Next Tuesday, April 29, Clay County Attorney Travis Johnson will be among those presenting on northwest Iowa’s pioneer program, Drug Court.

Johnson helped start the program with the help of an area judge to serve as an alternative to locking up nonviolent drug offenders who are often caught up in the system.

The Iowa Senate held debate throughout the week, passing over 40 bills as we focused on moving business before the 110-day deadline of the session. Most attention is on priority bills dealing with Appropriations (budget) and bills in Ways and Means.

We passed the Gov. Kim Reynold's disaster relief bill, SF 619 / HF 1012. The bill had a few changes from my update last week. Those changes include:

• Adds a limiting provision to the Disaster Recovery New Housing Program available only for applications submitted between Aug. 20, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024.

I can ‘memorate ‘thout too much trouble about the time this little girl come to visit on the ranch. Oh, Alphonse Wilson here, don’t you see. …

Yessir, she was just a tad, mebbe three years old. Couldn’t say for sure. Didn’t check her teeth. Lived up in the city and was seeing what it was like to be around horses and cows and barns and stuff made out of cowhide.

He’s among the best at what he does; the problem is, what he does isn’t very glamorous.

Charlie Heller (Rami Malek), a CIA cryptographer, is tops in his field and highly regarded by all who know him. He bids farewell to his wife, Sarah (Rachel Brosnahan), destined for a conference in England, and heads to his below-ground office underneath the high-security CIA offices.

Written and directed by former U.S. Navy SEAL Ray Mendoza with Alex Garland, regarding his real-life experience in the Iraq War. The outcome is an effort which is probably the most realistic depiction of an actual wartime event to date.

Why? We, as a society, have had a blessed life, in that we have always progressed, slowly but surely. However, there is now a wrecking ball being taken to our rights, freedoms and financial wellbeing. Our progress is being pulled back by a century.

As Americans, we want the world to think well of us. We have sent food, the Peace Corps and the Marine Corps to help villages, cities and regions in distress and danger. Good Friday reminds us of our moral shortcomings.

Summer camp registration is now open! We’ve got summer camp opportunities for youth as young as 2 years old all the way up to seniors in high school. There are camps for a wide range of interests, ranging from gardening, livestock, art, science and more. All youth are welcome to sign up and attend our summer camps, whether they are 4-H members or not.

The president's world view reflects the America First doctrine, with his perception of national interest rather than democratic or moral principles guiding his actions coming to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rescue. President Donald Trump has used the phrase repeatedly. …" America First … America First … America First" in order to let it soak in. The America First doctrine has gone around the merry-go-round several times in our nation's history.

Trees provide many benefits to the environment and our health and well-being. These long-lived members of our landscapes and communities provide shade, help reduce energy costs, clean the air we breathe, prevent soil erosion and stormwater runoff, and attract and provide homes for birds and pollinators. National Arbor Day, celebrated on the last Friday of April, recognizes the important role trees play in our environment.

There’s something so satisfying about getting out of bed when the world is still dark and quiet and resting. Making the coffee gives us time to scratch and think. Well, scratch, anyway. Most of that thinking will start after about the third cup of coffee.

Well, we managed to get called too liberal by a local conservative and too conservative by a local liberal.

In my book, it means we must be doing things right.

Truth is, we’re neither. We’re not a right-wing paper or a left-wing paper — we’re a newspaper.

In April 2023 the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee refused to take disciplinary action against Sen. Mike Bousselot (R21) for “the appearance of unethical conduct.” Now again in April 2025, Bousselot, former head of External Relations for Summit Ag (and other dubious connections), has refused to recuse himself in spite of the obvious conflict of interest.

The recent trend, which seems to be working, is to take a horror movie, blend in some humor and emotion, and turn it loose on the viewing public.