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Guest Commentary: Social media use leads to poor mental health among teens and negatively impacts learning

According to a survey released by Gallup on Oct. 13, 2023, the average U.S. teen uses social media 4.8 hours per day. Girls use social media roughly one hour more than boys per day. Teens favorite platforms are YouTube and TikTok with Instagram a distant third in popularity.

Lawn & Garden: Brighten any space with containers of summer-flowering bulbs

Add unexpected beauty to your patio, deck or balcony with summer-blooming bulbs. You may have grown elephant ears, lilies, dahlias, gladiolus and caladiums in your garden, but did you know they also thrive in containers? Some summer bulbs grow even better in pots than they do in the garden. These include the exotic-looking flowers of Abyssinian gladiolus, calla lilies, pineapple lilies and spider lilies.

Home Country

Hey, I was there to help, right? Right there in the kitchenette loaned us by the Roosevelt Hotel in Anchorage. My wife, Pam, ran the headquarters for the Iditarod Dogsled Race, and it was the second year of the race, 1974, and there I sat, a genuine Alaskan long-distance dog musher who had participated in the first race the year before.

So when a nicely dressed elderly gentleman with a thick Boston accent stopped by for coffee and questions about the race … hey, I’m there for you.

Extension Outreach

Last time I encouraged record books and this time I want to say how excited I am for the number we received and for the quality. There is room for improvement, but the kids did the work and all have a place to work from for next year! As I am getting ready for my personal year end business meeting it is helpful to gauge how you are doing if you can see where you started. No matter what profession an exhibitor lands in life there is value in doing and understanding the record keeping.

One Man’s Perspective: Some general — and possibly controversial — random observations

You choose, the hardest jobs in America are:

• Donald Trump’s hairstylist, his skin tan retailer and his attorney team — they’re really busy.

• Joe Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, his public event sign language interpreter or his speech and policy writing team.

You choose.

Guest Commentary: Pre-birth child support

Friends, I filed a bill this week with several of my colleagues that would provide pre-birth child support to mothers who are carrying a father’s child. Right now, that support, for the most part, does not start until the baby is born and, as a pro-life person, I felt that the unborn child needs and deserves the support. Quite frankly, guys have been getting off the hook for too long and need to take accountability for their actions.

Pastor’s Column: Really is such an interesting word

The word “really” can be used in so many meaningful ways. It can be used as a question: “Really?” It can be used in the sense of gossip — “REALLY!” It can be used to express interest — Really.” It can be used to express doubt — “Really?” Or, it can accentuate truth — “Really!” But, it can also accentuate unbelief — “Really!” “Really” is a really interesting word.

The CommStock Report: Topics of note

Could it be that congressional leaders could come to a budget agreement ahead of the deadline of Jan. 19 when portions of the government run out of money again? Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy did a budget deal that his House caucus later reneged on costing him his job. The new speaker, Mike Johnson, who actually physically sat next to Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and shook his hand, also has reportedly done a deal for $16 billion in less spending than the Democrats had proposed.

Lawn & Garden: Get a jump start on managing plant pests this winter

Just like us, insects spend their winters in different locations. Unlike us, they spend their winters in different stages of development. Some may overwinter as adults, others in their immature stage as grubs, caterpillars or nymphs, while others will be in the pupal stage like a chrysalis or cocoon. Understanding their lifecycle and location can help us support beneficial insects while managing problem insect pests.

Guest Commentary: The Rowley Report

In the Senate during week three the focus was on scheduling subcommittee meetings for discussion and public comment. The scheduling process can be quite a challenge as the other senators are also setting up their times for subcommittee, while looking ahead to meeting the first funnel deadline of Feb. 16. Hundreds of bills are packed into this three-week period. I served on and chaired a number of subcommittees.

 

Bills introduced:

Letter to the Editor: Commentary on repealing the estate tax

After reading the commentary on repealing the estate tax please see context below that was lacking.

An estate tax is levied on the estate of the deceased while an inheritance tax is levied on the heirs of the deceased. There is no federal inheritance tax and Iowa is one of only six states that has a state-level inheritance tax.

Guest Commentary: Illegal immigrants don’t deserve a free pass at our airports

President Biden’s open-border policies have rolled out the welcome mat for illegal immigrants, drug traffickers, terrorists, and foreign nationals with ties to China to unlawfully enter our country. Yet, he refuses to enforce our nation’s immigration laws and keep our families and communities safe.

Home Country

Almost all of us know how to pronounce pandemic now, and we have a pretty good idea of what it means since everyone we know spent more than a year under virtual house arrest.

But that didn’t help Billy much. Billy’s our town dog, of course. He’s been our town dog since Sally passed away on Doc’s porch, and Billy’s owner died two weeks later. Sometimes an honored position doesn’t require an election.

Guest Commentary: Iowa needs to stop creeping secrecy over releasing names

The increasing secrecy by Iowa law enforcement and their lawyers about identifying people by name raises important questions underlying public confidence in the critical work of first-responders.

Guest Commentary: Romance scams

Q: What are you hearing from Iowans about romance scams?

A: The efforts of rip off artists seeking to enrich themselves at the expense of their victims are a tale as old as time. Today the internet gives con artists and criminals a digital platform to lay an anonymous trap far and wide, from identity theft to online extortion and money laundering.

Pastor’s Column: God will never forget those who are his

The church at which I serve (CrossWinds) has a conviction when it comes to our regular Sunday morning teaching. As a general rule, we will preach through an entire book of the Bible at a time, verse-by-verse. One of the greatest values of this approach is that we avoid circling back to the same topics over and over again, but instead trust that God will use his word to accomplish his purposes in his people.

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