June 16, 2019Response from the Slater Family: The Slaters were extremely disappointed in your ill-informed opinion piece. Has the Superintendent not earned any respect for her hard work and contributions to the community? The Superintendent [Read More…]
Spring storms have wreaked havoc on communities up and down the river this year, but we think a different kind of storm has been brewing in Fort Madison – and the first crack of lightning [Read More…]
We finally got our garden in, about a month late, we figure. There was way too much rain, and the ground was far too wet to do any tilling. What a spring! On the days [Read More…]
BY ETHAN LILLARD The band Cinderella said it best, ‘You don’t know what you got, til it’s gone’. Had to slip that reference in working at a rock station, you understand. That being said, I [Read More…]
Barney has disappeared. It happened on Mother’s Day (wouldn’t you know). Barney has always been my cat, because I’m the one who found and fed him. Cats remember. Barney was a great cat. He would [Read More…]
The last time I was in Jefferson, Iowa, I was six years old and had my tonsils out in the Greene County Hospital. They used ether back then as an anesthetic and it was a [Read More…]
I’m From Dallas City, Il, so I knew where Fort Madison was and could actually navigate the city with relative ease. What I could not do however, was tell you how good the football team [Read More…]
Ginnie and I went to sleep with the rain falling gently on the roof of the two-story tree house, (sorta like being in heaven) and slept like a babies. Ginnie and Curt stayed in the [Read More…]
I’ve caught more flak about butchering Blossom than any other column I’ve written. Good grief. She had so many people rooting for her that I feel like a crazed carnivore. I must point out, however, [Read More…]
I got the first book where I get many of my books, from 89-year old Tommy Sinnott of Nauvoo. He’s my inspiration. The book, “Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” by Reza [Read More…]
The best way to interview an octogenarian who walked 30,000 miles in 30 years (a thousand miles a year) is to go for a three-mile, early morning walk with him or her. But don’t think [Read More…]
Sue Walker and her cancer sniffing rescue dog, Kendall.Kendall was on Sue’s lap as usual, after supper, while Sue and her husband, Gary, watched television. The half-beagle-half-pug rescue dog (in more ways than one) from [Read More…]
Fort Madison Community, Over the last couple of weeks, Pack 7, in Fort Madison has participated in Scouting for Food. During this event, bags are distributed throughout the community and food is collected from residents [Read More…]
I arrived in Mt. Pleasant on a Sunday morning after driving all night. My 12-step sponsor in Colorado had told me, “The first thing you do when you get to Mt. Pleasant is go to [Read More…]
Dear Editor; This is a letter of gratitude to those whom have supported the past school bond referendums and a request for others to join them in supporting the current proposal. I am grateful for [Read More…]
Mayhem struck the Empty Nest Farm. I was a little late doing the morning chores. It wasn’t until 11:00 or so before I got out to feed Blossom and take care of the hens. Before [Read More…]
On Fridays they bowl, at 1:00 p.m. No napping for them! They are part of the 55+ League at Champion Bowl in Ottumwa. There are 60+ members of the over 55 league. Teams are cleverly [Read More…]
Two books, both on the New York Times Bestseller List, were given to me free: the first was “The Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren; and the second, “Radical Remission—Surviving Cancer Against All Odds,” by [Read More…]
Tough winter. I’ve fallen twice now doing chores, the first time breaking the eggs I had just gathered—that upset me more than the fall. I laid there for a couple of seconds on the ice, [Read More…]
BY CHUCK VANDENBERGPCC EDITOR DES MOINES – The best stories are those that come with happy endings, but sometimes stories deserve to be written even when the end is met with heartbreak. Fort Madison’s Sam [Read More…]
A huge thank you to all who helped make the Eagles’ Fish/Shrimp Fry dinner benefiting the Fort Madison Food Pantry the very best ever! To all who came for dinner; who brought friends; who told [Read More…]
Our outside temperature gauge told me it was -21° F at 2:00 a.m.–the time I usually get up to read and write. I could hear the wind howling outside and the house popping and banging [Read More…]
U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Kent White’s team found the wrecked Hercules C-130 Transport Airplane by using radar. Its tail fin, with the numbers “321,” was barely visible, sticking up through the snow and ice on [Read More…]
I woke up at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, actually I was up at like 5 because I got a couple of messages from people wanting doughnuts. Kiwanis is selling doughnuts and they wanted on the [Read More…]
The flight instructor asked Tom what he would do if he was going in for a landing and there was a horse in the middle of the runway. Tom thought for a moment and replied, [Read More…]
