News Center newsletter

Earl Jones of Harpers Ferry is celebrating his 90th birthday September 27.

In honor of the occasion, cards and well wishes may be sent to P.O. Box 174, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146.

Members of the Kee High School Class of 1962 gathered at the New Albin Community Center Wednesday, September 7 to celebrate the 60-year anniversary of their high school graduation. Pictured above seated, left to right,  are Karen (Verdon) Galema, Betty (Irons) Zarwell, Bernice (Nelson) Fink, Dorothy (Vonderhoe) Ideker and Ron Hogan. Standing, left to right, are  Carl Clancy, Faye (Sweeney) Munchoff, John Fink, Rita (Luttchens) Beardmore, Grace (Gordon) Wellendorf, Gene Mueller, Dan Delaney and Lynn Sires. Ten spouses and friends joined the 13 attending class members for a delicious catered meal. The evening was enjoyed sharing year books, personal photos, school memorabilia and reminiscing about the “good old days,” while listening to 1960s music. Eighteen of the graduating class of 29 members survive. A tribute was presented in memory of the 11 deceased members.

To the Editor:

Abortion is healthcare. As an ob/gyn, I help usher women safely through the joys and sorrows of childbearing, including abortion care. Since the June Supreme Court decision, state legislators are free to dictate the medical care I and my colleagues across the nation provide, however misinformed or politically motivated they may be.

Women in conservative states are already feeling the impact, even when seeking care for miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. At this time, no state explicitly restricts care for these conditions. However, their treatment often includes the exact same procedures and medications used to provide elective abortion. There are already many reports of pharmacies withholding medications for the treatment of miscarriage.

To the Editor:

There’s an unfortunate trend continuing in Iowa and across the nation that must be addressed: the negative behavior of some coaches, parents, and fans at high school athletic events.

Far too often, we see yelling, harassment, disrespect, and even physical assault directed at high school referees, umpires, and other officials during and after games. Often, the harassment continues on social media. Perhaps you’ve witnessed it firsthand - or even engaged in it yourself.

Not only is this behavior unacceptable and embarrassing, but it’s also having serious consequences on the future of high school sports. At this time, some states and some of our own communities are experiencing a critical shortage of high school officials. The number-one reason? You guessed it: the behavior of coaches, parents, and fans toward officials.

National surveys of officials report alarming statistics:

To the Editor:

Mr. Lowell Engle (September 14 letter) claimed that Ms. Ann Klees (August 31 letter) has been drinking the progressives’ “Kool-Aid.” If that is so, then Mr. Engle and Mr. Osmund Quandahl (September 14 letter) have been taking baths in the conservatives’ “Kool-Aid”.

Although many assertions in their letters deserve rebuttal, due to space limitations, I will focus on Mr.  Quandahl’s criticism of the $80 billion overhaul of the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.) over the next decade as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. He may have been repeating the shameful remarks of a prominent conservative who said - even though he knows better - that the new I.R.S. employees would be “going after middle-class and small-business people.”

To the Editor:

The United States of America - our country endowed with the inalienable rights and freedoms of all who live - stands tall. God is the One who formed our rights and our freedoms. As such, we cannot dedicate this country to that of any other God or man-made religion. Rather, our Constitution was written by godly men who revered God and the Bible, and its principles were derived to write the U.S. Constitution.

The United States of America, a strong nation developed through the ideals of our “unalienable rights and freedom under God, indivisible, with liberty, and with justice for all,” was written to ensure that our rights as individuals are not infringed upon.

“We The People,” states the Constitution’s first words. The phrase itself is empowering. The moral courage it took of our founding fathers to draft this timeless document is unmatched by any other.

To the Editor:

Decades of failed mental health policies have placed law enforcement on the front line of mental health crisis response and turned jails and prisons into the new asylums. Deinstitutionalization, treatment laws demanding a person become violent before intervention, discriminatory Federal Medicaid funding policies and the prolonged failure by states to fund their mental health systems drive those in need of care into the criminal justice and corrections systems, rather than into the public health system where they belong.

To the Editor:

As I sit down to write this, my heart weighs very heavily tonight. Today staff, residents and families learned that the Postville Good Samaritan Society nursing home will be closing its doors in the middle of November.

A corporation, Sanford Health Care, has decided that the bottom dollar and profit is more important than the lives of those who work or live there. Tonight residents are wondering where they will live and spend whatever days they have left, leaving behind memories of those they have become close to and shared many happy times with. Staff are stressing over what they will do for a job to support themselves and their own families, walking away from a “family” they were part of at the Postville Good Sam.

Upcoming Deadlines/Dates
October 31: Organic Certification Cost-Share and Transition/Education Certification Program

Farm Loan Presence in Allamakee County
The USDA/FSA Farm Loan team will have a Loan Officer in our office every Tuesday during normal business hours (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.).  If you would like to visit with the loan officer, feel free to call or stop in.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig today welcomed Iowans and interested organizations to nominate qualified individuals to serve on the Local Food and Farm Program Advisory Council. The Council exists to support and advise statewide efforts to increase the availability of locally grown, raised, and produced foods.

“One of my top priorities as Secretary of Agriculture is expanding markets for Iowa farmers internationally, domestically, and locally. We have an opportunity here in Iowa to help shorten supply chains by increasing the availability of locally grown, raised, and produced meat, dairy, fruits, vegetables, and other foods,” said Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig. “The Local Food and Farm Advisory Council helps guide the strategy and efforts to increase the availability local foods across the state and we are looking for passionate individuals who care about local foods to serve on the Council.”