Opinion

Living in the Iowa Great Lakes surprises many newcomers. The old timers like myself recognize and greatly appreciate how the locals respond to the needs of others. I can attest to our trademark lifestyle. A time has come in my 55—year-plus life living here in the Lakes Area where circumstances put my friends to the test. ...

On behalf of Spenser’s Underground Youth Ministry Board of Directors, we would like to thank the Good Neighbor Fund and the community for its generosity in donating to our organization.  Without help from the Good Neighbor Fund and other organizations and private donors, Spenser’s Underground could not provide the valuable service to our local teens and families. Spenser’s Underground ministers to the needs of our teens and families by providing meals, clothing, education, a safe, non-judgmental mentoring program and providing a location for visitation with families, as well as a place to hold meetings and other events. Thank you again to the Good Neighbor Fund. ...

The Red Cross Blood Drive on May 17, 2021, was a bit of a disappointment. We did not even reach our goal of 53 units and had 10 no shows. That is very disappointing as some wanted to give and couldn’t obtain an appointment. We were able to fit three walk-ins in some of the vacant slots. Please, please, if you are unable to come at your appointed time or have no intention of coming when you make the appointment, please leave it open for others who will show up and give. ...

I am writing to thank Sen. Chuck Grassley for his years of service to our state and country. Sen. Grassley was a farmer in Iowa who saw a need for better government in our state, and he was elected to office in the Iowa Senate. Forty-one years ago, in 1980, he decided to run for U.S. ...

This week, an Iowa mother testified in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. As the offices of U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst have both pointed out several times in the past, Michelle Root of Modale must forever live with the loss of her daughter Sarah, who was killed in January 2016. A man named Edwin Mejia, who illegally entered the country, was driving while drunk and collided with her. Mejia went on to post bond and was never apprehended again...

Tax revenues in May continued to flow into the state, as more Iowans are working and spending their hard-earned dollars. According to the non-partisan Legislative Services Agency, General Fund revenues for the month were $840.7 million. The month’s collections were $307.9 million higher than May 2020, which amounts to a 57.3 percent increase. Iowa has been among the leaders when it comes to getting things back to normal in regards to COVID...

  I recently wrapped up part one of my 39 county tour, a promise I made to visit every county in the 4th District at least twice a year. I have learned a lot about the issues that matter most to Iowans in every corner of the district — from Missouri Valley to New Hampton and everywhere in between. ...

  Even if you’re paying attention, it’s hard to keep track of all the numbers flying around Washington, D.C. right now. Despite our national debt approaching $30 trillion, President Biden and congressional Democrats are proposing trillions more in taxpayer spending. ...

  A: Ransomware cyberattacks targeting critical U.S. infrastructure are cropping up with increasing frequency, delivering wake-up calls to cybersecurity vulnerabilities across the government and U.S. economy. The attacks on digital information systems put our national security at risk, sweeping food, energy and financial systems into jeopardy. ...

Live life in such a way that, when you pass away, journalists will have a hard time writing a concise lede about you. It's a pretty poignant quote to have spilled out from between my ears while staring at a blank text file earlier this week. But it's only on paper now because of two local icons whom our community — and the world, I suppose — recently lost. ...

This issue will be somewhat sensitive but also incredibly important based on what is going on in our state and nation right now. I will be called racist by some who don’t read through this message and understand it for what it is, a message of unity. ...

The first monthly payment of the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) from the American Rescue Plan will be made on July 15. Roughly 39 million households (88 percent of American children) will begin receiving monthly payments with no further action required. ...

  A: The president is borrowing a page from the Obama administration to “never let a serious crisis go to waste.” It’s as clear as the day is long what the Biden administration set out to do since day one of his presidency: Use the pandemic to shift the political landscape, reshape the economy and expand the social safety net by squeezing trillions of dollars from the American taxpayer for generations to come. ...

With Memorial Day, the unofficial start to summer, behind us, it seems folks all across the country are ready for things to get hot. Pundits are calling the upcoming travel season “Hot Vax Summer,” pointing to signs that summer in the U.S. could be, well, lit. There’s a ton of pent-up demand, as more and more folks become fully vaccinated and attractions begin to open up fully...

The House and Senate passed legislation that reduces property taxes statewide by almost $100 million by phasing out the mental health property tax levy and creates long-term sustainable funding to support Iowa’s community-based system to support local mental health providers. ...

The promise of tens of thousands of dollars in free grant money might be hard to turn down, but be aware. These offers are just a ploy by scammers to wrench away your hard-earned money.   While these con artists use a variety of tricks to obtain your trust and money, we’ve recently seen an increase in the use of Facebook to make contact with victims.  ...

Just one percent of the U.S. population steps up to serve our country in uniform. That’s one percent of Americans that we call upon to sacrifice time away from friends and family to defend our nation from our adversaries. We owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to these Americans who give so much to protect our great nation and the freedoms we all enjoy.

I had only been at the DCN about two months before I covered the 2017 graduation season here in the Lakes Area. I was tasked with photographing both Harris-Lake Park and Spirit Lake that year — the photos were…OK. I ended up writing a column that year about how the ample hugs one sees at commencement saved me from the photographic challenges that come with gymnasium lighting...



 The DCTB was pleased to partner with the Spirit Lake High School art of welding class to design and create sculptures that will be included at the Tatanka Ska Trailhead. As part of their J-term over the winter, 18 students led by instructors Brad Travis and Tyler Pedersen fashioned bike racks, a trail logo board and the top half of the trailhead tower. ...

Well, we are at the end of the legislative session and with the end, as I look back at what we have done I am somewhat amazed. The legislature dealt with many issues to make the state better and more competitive and to improve life for its citizens and to govern wisely...

On May 19, we concluded the 2021 legislative session. One of the biggest pieces needing to be finalized was the Fiscal Year 2022 budget. The General Fund budget will allocate $8.1185 billion in the year beginning July 1. This budget spends less than it collects in revenue — despite great efforts to push the numbers outside our means. ...

  A couple weeks beyond the scheduled end, the legislature has officially finished the 2021 legislative session. At the beginning of the year, Republicans in the legislature set out this session with ambitious goals. After months of a pandemic wreaking havoc on their lives, Iowans were eager to get back to the lives they knew and move Iowa forward from the pandemic...

In April, Governor Reynolds signed HF 756 regarding firearms- a bill that passed with bipartisan support. The bill addressed many areas of gun laws, but the part that caught the most attention ended the requirement that a person have a permit to carry or purchase a firearm. There is still a lot of misinformation and confusion floating around about the bill — so hopefully I can clear some of that up here...

  Iowa has one of the best election systems in the country. We consistently rank among the top 10 states for voter registration and participation. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we set turnout records in 2020 for the June primary and November general election. Now, politicians in Washington, D.C. want to dictate to Iowa and every other state how to run elections...