Category Archives: Opinion

Many, many decades ago, I was born in a hospital in Oskaloosa on Apr. 11. I have always told people my brother and sister were born in a small house near Galesburg, but Dad had a bad feeling about me before I was born. I think he thought if he took my mother to a...

About 120 years ago today in 1898, the North Pole was discovered. I’m sure it is an interesting place, and I’m also sure since I don’t care much for cold weather I probably wouldn’t care much for the place. However, I read this week that the South Pole is actually colder, who knew? Most people...

Growing up, there were a few things I decided I never wanted to be, and one of them was a teacher. This month, I had a couple of thoughts about being a teacher. I think teachers are very fortunate this year as they didn’t have to “fight” the green issues of St. Patrick’s Day because...

Dear Editor: Representative Steve King's tweet about how "we can't restore our civilization with somebody else's babies" bothers me a lot. He is referring to white babies. He wants more white babies. However, the numbers don't support his wishes. Using 2014 statistics, there were 11.6 white births per 1,000 population, while black births were 19.5/1,000;...

The trip I took to California a couple of weeks ago was quite an excursion. I traveled and stayed with 11 people, including three daughters, three sons-in-law (who are not fond of me), three grandchildren, and my wife. I don’t even like to travel by myself, let alone with 10 extra people. We stayed in a large house...

This is probably the only column I’ve ever written over a week before it is printed. You see, I’ve been on vacation to Florida. My favorite Florida brother-in-law sometimes checks what I write about my traveling experiences, especially when I’ve spent some time with him. But I planned not to write on this vacation so...

“For those who fought for it, freedom has a taste the protected will never know." These words were often shared by local Vietnam veteran Tony Schutty, who served with distinction in the 75th Infantry Long Range Recon Patrol (Lerps) in 1968-69. Tony lost his short but valiant battle with cancer this past week, surrounded by his...