The 1949 movie “Take Me Out To The Ballgame” (starring Gene Kelly, Frank Sinatra and Esther Williams) was a great way to relax during the July 4 celebration of Independence Day. It was nostalgic, entertaining and full of good-natured humor. Soon we will pause the MLB season for the Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game between the American and National leagues.

We would like to take a moment to thank everyone who has come to this season’s concerts by the Spencer Municipal Band. We would especially like to thank our members who so generously take the time each summer to join us as we continue this Spencer tradition for our community.

We will finish up our summer concert season on Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. as part of the Mainstreet Market at the courthouse square.

The whip isn’t the only thing cracking as an aging Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) once again dons the fedora in this fifth installment of the popular archaeologist and adventurer’s franchise.

It has been said (although not by Edmund Burke as so often claimed), that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” If you think about it, that is not the only thing that leads to horrible crimes against humanity, but it helps. It is often cited when regarding the horrors of Nazism.

Some people think that we know what is going on in Russia in their internal power struggle but the only thing that I am very sure of is that we don't. I think what was amazing is that it took days until we heard anything in public from Putin. That followed a recording from his antagonist, Yevgeny Prigozhin. The battle is between the defense minister, chief Russian general, who were in the room with Putin, and Prigozhin.

“Just about a week now, boys, and happy birthday America!”

“Got that right, Herb. You finished with that hot sauce?”

“Here you go,” Steve said.

There’ll be the annual parade, of course, and each bonafide member of the world dilemma think tank, masquerading in public as the supreme court of dang near everything, would be down there on the street to judge.

I had a chance last Wednesday to participate as the Dig In & Discover speaker, alongside our Spencer Reporter Publisher Brad Hicks for he weekly lunch time event at Occasions.

On July 1 the historic legislation to restructure and better align the organization of the state government and its agencies will go into effect. Senate File 514 consolidates redundancies within the state government, brings together similar and related services under single agencies, groups resources to better leverage contracts, and most importantly provides a more streamlined customer experience for Iowans when conducting business with the state government.

Roots erupting through the soil surface that extend beyond the tree trunk are known as surface roots. This is a normal part of aging for shallow-rooted trees. The aging roots increase in circumference just like the tree’s branches and trunk. As they thicken, the upper portion of the roots appear above the soil surface.

I wanted to feature an article from Leah Ten Napel, ISU field agronomist, about the Northwest Iowa Research Farm and its upcoming field day. If you haven’t visited the Northwest Research Farm, I highly recommend it. Attendance is free and open to the public. Registration is not needed.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met 5 1/2 hours with his Chinese counterpart's recently (longer if you account for meal time). He also got a short period of face-time with Chinese President Xi Jinping which is the one that mattered. They are hoping to reestablish what had become absent lines of communications and begin to set the table for another round of talks between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi.

It’s Pride Month, in case you didn’t know. There have been a wide variety of events in support of the LGBT-plus community from ad campaigns and national store promotions, to long standing festivals and parades through metropolitan streets. All safe and socially acceptable means of individuals celebrating their individuality.

However things took a couple of ugly turns recently as the month long recognition draws to a close.

Much to the dismay of Summit Carbon Solutions, easements for over 1,000 parcels on its hazardous CO2 pipeline route remain unsigned. The clock is ticking, and time is running out. Construction is behind schedule, and the project is over budget. The company needs speedy approval to use eminent domain to take this property, and recent events signal the IUB is willing to oblige.

I enjoy spending many hours traveling throughout the Iowa countryside each year — to all 99 counties, to my family’s farm in the northwest corner of the state, and to our three sons’ many activities, including baseball games.

The movie poster places the words “Pretty” and “Awkward” prominently over the heads of “No Hard Feelings” two stars — the well known Jennifer Lawrence and the lesser-known Andrew Barth Feldman — it also serves as an adequate description of the tale.