With the Fort Madison Riverfront Business District dropping its partnership with Main Street Iowa, it’s clear that some healing needs to be done downtown. The RBD dropped the Main Street flag officially in December, but [Read More…]
On Friday, the Fort Madison High School inducted four well-deserving men into the Bloodhound Hall of Fame. Dick Burch, Jim Allen and Jay Skinner were brought into the Hall for their contributions to the athletic [Read More…]
The voice on the phone was of an elderly man. I could hardly understand him. “My name is Tommy Sinnott. I’m from Nauvoo, Illinois. I read your column. Have you ever read the book, ‘The [Read More…]
Wondering what to do with yourself after retirement? Talk to Larry McKim of Ottumwa. He’s 72 years young, recently bought a bar for the first time in his life, although he doesn’t drink, and, oh, [Read More…]
Ginnie and I try to do things together on her days off. Often in the middle of the week, we go to movies, shop, and have lunch out. Since it might be a Tuesday or [Read More…]
For some strange reason, Blossom only escapes from her pen when Ginnie and I are gone, like she knows we’re away and it’s time to romp. The first time she escaped was last summer when [Read More…]
Seven hundred sixty-three days and counting. Pen City Current will enter its third year of writing about the people of north Lee County on Dec. 6…. and we couldn’t be happier to still be here. [Read More…]
Tim Smith, basketball coach of Sweet Springs High School in Missouri is a busy man. In addition to coaching both the girls and boys varsity basketball teams, he is also Athletic Director and Physical Education [Read More…]
I stopped by to visit with Kumar Wickramasingha at the Elliott Test Kitchen on Monday after Sunday night’s heavy snow storm. He was in back shoveling about six inches of snow off the small sidewalk [Read More…]
Just in time for Christmas, I will be doing a book signing in Burlington at Burlington By the Books, 301 Jefferson St., on Saturday, December 15th, from 11:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Books will be [Read More…]
I’m going to toss out four books for consideration or consumption, like tossing out bones for the canine to choose from—one, two, maybe three, or all of them? It’s going to be cold and the [Read More…]
I can’t drive 55…or 65 for that matter, there’s just too much to do. This week I’ve made the mind-numbing trek to the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids on what will be three straight [Read More…]
November 3rd, 1989, 2:00 a.m., all alone, and blind drunk, I fell through the glass top of my coffee table, cut myself to smithereens, and almost bled to death. Like an Iowa tornado ripping through [Read More…]
Ginnie and I recently celebrated our three-year wedding anniversary. On October 10th, three years ago, Ginnie stepped out of the back door of our garage, strolled across the grass, to the music and singing of [Read More…]
Lee County Supervisor Gary Folluo rubbed his head in frustration at Tuesday’s board meeting as the county leaders worked through an issue about a maintenance shed that sits between two properties in Argyle. The building [Read More…]
Have you ever heard of both a mother and daughter having breast cancer at the same time in the same breast? It happened to Linda Pohren and Tammy Mumme of Mt. Pleasant. Linda’s husband, Jim, [Read More…]
National Dog Day, which was in late August, right around Ginnie’s birthday, found Buddy a little worse for wear. It has been a bummer summer for the ole Buddy Boy. First of all, in July, [Read More…]
Brad Heald was still weed eating 45 minutes before his daughter’s wedding. He wanted everything to be perfect for his only daughter, Coral. To the wedding guests, everything was perfect. There was a beautiful display [Read More…]
In my generation, a four-year degree was the path often taken. “Get your degree” my mom would say. It took me a while to get my crap together, but I got it done. I graduated [Read More…]
Kimn Hassenfritz looked up from the breakfast table. “What is that awful noise?” she asked. There it was again. The noise sounded like a cross between an elk bugling and a sick goose. It was [Read More…]
I’m going to recommend two books for fall-fest reading. One is “Vinegar Girl” by Anne Tyler, and the other is “Long Haul, A Trucker’s Tales of Life on the Road” by Finn Murphy. Anne Tyler [Read More…]
When I was a kid my father ran a gas station in Monroe. I loved “helping” my father with his business. I swept the floor and washed windshields—albeit I had to stand on a five-gallon [Read More…]
It was snowing so hard Michael Lanman, from Keosauqua, could hardly see beyond the hood of his Schneider truck. Semis were crammed into the parking lot of the truck stop in Clear Lake every which [Read More…]
Dr. Joel Ryon was headed for Mt. Pleasant’s swimming pool for a workout. He is a triathlete having competed in Ironman triathlons and also the Boston Marathon. It was his day off from his busy [Read More…]
I had fielded one-too-many quips about my weight: “Really pack’n it on there, aren’t you?” This hurt my feelings, so I decided to do something about it. We have plenty of eggs with our dozen [Read More…]
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