Last week, I bumped into an Appanoose County woman I have known for several years. She thanked me and the nonprofit organization I manage for shining the spotlight on the actions of Centerville Community...

There are different accounts of that feast in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Some say it was not an observance of thanksgiving for a successful year, but the celebration of a treaty with the Wampanoag...

Since Thanksgiving is so late this year, you might want to think about some of the other things you can celebrate in November. The 16th is National Button Day. I'm not sure if it refers to the kind...

If any institution is aware of the demand for women’s sports, it should be the University of Iowa. After years of barrier-breaking and record-setting history with the UI women’s basketball team...

By now, you probably know how the election turned out – I don't as of the writing of this column. By the time this gets to you it will be all over but the shouting. The process it has to go through...

A friend of mine was a development economist and worked all over the world helping countries solve problems. I asked what he thought was the most serious problem in the world. Without hesitation, he said,...

It's really spooky the way Halloween has changed from generation to generation. We know that Halloween began as a religious festival of sorts. Probably an early Celtic harvest festival called Samhain,...

In 2008, Johnson County voters overwhelmingly approved a $20M conservation bond, and the results have been outstanding. That investment helped protect 1,176 acres of land, build 9.2 miles of trails, and...

A family acquaintance was on Vice President Dick Cheney’s Secret Service detail during George W. Bush’s presidency. His Christmas photo one year was a portrait of him, his wife and Cheney together...

Clear the shelters, they tell us. Adopt an abandoned or abused animal. Donate to pay for the care of animals someone else has mistreated or didn't want to be responsible for. What's wrong with this...

As an artist, I've always loved October for its brilliant colors. The sky seems bluer, and it actually is. Ripening fruit and dying leaves add brilliant contrasts of yellow, gold, red and orange against...

Over 50 years ago, there was a small grove of poplar trees on the corner of Hazelwood Avenue and Rohret Road in southwest Johnson County. Once, coming home at sunset, I saw that grove turn a brilliant...