Strange year. My first clue as to just how strange '23 was going to be was when our McIntosh Apple Tree didn't bloom. Ginnie and I have lived on the Empty Nest Farm going on eight years …
Courage. It’s hard enough to live in this world for even a couple decades, and right now, it’s probably as hard as it's ever been. Saturday I was doing laundry and packing a bag …
Rich Seberg attended the first Old Threshers Reunion in Mt. Pleasant in 1950. He was born in July of that year and his mother took him in a basket and stowed the basket under a table. He …
I rarely get out to cover college sports. Our staff at Pen City Current isn’t built for it and I’m not a fan of “dabbling” here and there. There’s too much emotion in …
It was hot and muggy, with temperatures in the low nineties in Missouri (making it misery) and high eighties in Iowa—unusually hot for early May. Ginnie and I had been in Liberty, …
In 2017, the Iowa Legislature responded to concerns from Gov. Terry Branstad and amended Iowa law to ensure when government employees are forced out of their jobs the reasons must be made public and …
Let this week’s Beside the Point serve as an open greeting card to all Moms on Mom’s Day. As your children, and more pointedly, as your sons, we know we were a pain in the ass. …
Phil Clevenger may have gotten his grit and determination from his grandfather, Ulrie Clevenger, who was known to say and put into practice that he'd, “Walk a mile to pull a …
Have you ever read a legislative bill? I’m a very humble person, but when I sit down to read something, I have a pretty decent ability to comprehend things. At least I did. I’m getting …
If you watch the Iowa Legislature in action, there are some truisms you see time and again. Such as: Each political party is in favor of transparency and accountability — until they gain the …
Dear Editor Another county session and more money expected to come out of the residents' pockets...in a county with a 14%+ poverty rate (2021 census) and a median per capita income of approximately $28,000.
There’s something that’s lingering from last week’s news cycle. It was a busy cycle with news of the shared athletic programs being salvaged between Fort Madison High School and …
