August is on its way, ready or not! Summer flies by so fast, don’t miss these two adult educational opportunities we are offering in August.

Our annual Farmland Leasing Meeting for agriculture property owners, tenants, agriculture business representatives and lenders will be held in Spencer on Wednesday, Aug. 9, from 2-5 p.m. at the 4-H Auditorium on the Clay County Fairgrounds.

While some long-time subscribers may remember my Plan B campaign from about 25 years ago, I will bring the new ones up to speed. We were seeing Brazil begin to accelerate their soybean production which was near 38 mmts at the time. I saw this new producer as a strong competitor and future threat to our soybean market dominance but recognized that we had the ability using our farm price support system to ding them pretty hard.

"In 49 states, it’s just basketball," is the motto that bears the Indiana High School Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, Indiana. If you took Indiana State Road 3 down to U.S. Highway 40, took a right, and ran into the nearest town, you would find Knightstown. It’s the place I call home, where I attended high school, and where my mother and father still reside.

I’ve regularly discussed the idea of glass houses. Imagine how good life would be if everybody behaved as though everyone were watching all the time. The introduction of the Ring camera has made that somewhat of a reality — at least when it comes to a home’s front porch.

A recent Wired magazine article would suggest that the increased visibility is not necessarily a good thing and I’m not sure I agree.

I recently watched the movie called “The Sound of Freedom.” It was a stirring movie about children who are trafficked in the sex slave trade and a very sad situation that it is happening today. The saddest part of the movie was the end when the star of the show, Jim Caviezel talked about the show. He implored people to talk about slavery and that if each of us becomes aware of slavery, perhaps we can end this modern abomination.

Well, another gut punch and the hits just keep on coming. After SCOTUS overturned 50 years of precedent (stare decisis be damned and lied about) of constitutional protection of women’s right to autonomy over their own bodies, Iowa GOP Legislature piled on. All at taxpayer expense of a special session, done late at night, to benefit the governor’s political career ambitions. All in opposition of the overwhelming majority of Iowans that want abortion legal.

Some people are of the opinion that Summit's Carbon Capture and Sequestration plan will insure the future of ethanol and generations of Iowa farmers. I think that opinion short changes the technologies to come in CC&S and in agriculture. Summit says it will spend 4.5 billion to bury pipeline across some of Iowa's best soils (mine included) implementing present day, soon to be obsolete technology. Summit will get paid (your tax dollars) by a measure of metric tons down a hole.

Hard to watch, the emotional energy and quality acting propel the dark tale of Homeland Security agent Tim Ballard’s (Jim Caviezel) efforts to not only stop and capture child sex offenders and traffickers, but branches out to rescue their the victims in South America. Making the subject matter even darker — it’s based on a true story.

There is one universal question every person should require themselves to answer: “If there is a God, what must I do to please that God?”

Doc smiled and felt really good inside when he heard the familiar bird song.

“Hey there, Wheezer,” he said, “happy nesting!”

If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to make some time in the next couple of days to make the trek to your local movie theater, throw your money on the counter and settle in for two hours of filmmaking everyone needs to see. I don’t believe there’s a more important film you will see this year. To be honest, probably not in recent years. And don’t wait, it might not be in local theaters much longer.

Beets are one vegetable you can purchase most months of the year but those you grow yourself taste the best. The good news is there is still time to grow your own this season.

Our county is unique because the Clay County Fair falls after the Iowa State Fair. For this reason, we have an Achievement Fair in July so that non-livestock 4-H projects such as static exhibits (baking, welding, woodworking, sewing, photography, etc.), communications events (such as educational or musical presentations) and clothing events (such as clothing selection, sewing projects or $20 challenge) can be judged and selected for the Iowa State Fair.

I want to remind everyone as we celebrated Independence Day, on Tuesday, to remember the great sacrifice made in the war for our freedom which resulted in the death of so many. The alien invasion was no joke and many a soldier and civilian lost their life, including the first lady. It was on this day a brave Marine pilot, a quirky communications expert, a drunk crop duster and the president led a rag tag assault against an overwhelming enemy to prevent the destruction of all humankind.

In the three rulings released in the last few days, the Supreme Court made a mockery of the Constitution it is charged to protect. The conservative majority blatantly sullied the Constitution when they used the terminology of "equal protection under the law" to reerect yet another barrier to young African Americans accessing higher education on the same level as whites (and Asian Americans).