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Driving forward

I had the opportunity to attend the Marshall County Food Access meeting this week at the ISU Extension Office. Meetings are held quarterly. You would be surprised at how many people and groups are working their tail off to help people have access to food. Food banks, little food boxes that you ...

25 years since 9/11

From natural disasters to political, agricultural, scientific and technological revolutions, certain events change the course of human history. This year, we celebrate 250 years since America’s founding patriots signed the Declaration of Independence. Since then, generations of Americans ...

Round River: The Grace of the Wild

At the end of August, the world lost an amazing writer and poet, Wendell Berry. His poem "The Peace of Wild Things" has grounded me and refocused me for decades. Up until recently, I had this poem posted on my wall next to my desk. I never printed one after becoming director, but that will ...

FUTURES FILES

Tensions Push Oil Up Thursday night’s oil prices placed West Texas Intermediate crude over $104 per barrel and Brent crude over $110. The price jumps reflect increased political tensions between the US and Iran and military attacks by both sides. A U.S. shortage of refining capacity sent diesel prices upward even more than crude prices. Interest Rates, Heads Up? Expectations have increased that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its meeting next week. Thursday, the US Producer Price Index showed a jump of 1.1% for final demand goods. The consumer price index was ...

Bible Truth or Tradition: Who is the creator of the heavens and the earth?

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” Genesis‬ ‭1‬:‭1,27‬. The singular personal pronoun “He” indicates that God is one person. “Do you thus repay the LORD, you foolish and senseless people? Is not he your father, who created you, who made you and established you?” Deuteronomy‬ ‭32‬:‭6‬ “When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,” Psalm‬ ...

ASK AUGUSTINE

Is Christianity inclusive or exclusive, and how is that reflected in our styles of worship? Contemporary worship styles of worship seem to focus their presentations aimed at finding a theological and cultural lowest common denominator to attract and engage the greatest number of people; hence such styles of worship clearly indicate the inclusiveness of Christianity. As a result, in contemporary worship services there seems to be no need to be a Christian to understand almost everything that was said or sung. So why sing ”Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” when one does not know what ...