Category Archives: Opinion

I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this, so here is something new to celebrate: Saturday is National Toasted Marshmallow Day. In my opinion, one of the few good things about colder weather is toasting marshmallows over a fire. They are the best and even better with a square of chocolate between two graham crackers....

My wife and I have been in Salt Lake City for a couple of weeks. We have a daughter out there. I had planned on going to the Bonneville Salt Flats for the World of Speed and a race at the Salt Lake Speedway. The trip out went fairly smooth except for the plane switch in...

I’m thinking that the Iowa State Fair is becoming one of my favorite places to go, especially to watch people, which I really enjoy. This year’s Iowa State Fair was no exception. I spent the evening of the first day of the fair along with 13 hours at the fair this past Saturday and I...

35 years ago (1979) Linda Terpstra of the Richgrove Lassies 4-H Club advanced to the Iowa State Fair with her “Dutch Foods” entry in the food and nutrition division. Mark De Cook entered his horse in the poles and barrels. Terri Vanden Hoek was competing in the trail class at the state fair. Curt Van Weelden...

We’ve all used the & sign and probably called it “the and sign” because we couldn’t think of its correct term, ampersand. Some well-known businesses have it as part of their names: Johnson & Johnson, Barnes & Noble, Ernst & Young, etc. Thanks to texting and tweeting, it's more popular than ever. After all, why...

My gardening skills are somewhat limited. I replanted the thing three times. Apparently, the cucumber seeds stayed in place all through the replantings. Man, do I have cucumbers. I planted them in every corner of the garden. They took off and nearly killed all the rest of the garden. I have picked approximately 300 pounds of...

How can it be August already? Have you received an email or read about the August 2014 calendar? Take a look at this month’s calendar because this is the only time you’ll see this phenomenon in your lifetime. August, this year, will have FIVE Fridays, FIVE Saturdays, and FIVE Sundays. This happens only once every 823...