Each year at the Iowa State Fair 4-H volunteers or alumni from each of Iowa’s 99 counties are inducted into the Iowa 4-H Hall of Fame. These inductees are volunteers, community leaders or Extension staff members who have dedicated themselves to furthering the reach and impact of 4-H in their counties and across the state.

Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya return in the second — very long, nearly three hours to be precise — installation of the “Dune: Part One” story in the creatively titled “Dune: Part Two.” Denis Villeneuve is back at the helm, directing after having both co-written the screenplay and co-producing the film.

Agriculture is the economic engine of Iowa. When our farmers and producers are successful, our economy grows, our main streets thrive, our businesses invest in new employees and finance expansions, and our rural communities grow stronger. As is obvious from our endless fields of corn and soybeans and our countless hog, cattle, and poultry operations, we grow and raise more than we can consume and sell in Iowa — or even our country.

This week the House of Representatives passed a bill to strengthen Iowa’s laws on ownership of Iowa’s agricultural land by nonresident aliens. Senate File 2204 easily passed with bipartisan support with a vote of 95-0. SF 2204 amends the current law to increase reporting requirements, increase enforcement of current laws, and authorizes the attorney general’s office to investigate reports of potential violations of Iowa’s laws concerning foreign ownership.

A little backstory before looking at the biblical text I’ve come across. Have you ever been around a person who is into seeing numbers in everything common? They see a number somewhere and think they should buy that number of quarts of milk, or pairs of socks or cupcakes. They see a sign and think this is their lucky year because they just turned 55. A bit of hyperbole, but my point is people can make numbers say just about whatever they want them to say.

The headline of a story in Wallace’s Farmer from Holly Springer caught my attention, “penciling out farmland tough for farmers in ‘24.” Ain’t that the truth! But when has it ever been any different? Buying farmland or maybe better put “borrowing all the money to buy farmland” has never worked to my knowledge here in northwest Iowa. The revenue from farming land was never adequate to pay for the farm in my experience.

I have to question why anybody wouldn’t want the most secure election process possible

I have no first hand evidence I completely admit, and I’m certainly open to anyone who has actual physical proof to weigh in when it comes to voter fraud. When it comes to the 2020 election, while I wasn’t pleased with the outcome, I don’t discount the final results because as I mentioned before, outside of unproven claims, I’ve never seen any material evidence.

This week opened up with showcasing how unique Iowa weather is. From our home in District 5 all the way to Des Moines Tuesday brought in record setting temperatures, some registering at 78 degrees, while on Wednesday we had near zero numbers with scattered flurries.

In 2021 the Fordham Institute released, the State of State Standards for Civics and U.S. History. The report evaluated the quality, completeness and rigor of K-12 civics and U.S. history standards.

And the beat goes on for those of us along the route of the CO2 pipeline proposed by Summit Carbon Solutions. It’s been around two years since most of us first heard about the project. Many aspects of the project are very concerning and we have received little to no information to allay our fears.

Anytime is a great time to add a few houseplants to your home. Adding greenery indoors expands your gardening opportunities and provides the many benefits of living with and tending plants. It can boost your mood and reduce stress while adding beauty or nutritious food to your home.

This Saturday morning, an old man here in New Mexico will act just a bit silly again as he has these past 50-odd years on the first Saturday in March.

Normally I end with the business topics, but today I am going to start with it. I will end with some tidbits from the rule books that I am still fascinated to have in my office! First topic is any volunteer leaders, club leaders, Livestock Committee members, Static Committee members, need to be enrolled in 4-H Online and need to complete yearly training. Questions on if this applies to you call the office.

When an alcoholic hairdresser comes to aide of a construction worker raising two daughters on his own, lives are transformed in this faith-based, true story. It’s another example of the continuing growth in the quality of the Christian-based film industry.

In our free-market economy, Americans should have the freedom to purchase the car or truck of their choice without the federal government putting its thumb on the scale to advance a specific policy preference and distort the market. However, President Joe Biden doesn’t see it that way.