Rebuild Nepal Education Namaste!!! Thanks to you Chuck and Lee and your staff for your continued support for my educational mission in Nepal. Rebuild Nepal Education Foundation. As most of your readers know the difficulty [Read More…]
Not doing enough for you? Fellow citizens: the next time you are sitting at home wondering about things the city should be doing for you, please stop are read Chuck Vandenberg’s article “Close to 100 [Read More…]
Dear Editor, On Tuesday, April 17th Potowonok Circle of King’s Daughters is teaming up with the Eagle’s Club for a taco and enchilada supper. The proceeds from our portion of the supper will go towards [Read More…]
A heated conversation started last week toward the end of the Lee County Board of Supervisors meeting when Supervisor Ron Fedler suggested that the county not backfill a full-time and part-time correctional officer for the [Read More…]
Dear Editor One thing I immediately noticed that gave me concern upon moving to this community was the inclusion of the 4th and 5th grade students in the middle school. While I understand they are [Read More…]
Dear Editor: “The keys to brand success are self-definition, transparency, authenticity, and accountability”—Simon Mainwaring Once again the voters in the Fort Madison community have said no to building a new grade school. This is the [Read More…]
Thank You, I wanted to take time after reflecting on Tuesday’s efforts toward the Fort Madison Community School District elementary bond vote to say “Thank You”. First, thank you to all those who took time [Read More…]
Dear Editor There were lots of reasons Fort Madison school district voters rejected the elementary school bond referendum. It would behoove supporters to contemplate some of them before bringing this up for a fourth round [Read More…]
Dear Lee County Voters, I respect all voters on both sides of the school bond referendum because I believe there are legitimate concerns on both sides. However I have been disturbed with the responses from [Read More…]
Dear Editor; I am a mother of 4 children. 3 of my children have already graduated from Fort Madison and my youngest is disabled. I am hoping that everyone who reads this will at least [Read More…]
Letter to the Editor I was elected to the Fort Madison Community School District Board of Directors in 2015. I moved into the district in 1976 and my three children attended and graduated from our [Read More…]
Dear Editor On behalf of the Lee County Food Bank, I want to convey my thanks for the overwhelming response from the Fort Madison community to our cry for help. Cash donations from employees of [Read More…]
Editor: Since I became Superintendent of the Fort Madison Community Public Schools almost 2 years ago, we’ve tried to keep school financial business as transparent as possible. There is nothing about the school bond and [Read More…]
Tuesday turned into a not-so-normal day for a reporter who’s covered just about every beat and every type of story in journalism. Nothing has really intimidated me in this business until Tuesday afternoon when I [Read More…]
Fort Madison isn’t sitting still, and neither should its educational system. Activity is in the air, from new subdivisions, to new businesses. There is significant investment in infrastructure, updating and improving our community for a [Read More…]
LETTER TO THE EDITOR, I have heard some say that they won’t bother to vote because they have no kids in the school system. Some say they went to school in Fort Madison and the [Read More…]
BY CHUCK VANDENBERG Well, the letters have been printed, and we’ll print any more up until Sunday at midnight, on the upcoming school referendums. I’m in the bag and always have been on these new [Read More…]
Letter to the Editor: Fort Madison Partner Affiliates: Fort Madison Area Chamber of Commerce; Main Street; Fort Madison Economic Development; and Fort Madison-Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Commission, recognize the value that quality educational opportunities bring [Read More…]
Serving the Public Trust People in paid community leadership positions serve the people who pay their salaries. Included in that salary is a pre-ordained obligation to be unambiguous and accommodating when it comes to doing [Read More…]
Please vote YES for the new school on April 3rd. This is for our future generations, that hopefully will stay and raise families, start businesses, work in our industries and help this town prosper. To [Read More…]
Dear Editor: The time has come, once again, for us to have the opportunity to provide a New Elementary School for the youngest members of our community. The safety and security of our youngest citizens [Read More…]
Dear Editor; I am a parent of two kids in the Fort Madison Community School District and an active member of the KIDS Committee. To keep Fort Madison moving forward I believe the residents of [Read More…]
Dear Editor, To all my friends and FMCSD, please make your voice heard at the polls April 3rd for the future of Fort Madison with a new elementary school. While my youngest is a student [Read More…]
How can folks vote yes? Taxpayers should be seeking (and getting) a lot more clear answers about the proposed new elementary school. I’ve heard it said the reason the bond referendum failed twice so far [Read More…]
