with disabilities...

I want to thank Dickinson County Public Health and Director Katy Burke for the great job of getting the county’s COVID-19 vaccination program up and running. It was easy to register via the Lakes Regional Healthcare website and set up an appointment online. The process of getting the shot at public health at the appointed time ran smoothly — sign-in, wait in a quickly moving, socially distanced line, get the injection in a private setting, wait in the waiting room for 15 minutes and leave. Everyone involved was cordial and efficient. I write this because the news is filled with so many complaints about the vaccine in Iowa. ...

An early count from just seven states show over 50,000 Republicans have renounced their membership and defected from the Republican Party. The invasion and destructive riot at the Capitol, clearly incited by the statements of then President Trump was a step too far for many. Continued support of Trump by Republican members of Congress has added to the angst. A second impeachment will proceed with or without Republican support...

On behalf of the Iowa Great Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce we would like to thank so many for making our 41st Annual University of Okoboji Winter Games another success for our business community. Thank you to our sponsors for making so much of this possible. ...

Spirit Lake, you did it again! We exceeded our goal of 46 units of blood and got a total of 53 units on our Jan. 25 blood drive for the American Red Cross. We had 56 scheduled appointments and only three "no shows." We had five deferrals and one incomplete. We had 41 whole blood donors and 12 double red donors. Thank you to all of you...

The initial actions by a new president often foretell the mission he has in mind. President Biden’s first day was decisive in taking positive steps forward and also taking corrective action on bad policies from the prior administration. Topping the list was fighting the coronavirus, re-establishing ties with the WHO, reinstating DACA and immigration reform, stopping building of the border wall, rejoining the Paris Climate Accord, revoking a number a Trump’s anti-climate control rulings and an executive order that all cabinet appointees must sign an ethics pledge. ...

Have we stomped all over working families' rights — to enjoy the city of Okoboji's beautiful public beaches? Did we steal our working families' children's summer memories because we were intimated by the wealth and power of the families on Holiday Way and the Okoboji Promenade?...

The two serial writers of Letters to The Editor seem to be going into cardiac arrest over the events that occurred two weeks ago in Washington. This week their savor – Joe Biden – will be inaugurated, and he will make everything all right. The Jan. 6 political rally in Washington was peaceful until some people left the rally area — before President Trump finished speaking – to pick up their riot tools and storm the Capitol...

Sadly, I just read the notice of Fred Dowden's passing in the Dickinson County News. As with other relatively recent deaths in the Lakes Area, it brought back for me those memorable days of 2003-04 when Fred and a tremendous board of concerned folks came together to give me direction as we began the Herculean effort of putting Arnolds Park Amusement Park (now HAPI) back on solid ground...

The deplorable Jan. 6 assault on our Capitol will never be forgotten. It was fomented and incited by President Trump and his enablers. It should be no surprise coming from a man having no regard for our Constitution, institutions, rule of law, separation of powers or mankind in general...

It was 1897 when little Virginia O’Hanlon wrote her famous query to The New York Sun, “Is there a Santa Claus?” The editor turned the letter over to Francis Pharcellus Church to answer. The result is a timeless piece of wisdom that applies as beautifully this holiday season as it did long ago...

Should Lake Okoboji continue on its pathway of becoming – more and more — a "rich families lake" both on water and upon land? Is the Okoboji Promenade the best example of wealthy families taking over public property and privatizing public property for their own families?...

In last week's Letter to the Editor there was a lot of smoke — even allegations that a fire was being created — over President Trump not ceding the election. It is only three weeks after a hotly-contested presidential election. President Trump is merely exercising his legal right to verify the voting...

We may be seeing our republic disintegrating before our eyes. Is this really what more than 72 million Trump voters envisioned or wanted? Clearly, Trump lost the election by over 5 million votes but insists on shattering every norm practiced by 44 previous presidents — peaceful transfer of power...