March 19, 1975: Eleven-year-old Patrick Richards was safely in the United States after his family was evacuated from Ethiopia. Patrick and his parents, Arthur and Patricia, had been living near the city of Asmara, where Arthur worked for a top-secret satellite communications post. A civil war broke out in the country. Arthur was injured and airlifted to a military hospital in Frankfort, Germany. Patrick and Patricia were able to pack a few belongings before taking shelter at a military base in Asmara. They then flew from Addis Ababa to Athens to Rome before joining Arthur in Germany for a week. Now, Patrick was set to spend the rest of the school year with his grandmother, Mrs. Jessie Richards, in McCausland. He was enrolled in the sixth grade at Virgil Grissom Elementary School. Patrick vividly recounted his recent adventure to The NSP.

The House had 13 bills related to advancing access to mental health care prior to the first funnel deadline. These bills are described below and now are to be considered by the House Floor and the Senate Committee.

The Iowa Revenue Estimating Committee released the March forecast and Iowa’s grand economic theory is bringing clarity to our direction. Regardless of the Governor’s rosy picture she and the Republican legislators are unable to cut spending/services fast enough to cover the loss of revenue. I often use the phrase, “it’s not real until it becomes personal” and if it hasn’t already, it’s about to become personal for many Iowans through the loss of services.

Among the bills the Iowa Senate passed, Senate File 277 made several adjustments and clarifications to the chronic absenteeism policy that we passed last year. We have heard from many parents and schools about the policy, and we took what we heard into consideration when making some changes to the law.

This week in the Legislature is the first week post-funnel. Initially, all 150 legislators can propose any bill at any time – leading to thousands of bills being filed.  There has to be a system in place to narrow down those bills to the roughly 200 ideas that we will actually consider. 

"First, the notion that Steve Scheffler was recruited as one of our supporters is completely false. This was the biggest election in the state of Iowa, and Steve was interested in coming as a neutral observer. Steve communicated his neutral position to all of us before, during, and after our central committee meeting, and my team and I fully supported his neutrality ..."

"It is simply incredible that Paustian and McNulty think that such information is proprietary to them, or that it is in anyway proper to keep fellow central committee members from  contacting one another, indeed that it is in any way collegial not to facilitate contact ..."

"Mr. Brockmann’s Republican party wants you to sit quietly and wait while the regime tears down our democracy ..."

"The First District has elected Miller Meeks three times. She is a neighbor we know and trusted doctor who truly cares about people in Iowa ..."

March 13, 1985: North Scott High School principal Ed Fischer announced that he would step down after 21 years at the school, effective July 1. Fischer said that he had mixed emotions about leaving, and that he had no solid future plans yet. He added that a factor in his deciding to step down was that his children were grown, and he was no longer tied to the school.

Glen L. Keppy, 77, a well-known farmer and life-long resident of Eldridge, died on Saturday, March 15, 2025, at Crest Health Center in Davenport.

Delores ‘Lori’ Marie (Drechsler) Ewoldt, 89, of LeClaire, passed away peacefully in the presence of her family early Saturday, March 15, 2025. She had been living at Bickford Cottage in Davenport for the past 15 months.

David Allen Wilford passed away on Feb. 19, 2025, at the age of 56, after a 12-year battle with brain cancer.

Mark Allen Regan, 70, of Iowa City, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 14, 2025, in his home, surrounded by his loving family.

Dennis J. Eudaley, 77, of LeClaire, passed away on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025, at his home.

A celebration of life for Elizabeth “Betzi” Kohrt, 62, of Princeton, will be held from 1-6 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Boll’s Community Center, Princeton.

A funeral service for Delores Marie "Lori" (Drechsler) Ewoldt, 89, of LeClaire, will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 22, at First Presbyterian Church, LeClaire. Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, March 21, from 5-8 p.m. at McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home, Bettendorf, with additional visitation one hour prior to the service on Saturday at the church.

A funeral service celebrating the life of Glen L. Keppy, 77, of Eldridge, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, March 21, at Faith Lutheran Church, Eldridge. Burial will be in Davenport Memorial Park. Visitation will be Thursday, March 20, from 3-7 p.m. at the church. Chambers Funeral Home, Eldridge, is assisting the family with arrangements.

A celebration of life for David Allen Wilford, 56, will be held from 4-7 p.m. Saturday, March 29, at Barrington White House, 145 W. Main St., Barrington, Ill. The event will be open house style, with appetizers provided. Dress in whatever Dave would have liked to see you in.

A funeral Mass for Mark Allen Regan, 70, of Iowa City, formerly of Park View, will be held at 10:30 a.m.  Saturday, March 22, at St. Philip and James Catholic Church, Grand Mound. Burial will be in the church cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, March 21, from 4-7 p.m. at Schultz Funeral Home, Grand Mound. Thef amily encourages everyone to wear Hawaiian and/or rock band shirts to the visitation.

A memorial service celebrating the life of Dennis J. Eudaley, 77, of LeClaire, will be held at noon on Saturday, March 22, at Eldridge United Methodist Church. Visitation will be two hours prior to the service at the church. A light meal will follow. McGinnis-Chambers Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements. 

A celebration of life for Elizabeth "Betzi" Kohrt, 62, of Princeton, will be held from 1-6 p.m. Saturday, March 22, at Boll's Community Center, Princeton. 

Lois Bittner of Eldridge will be celebrating her 85th birthday on March 12 (today). The family would like to honor her with a card shower (a little late) in celebration of the occasion. Cards and well wishes may be sent to her at 201 E. Franklin St. #205, Eldridge, IA 52748.

Jeffrey and Kelley (Griggs) Haycraft of Hiawatha celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary with a sun, water and sand vacay! They were married in February of 1985 at St. Mark Lutheran Church in Davenport.

On Sunday, March 2, 2025, Elaine Lorel Kresse passed away at Genesis East Medical Center in Davenport. Elaine was preceded in death by her husband, Samuel C. Kresse; her parents, Lorel and Lorraine Campbell; her brother, Norman Campbell, who is survived by his wife, Jan; her sister, Joan (Campbell) Springsteen; and her brother-in-law, Richard Springsteen. She was also preceded in death by her grandson, Travis Kresse.