Breaking News

Our View

Postal Service should not be privatized

As we Americans celebrate the 250th birthday of our country this year, we ought to take a minute to appreciate an often maligned organization that has helped tie the nation together throughout its history. That organization is the United States Postal Service. Even in the age of email, the Postal Service has a key role in helping Americans communicate and do business. We ought to keep it that way. Privatizing the Postal Service would be a mistake that would result in less service and higher costs for citizens. Unfortunately, the concept of privatizing it has come up a couple of ...

Community partnership will ‘Back the Blue’ with solutions

Too many responsibilities have been piled onto the shoulders of law enforcement through the years. Not only are officers supposed to enforce the law and protect the people, but they are supposed to act as addiction and mental health experts, as well as social workers. Meanwhile, training for ...

Businesses can expect surprise tax after November

As if things weren’t hard enough for Iowa’s small businesses, news comes that the Trump administration plans to claw back a chunk of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds legitimate businesses have used as a lifeline to keep their employees on the payroll. When Congress passed PPP, ...

Strength, resilience are Marshalltown hallmarks

Marshalltown Strong made its reappearance in full force after Monday’s derecho storm. The 99 mph winds and torrential rains brought back memories of the July 2018 tornado. The trauma of the tornado came back to residents as they heard the wind roar through neighborhoods and debris smash ...

County should move quickly on communications system

Marshall County is in immediate need of a reliable emergency communications system and elected county officials need to move quicker than they are. In December, State Center Fire Chief Brad Pfantz told the Marshall County Board of Supervisors about the failing system — a system that has ...

Marshalltown schools provide exceptional response in crisis

The Marshalltown Community School District deserves our support and respect. Officials and staff have worked tirelessly to provide students with a quality education in an extremely challenging time. Students did not return to classrooms after spring break in March. The COVID-19 pandemic ...