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Crude Jumps with Gulf Turmoil Both West Texas and Brent Crude rose sharply all week as Houthi and regional attacks in Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf raised fears of global supply disruptions. Expectations of U.S. military strikes on Iran and rising tanker rates also fueled the rise. West Texas crude was up roughly $5 per bbl on the week. Turn Brown Fields into Green? CoverCress is a winter oilseed crop suddenly receiving attention from U.S. wheat farmers whose costs have risen and exports declined. It was created through plant breeding and gene editing applied to field pennycress, ...

Marshalltown can get data centers right

Marshalltown is having the same conversation a lot of Iowa communities are having right now: whether data centers belong here, and if so, where and on what terms. The city's pause on new data center approvals runs through late November. Reasonable people disagreed about whether that pause was ...

From the Mayor’s Desk: Spooky times

Haunt the Block on Main Street was a Monster success again this year. This event is organized by the MCBD (Marshalltown Central Business District) led by Danielle Lekin and the businesses uptown. The weather was perfect for doing a little trick or treating and for trying out new Halloween ...

ASK AUGUSTINE

Adam Hamilton says Christians do not have to believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus. What do you think? When I received your question, I had to research who Adam Hamilton is. Hamilton is in Kansas (I live in Florida) who is a candidate for the US Senate. But I do not want this column to become political; so therefore my reply is delimited to “only" the theological nature of your question. Theologically, I am in full disagreement with Adam Hamilton on this, as my belief is that no true Christian can deny the virgin birth of Jesus. I suspect, being a politician he read a recent ...

Building the heartland’s future

If you step onto a shop floor in Council Bluffs, Wichita, St. Joseph, or Grand Island, you see the true engine of our regional economy: hardworking families dedicated to keeping our communities moving forward. At the Small Business Administration (SBA), our goal is to support that dedication ...

Why is Paris and much of France burning?

Watching the riots throughout France (the BBC laughably called them "mostly peaceful" while showing cities in flames, and U.S. media disagreed on whether they are the fault of the right or the left) made me think of the classic 1966 film "Is Paris Burning?" The plot was inspired by Adolf ...