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Opinion

When should farmers retire?

Editorials

Retirement from a farm business may not mean moving away or giving up on mentoring the next generation, but it does entail transferring management decisions to someone else. It can be a gradual or sudden process. It may be driven by long-term goals, by sudden health issues, or events outside ...

Heather’s Highlights: County Government and You, March 2026

Local Columns

Happy Spring! The month of March was filled with weekly budget sessions as well as union negotiations for Tama County. This takes several hours of time but is critical to ensure the best decisions are made with Tama County taxpayer dollars. The County has been discussing the possibility of ...

Letter to the Editor: NuCara pharmacy closure

Letters to the Editor

I am writing with a concern about our NuCara Pharmacy in Traer closing suddenly. Many people in our community rely on the services of the pharmacy. They don’t want to drive to another town to get their prescriptions filled. Plus, the pharmacy has gift items, cards, over the counter meds, ...

How AEA career supports connect students to life

Editorials

What if school didn’t just prepare students for tests, but for life? Across our communities, that question is turning into action. Through work-based learning opportunities supported by Central Rivers AEA, students are stepping beyond the classroom and into the workforce. What they are ...

Dengler Domain: Pharmacy

Local Columns

To see the Traer pharmacy close is sad. Hopefully, it will see a similar outcome like the medical clinic with a new organization. It may have been years since stepping foot in this small pharmacy, but it still evokes memories. After visiting the doctor’s office, the pharmacy was a hop and ...

District 53 Newsletter: March 26, 2026

Editorials

The legislature has finished week 11 of the session, we are busy working on bills sent over from the Senate and preparing appropriations bills for the final weeks of the session. Nearly every year during the session we deal with legislation that to one degree or another seeks to end the ...

Public notices must remain in newspapers

Editorials

There are some in the Iowa Legislature who periodically toy with the possibility of eliminating the requirement that local governments print public notices in newspapers. This is the wrong move today, tomorrow and for the future. Government transparency is more important than ever. In truth it ...

On the Record with Sheriff Casey Schmidt

Local Columns

I want to shout out to the Tama County Board of Supervisors as they work through this year’s and last year’s budget. It is not an easy job. There are a lot of moving parts and no perfect answers. From our side, we understand the reality. Budgets are tight everywhere, and we are not any ...