I hear it is prom season. How many of you harbor fond, sometimes illicit memories from the spring of senior year? I know I do. more

June 8, 2011: The community was left stunned after RR Donnelly announced it would close its Eldridge plant, effective July 31, and 278 employees would lose their jobs. “No one saw this coming,” said Eldridge city administrator John Dowd. “We’ve been pretty fortunate when it comes to economic news, but that run of good luck seems to be done.” Company officials cited “changing market conditions” as the reason for the closure. The company opened in 1982 as Bawden Printing and was purchased by Von Hoffman Graphics in 1999. Eight years later, it was acquired by RR Donnelly. Employees said, since the new ownership, the environment at the company had not been the same.  more

In my 40 years as editor of The North Scott Press, I used my position and these pages to both publicly praise and criticize the actions of elected city officials and public employees. more

"Did you ever imagine the world-famous Rose Garden being replaced by a patio just like the one at a U.S. president’s private mansion? Or a huge arena for violent cage fights on the White House South Lawn, with the rubble from the East Wing in the background? The Trump Arc de Triomphe, framing Robert E. Lee’s former home, instead of the Arlington National Cemetery on the same grounds ..." more

There’s a saying, attributed to Henry Ford: If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. more

June 1, 2011: Thanks to a stimulus grant, McCausland was able to make several improvements around town, including clearing standing water in ditches, park improvements, new equipment, and some utility relief for residents. Mayor Buzz Koehn said city officials recently learned more about how they could apply for grant funding and were now making long-term goals for city departments so they could be proactive in getting additional funding as it became available. more

There was a dispute between Thomas Mann and Albert Einstein dealing with how quickly or slowly time passes. Einstein, in his theory of relativity, maintained that the faster an object moves, it has the effect of slowing time. Mann, writing in his most famous work, “The Magic Mountain,” contended that boring times “could dissolve, indeed, the largest units of time until they seem nothing at all.” more

"Luana has an amazing testimony that she shares with many to lead them to the freedom she’s found in Christ. She’s a testimony to the Glory of God. Luana will work hard for us, and I know she won’t let us down ..." more

"Voters in the Republican primary on June 2 will not find a more responsive county supervisor than Luana Stoltenberg on the ballot. As a state legislator, Luana became well aware of the interplay between local and state governments and is a unique candidate in that respect on Tuesday’s primary ballot ..." more

Curiosity is one of my job requirements, so on occasion I try to puzzle out whether the mayors and council members I cover count themselves loyal to one political party or another. This rarely leads anywhere. Local politics is so inglorious, its conflicts so stale and petty, that it leaves very little room for the ideological grandstanding party politics requires. Guessing at partisan loyalties is a kind of parlor game apt to depend more on stereotypes than serious observation.    more

May 21, 1986: As a result of federal budget cuts, the Scott County Extension service was forced to eliminate one full-time position and cut hours for four others. Joe Hutter, chair of the Extension Council, said they were also looking at a possible relocation at a lower rent. The county Extension offices were currently located in the Bettendorf Bank building near Duck Creek Plaza. more

"While Americans are drowning in sky high health insurance, everything else in every family budget is going up too.  But the president is possessed with his marble bath, golden ballroom, coloring the reflecting pool, the silly arch, and his wealth that has grown in this term by billions with a B ..." more

"The purpose of this bill is not to protect women’s health. It is to control them and limit their choices.  These legislators must know Iowa has the fewest OB-GYN providers per capita in the nation ..." more

"Cellphones and self-preoccupation have made gym etiquette a lost art at the Eldridge YMCA. You are there to work out, so work out ..." more

I had never seen a bison until Wednesday morning of last week, when I took a trip out to the Bill Cody Homestead. Scott County Conservation had kept bison at the Homestead until the last bull, Cinco, died in 2024. Now they have returned, thanks to a loan from a ranch in Maquoketa. more

May 12, 2021: Tensions within the Eldridge City Council exploded into public view, as council member Bruce Cheek accused city officials, including mayor Marty O’Boyle, of a lack of transparency, especially regarding a delay in city administrator Lisa Kotter’s annual review, as well as concerns over the police department. more

Immigration and border control are a couple of the most serious issues facing the U.S. The debate over how many legal immigrants should enter the country, how to improve the legal immigration process, who should be granted legal status, and how to address the folks who break the rules is never-ending. more

Iowans are compassionate people. We believe in hard work, personal responsibility, and following the rules. That’s why most Iowans support legal immigration and welcome people who want to come here the right way, contribute, and build a better life for their families. more

You don’t know what you don’t know. That’s something I had a lot of time to consider in March. more

In a concession to the current “literary scene,” I bought a copy of the novel Transcription by Ben Lerner in Iowa City last weekend. I read enough of what’s new at work that I try to keep to what’s old when I read for pleasure. But here was a novel about an interview gone awry. Just the thing, I thought. And it was short enough—130 pages, hardly a novel—that I could put it down in an afternoon, like a carafe of iced tea.  more