Like many pastors, I am “bivocational.” I work half time for a small-town church, preaching on Sundays and doing what I can to serve the community during the week, but I also have to hold down a separate full time job to insure my family and make ends meet. Until a couple months ago, I ...

With the holiday season here, it is time for reflection. Whether with family, friends, or yourself, this is a wonderful time of year to come together for reflection. Take the time this holiday season to relax and reflect on what was, what is, and what will be. Holidays are a way to make ...

Growing up in northern Tama County, oddly enough, I have fond memories of getting groceries. When staying with my grandma in Clutier, I remember visiting the small grocery store on Main Street. Since the last time I stepped foot into the store, maybe over 20 years ago, I still vividly remember ...

When I knew I was not going to farm anymore, I needed to cheer myself up. I decided to ride Amtrak. Due to a bomb cyclone cancelling my ride from Seattle to St. Paul, I ended up riding the California Zephyr from Emeryville, Calif. to Omaha. As a child, my mom and I rode a partial version of ...

My wife and I attended a wedding in the Okoboji area this past weekend. From our house, there were no direct routes. It meant a lot of backroads and two-lane highways. This is the perfect type of travel to see the past. The harvested fields gave off a dreary look as machinery was parked on the ...

No matter what happens in this election, the government should work for the people. The government may not be perfect, but it should be here to help us on a federal, state, and local level. While the federal government can feel far away, a little-known part of the Biden administration is ...

My girlfriend protests for what she believes in. She demonstrates. She wears costumes or t-shirts and carries signs. When she is in protest mode, she is in your face, and there is no mistaking what she believes in, or how she would like you to vote. As a pastor, I am prohibited from using my ...

We are on the brink of an irreversible global disaster that will imperil the very fabric of life on Earth according to “The 2024 State of the Climate Report” that was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience. This stark conclusion was the result of a study that tracked 35 ...

Harvest has always been my favorite part of farming. Riding in the combine and watching the crop feed into the combine is pleasurable. As the monitor shows the yield going up and down throughout the field, it is fun to watch. In years past, this was a suitable time to evaluate farm management ...

Success during the 2023 pheasant season has Iowa hunters eagerly awaiting this year’s opening day and with bird population estimates similar to two years ago, hunters are expecting another great fall afield. Pheasant hunting has been an Iowa tradition spanning generations. This year, it ...