As we near the one-year mark since the flood that shook our community, many hearts are still healing. We remember the waters that swept through streets, homes and lives, leaving behind both physical and emotional wreckage. For many, the loss of what once felt secure still lingers.

There’s a passage of Scripture that speaks directly to anyone still feeling the effects of that storm — or walking through one of their own.

As our nation faces a growing demand for a skilled and adaptable workforce, there has never been a more critical time to invest in community colleges. These institutions serve as the backbone of local education, providing accessible, affordable and high-quality training for millions of Americans.

May! It is such a busy month that surprises me every year! Last year I left myself a note in my calendar that May and June fill up fast and to be cautious with scheduling! It is some of the best advice I have given myself. 4-H livestock is very busy as well! State Fair sheep/meat goat weighed in last week. May 15 was a big deadline, but now that it is passed, we look to the next items.

I am glad that we took the opportunity a couple of years ago to attend the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, while both Charlie Munger and Warren Buffet were running the show. I have referred to the late Munger as my fantasy mentor, as I love his take on many things, particularly crypto.

“Fight or Flight” could have easily been called “Bullet Plane,” an homage to the Brad Pitt vehicle, “Bullet Train,” from 2022. Pitt takes on an assignment aboard a speed train in Tokyo, with the mission to be completed before the train reaches its destination.

Those shady spots in the landscape can make it challenging to grow a beautiful garden. Fortunately, there are more plants than you may think that will thrive in low light.

It was like buzzards circling the body.

The Jones kid, Randy, was out in the Mule Barn coffee shop parking lot with the hood up on his car. He was staring down into it the way a first-time parachutist would look out the airplane door. You never quite knew for sure what lay ahead.

“Looks like Randy’s got problems,” Steve said.

“Let’s have a look,” Dud said.

If you enjoy low-maintenance gardening with delicious rewards, rhubarb and asparagus are great choices. Once established, these hardy perennials return year after year with minimal care. I gathered some helpful tips from ISU Extension’s AnswerLine, which has been answering home and family questions for over 40 years. Visit www.extension.iastate.edu/humansciences/answerline or call 1-800-262-3804 for assistance.

Mother’s Day is one of the most powerful holidays on the calendar ― not because of the cards, flowers, or breakfasts in bed, but because of what it reminds us: that we’ve been loved, nurtured and carried by someone who paid a deep, personal cost to see us thrive.

I don’t usually make it my business to comment on national, much less world affairs. There are enough babbling bobble heads out there vomiting up hot takes on subjects they know just enough about to be dangerous, but not enough about to be of any real use. However, something of such great national and global significance happened eight decades ago that I feel compelled to add my two cents on the matter.

Congressional Budget Reconciliation is happening now, and members of Congress are considering reducing Medicaid spending and other harmful health care policy changes. Communities across the nation rely on EMS services to care for their sick, injured, elderly and disabled populations. Medicaid is the first or second-largest payer for most ambulance services, especially in rural and underserved communities.

Few things in this world signal a change in seasons like Tom Turkey and his boy Jake/

It starts when our days get longer than our nights. When we all begin to feel the weight of winter lift off the land. When the sun gets a little warmer on our faces as we go about our outdoor business. When bits of bright green start to pop in our otherwise dreary winter-worn landscapes, the hope for a brighter, warmer future is rekindled.

Some packers are responding to COVID-era price fixing suits by agreeing to settlements just to put the issue behind them. There were a lot of things that happened during the COVID era where packing plants curtailed operations or closed while producers could not find shackle space. Meat prices soared while livestock prices plunged. In the cattle industry, the first recognition that kill capacity no longer equaled slaughter numbers was the Holcomb, Kansas, Tyson plant fire in 2019.

It’s time to officially kick off the summer movie season. Marvel has released its first offering of several big films in the works.

“Thunderbolts*” as David Harbour’s Red Guardian continually calls the team of anti-heroes in his thick Russian accent regularly throughout the two-plus-hour return to big screen of action, humor and relationships which have been the anchor of the superhero franchise. (Wait til you hear the backstory behind the name.)

In a newly released national report, Iowa maintains its top five ranking in preschool access for 4-year-old children. The state’s national ranking in preschool access for 3-year-old children also gained new ground, rising from 22nd to 21st place.