Readers of this column over the years probably understand that it’s been pro-agriculture and pro-business most all of the time. But the umbrella over all of that has always been the support for individual rights. Our founding fathers demonstrated brilliance in adopting a series of individual rights that were designed to protect people from the propensity of government to become tyrannical.

For the next two months, we’ll be preparing to celebrate the upcoming 35th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26. This month’s information comes from the ADA National Network.

Celebrate National Pollinator Month this June by creating and maintaining a garden that attracts and supports these important members of our ecosystem. Pollinators are responsible for about 75% of the food we eat and play an important role in producing food, fiber, medicine and more.

In a few days, all those rhymers who lived in Tin Pan Alley back when Gertie was a pup will be fulfilled once again. How’s that you say?

Was a love song ever written that didn’t have both moon and June in it? And the full moon will be here in a couple of days, and it is our responsibility to go look at it.

First of all, Happy Flagfest weekend to all in Spencer; Happy American Flag Day to everyone across this great nation; Happy Birthday, U.S. Army for 250 years of service and protection; and last but certainly not least, to all you dads, Happy Father's Day.

Effective parenting is measured not by the changes we make in our children, although that may be necessary from time to time, but by the changes we allow our heavenly Father to make in us.

Apparently, the new official response to Iowa families worried about losing their health care is: “We’re all going to die.”

A new farmer-led conservation group is forming in northwest Iowa, and local producers are invited to get involved. The Northwest Iowa Agriculture Stewardship Alliance (NIASA) is a peer learning network focused on supporting farmers and landowners in Palo Alto, Emmet, Clay and Dickinson counties who are interested in improving soil health, protecting water quality and enhancing farm profitability.

And they thought that Howard Hughes was excentric. He was the first really wealthy American icon. Remember the Spruce Goose? They made a movie, “The Aviator,” about him, staring Leonardo DiCaprio. Hughes was a genius with idiosyncrasies that collimated in obsessive/compulsive disorder.

The writer of “Karate Kid: Legends,” Rob Lieber, had a very easy job. Essentially, insert name here. The plot closely follows the original two ― a formula which worked.

June 14 people will recognize/celebrate any one of the 18 designations it has including Flag Day here in Spencer. Millions will also recognize it as "No Kings Day" due to 45's threat to democracy.

The fiscal year 2026 budget will spend $9.424 billion in the next year, an increase of 5.33% over the current year.

Sunflowers are one of those happy plants many gardeners can’t resist planting. Kids love to watch the plants reach for the sky and everyone enjoys all the visitors. You are likely to see hummingbirds, bees and other pollinators on the flowers, songbirds munching on the seeds, and squirrels practicing acrobatic contortions as they try to gain their fair share of the harvest.

It’s the heat that defines us this month. It greets us at daybreak with its promise, but in an hour or so, it bears down on our shoulders and makes us dream of shade and something cold to drink.

The best thing about our hot season, however, are evenings when most of the earth cools, and that breeze slides in off the mesa and caresses our cheeks. Then it’s time to sit, and laugh, and tell stories and just be with someone we love. Then is the culmination of a day we can be proud of.

Remember Kelli Bloomquist?

I’m sure it’s a head scratcher for some of you.

How about Kelli Linn? A little more familiar perhaps?