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Same old, same old

If you live long enough you hear the same promises and accusations repeated ad nauseum by politicians of both parties. They will make your life better if you vote for them. Is your life better because of a politician? I doubt it. Mine gets worse when they raise my taxes. Democrats are re-cycling the "filthy rich" vs. the average person who lives paycheck to paycheck. Question: When Democrats are in office and raise taxes, do you get any of their money? Dishonesty and corruption among members of both parties is always a problem extending back almost to the nation's founding. Promises ...

EMPTY NEST

Sweet MiMi is a clown. But not just any ordinary clown. Behind the makeup is Thelma O’Neill, an octogenarian from Mt. Pleasant. Thelma used to hire out as a clown for birthday parties and special events, but these days she devotes her time to volunteer clowning at local elementary schools. What makes her approach unusual is how she introduces herself. Sweet MiMi doesn't just march into a classroom in full clown regalia. Instead, she arrives in street clothes and transforms into her persona right in front of the children—like Superman changing clothes in a phone booth. By doing ...

When 500 Marshalltown families need food assistance, we should pay attention

In Marshalltown, we take care of our neighbors. We see it in our churches, our schools, our local businesses, and the countless volunteers who give their time to help someone going through a difficult stretch. But a troubling trend at the Emergency Food Box tells us that more of our neighbors ...

Ramaswamy has made a very poor trade

What you put first, you will keep. After all, most of us wouldn't mind a bit more money, but when you think about it, you already know where you can get it. You can always steal from the offering plate, push over a panhandling woman, scam a desperate friend. There's a bit of a trick, though. ...

Enrollment-calculation trapdoor will squeeze Iowa’s public schools

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 2201, the school funding bill, into law on Feb. 26. The 2% increase in per-pupil funding for the 2026-27 school year works out to $160 more per student. When the decline in public enrollment is taken into account, it’s a statewide increase of $17 ...