Tonight I reviewed two letters about the new school Tonight I reviewed two letters in The Daily Democrat letters to the editor. Both letters have many good points in them. The first was written by [Read More…]
Let’s Do The Right Thing FM – Votes Yes On April 3 Dear Editor; I know when people go to read this letter the comment may be that this is just a retired former teacher [Read More…]
Mad as a Wet Hen I’m a little confused with the term, “mad as a wet hen.” Our hens don’t get mad when they get wet. As a matter of fact, they seem to enjoy [Read More…]
KIDS Committee/Letter to the Editor: Fort Madison Partner Affiliates: Fort Madison Area Chamber of Commerce; Main Street; Fort Madison Economic Development; and Fort Madison-Southeast Iowa Regional Riverboat Commission, recognize the value that quality educational opportunities [Read More…]
Ginnie gave me the book, “Leonardo Da Vinci” by Walter Isaacson for Christmas. It’s a large, heavy, pretty book. But don’t let the size fool you. Its pages are of high-quality, thick, satin paper because [Read More…]
To the Editor: You ask why we want gun control. What our definition of ‘reasonable’ is. What this will mean for all of the other gun owners, the ones with licenses and safes and use [Read More…]
After a couple of issues at meetings Tuesday night, I think a discussion is in order on closed and exempt public meetings. The Fort Madison City Council almost went into what’s called an Exempt Session [Read More…]
Dear Editor; Each month the Fort Madison Food Pantry serves over 300 local families. Lee County ranks Number 2 in the State for food insecurity. Our funds are dangerously low. The past year we have [Read More…]
Buffy is the Bully of our 13 hens. We call her Buffy because she has a buff tail. We inherited Buffy and Red from a person who didn’t want to keep Buffy and Red through [Read More…]
I was sitting at my laptop with two warm blueberry muffins. The house smelled of muffins and my wife was sitting in the chair next to me taunting the Google Home we got for Christmas. [Read More…]
The taxpayers will find some other company to give millions and hundred of millions to make new jobs. The fertilizer plant was $2.5 million per employee. Lee County has had the honor to be in [Read More…]
We all had a bit of sticker shock when the Fort Madison City Council approved an immediate 8 percent increase for City Manager David Varley. It was big enough news that I sent it out [Read More…]
Well the holidays are over and I made my usual trek to some regional airport, this round Lambert-St. Louis, to drop my daughter off for her flight back to LaGuardia on the waterfront of Bowery [Read More…]
I put in 30 minutes of roadwork Sunday morning before the Vikings game came on. After I got two blocks in, I started to have a small panic attack. That’s been happening lately. In 2018 [Read More…]
Sorry to put that song in your head all day now, but is it just me or our children leading the way this holiday season? You hear all the time all the bad stuff and [Read More…]
Dear Editor, I would like share my recent experience with a local business in downtown Fort Madison. I I was out Christmas shopping on my day off and stopped to have my wedding ring inspected [Read More…]
Well, it’s been a full year since we’ve started the Pen City Current. I can say without a doubt, it’s been a really wild ride. Not without it’s hiccups, but the reward has been worth [Read More…]
The 2017 Relay For Life of North Lee County successfully reached their goal of $65,000 for the American Cancer Society. This annual event was held on Friday, September 29th and brought together the community to [Read More…]
Sometimes, and I’ve written this before, it’s tough to throw an opinion out there for readers to consume. There are times when you can write from an emotional, but safe place. when your memories are [Read More…]
The fourth annual Spooktacular Boo-athlon sponsored by PORT (Promoting Outdoor Recreational Trails) of Fort Madison was another hauntingly successful event! The PORT Committee would like to thank all those who participated, supported and volunteered their [Read More…]
I want to thank everyone in Fort Madison and specifically in the second ward for the support they have shown to me and my campaign for the city council. I have knocked on nearly 600 [Read More…]
Our city needs someone that is going to do what he says they are going to do . We need a change. we see what has been going on in our town and all this [Read More…]
Dear Editor On November 7th, 2017, the city of Fort Madison will be holding one of the most influenced Mayor’s races in a long time. And this could be a real turning point in our [Read More…]
Dear Editor We don’t want status quo, we want Sorrentino! Mr. Randolph has stifled the growth of this town for long enough, only allowing it to grow enough to say he is doing something when [Read More…]
TO MY CONSTITUENTS FROM YOUR 2ND WARD COUNCILMAN BRIAN WRIGHT As your councilman and representative since 2011, I say thank you. Thank you for trusting in me and supporting me as your voice for 2nd [Read More…]
To the Editor: The City of Fort Madison elections this fall are vitally important to the continued growth of our great city. Over the past few years, we have seen the formation of a very [Read More…]
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