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Columnists

Reflections on Veterans Day

Veterans Day is upon us. This is a day to honor, and celebrate, those who served. Veterans are former members of the Army (Soldiers), Navy (Sailors), Marine Corps (Marines), Air Force (Airmen), and Space Force (Guardians). Veterans separated themselves from this 330-million citizen ...

A vast, divergent Land

The United States of America is 3.8 million square miles, filled with 340 million people, producing over $30 trillion in gross domestic product per year. We are the fourth largest country by land, third by population and first by GDP. We no longer know each other, care for each other or like ...

War of rhetoric — America’s most dangerous fix

Addiction often begins with the promise of escape; a harmless experiment that becomes a habit, then a lifestyle, then a prison. Drug dealers market their product by normalizing it in culture — through music, film, and television — until the damage feels inevitable and normal. With a ...

Self-compassion

Have you ever lost your temper at … yourself? Blamed and then beat yourself up a little inside for doing something you regret? Maybe you’ve been harsh with someone, only to be much harsher with yourself later? It’s easy to be tough on yourself — we tend to do it much more than we ...

36 years clean and sober

The irony of it all. November 3, 36 years ago, I was so drunk I fell through the glass top of my coffee table at 2:00 am in the morning, cut myself to smithereens, and almost bled to death. November 3 of this year, 2025, I will be at University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics having a MRI of my ...

High turnouts validate elections

Interest in local elections in Jefferson this fall appears to be greater than usual. It’s a good thing. City council and school board elections in Iowa are held in odd-numbered years. In both 2021 and 2023, out of about 3,100 registered voters in the city of Jefferson, only a little more ...