Anyone who reads more than a few of my columns knows I harp repeatedly on scammers who pressure people to pay for scams using money wiring services, such as Western Union and Moneygram. Anybody in the consumer protection business knew for decades that wiring money is a favorite payment metho…

The weekend before Christmas I had the chance to return to my hometown in Northwest Indiana to celebrate with my five siblings. I keep in touch with all of them regularly, but with one of my sisters living overseas with her family and another living in North Carolina, it’s not often that we …

Happy New Year! 

The true definition of a hero is different for everyone. Big or small, acts of heroism can be seen all throughout everyday life. 

Disclaimer: This article contains sensitive information about Santa Claus that may be disturbing to some readers, especially if Santa is not your parents sneaking to the tree in the middle of the night. If you are under the age of nine, please flip to sports or the sudoku puzzle. Reader disc…

Honest skepticism is healthy.

Turns out salmon and forest need each other to survive in the world

Sometimes I wonder if I am doing my best as a mother. 

This is the giving season, that time of the year we get serious about gifts for family and friends, as well as giving to our favorite charitable causes. 

As the holidays approach and donation requests rise, you may come across more naughty than nice. Scammers will take advantage of your generosity all year long, but especially during the holidays.

A couple of months ago I wrote about the authenticity of online reviews of products and services. A major problem with these reviews I described was a thriving cottage industry of fake review writers, who get paid by sketchy merchants to write positive reviews, which appear on various websit…

While many people think of child trafficking as something that happens only on the coasts or in big cities, Iowa is not immune to the problem.

Victory Gold Corporation placed an ad in the Clinton Heraldin early August, offering to buy coins, collectibles, gold or silver jewelry, or “all forms of gold and silver.” They set up shop at the Hampton Inn on Wild Rose Drive in Clinton for six days, Aug. 13-18. Their ad also featured a cou…

I’ll level with you. One of the key reasons Brenda and I decided to spend part of the year in the Northwest was to see if we could start over again, make new relationships with friends, become part of a community. 

I want to talk about something that is extremely taboo in families. Even more taboo than views on religion and abortion. Some people cannot even comprehend how this can be a “thing” — even the survivors who are labeled with its diagnoses. 

Note: 2018 marks the 150th birthday of Robert A. Millikan, the first American-born scientist to win the Nobel Prize for

The slowly unfolding and still-unexplained story of Christine Snell’s departure from the Maquoketa Community School District appears to be grinding toward its end.

The word addiction can mean different things to many people but one thing is for certain — addiction can cause harm regardless if it is a substance or an activity.  

The fall season is officially upon us. Grab your coffee (or, if you prefer; hot chocolate), ponchos, sweaters, and lace up your boots. There’s a crisp chill in the air and the leaves are slowly dancing toward the ground. But if it’s too cold outside for you, I know just the place where you c…

Editor’s note: John Brassard Jr.’s monthly column documents Clinton County’s history through anecdotes and research. This particular column details a Delmar murder scene in detail. Reader discretion is advised. 

When Joe Bisinger was going through some old family photographs he had inherited from an uncle, he found a wedding picture of his grandparents. There also was a photo of an aunt before she passed away during a diphtheria outbreak in the 1930s when she was a 3-year-old toddler. He thought som…