Leadership is an elusive quality.

The past few weeks I have been researching the problems that Haiti has been having with their water. It’s for a school project. What I found surprised me because, I don’t know about you, but when I hear people talking about Haiti, I always think about the beautiful Caribbean with tropical fr…

There won’t be any shortage of lessons to take away from the coronavirus crisis that has sent Iowa and the rest of the United States reeling.

Governor Reynolds’ Invest in Iowa plan will throw our mental health system into chaos.

Covid-19 is a virus spread from person to person through respiratory droplets. You can pick it up from touching an infected surface and then touching your face. Last I heard it can live on a surface approximately three day. It can affect anyone but it has a more dire effect on the elderly, c…

One of the best things about working in the library world is the fact that we all want each other to succeed. This means we love to share ideas with each other. Sometimes an idea catches on and spreads throughout the library community. 

Picture a big, fat, fluffy stack of pancakes on a plate. Maybe three high. Maybe, if you live dangerously, five high. The fluffier the better if you ask me. 

Iowans take considerable pleasure in enumerating the various ways our state stands apart from the other 49 states — beyond our endangered first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses.

Fittingly, the announcement came as the Maquoketa Area Chamber of Commerce was holding its annual winter gala at the AmericInn on Saturday night, Jan. 26. As the festivities continued with Las Vegas-style games following the dinner and awards program, a few attendees drifted outside the banq…

Editor’s note: FFA chapters across the country celebrated National FFA Week Feb. 22-29.

Every one of us probably has a moment of dread from our grade school days squirreled away in the dusty recesses of our memories. Or many such moments.

The Social Security Administration encourages everyone to establish an online account, called my Social Security, with them. Regardless whether you are a Social Security beneficiary or not, if you are 18 years or older, you can set up your own account online. 

When it comes to seafood, let’s face it, we are pretty much locked in to the big three — shrimp, salmon and tuna — and maybe crab legs when we’re feeling especially flush or just hungry for something exotic.

I’ve worked with “That Mom” before.

Hers was a Prom Night baby, so she was in labor on a frigid February night. She was the daughter of a wealthy CEO, a bright girl with bright promise. Her parents, important members of the community, were embarrassed and agonized about their only daughter being pregnant. She had college and a…

My dad’s birthday is today. Birthdays are pretty important in my family.

It was a crisp, chilly, sunny day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. I woke up and excitedly put on my red-and-white-striped shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves and my favorite navy-blue skirt covered in tiny white stars. That was the day that my second-grade class was chosen to gather in fron…

Have you ever been doing something, anything, but realized that you messed up? You started off on the wrong foot, and it just led you deeper and deeper into it the mess. 

Thanks to the generosity of Iowans, all $6 million of the 2020 Endow Iowa State Tax Credits have been awarded. Donors can still make meaningful gifts to the causes they care about and benefit the future of our state through the Community Foundation of Jackson County, an affiliate of the Comm…

The grandparent or family emergency scam is a mainstay in the scammer’s bag of tricks. These calls, usually coming from callers posing as a grandchild, pull at the heart strings of empathetic family, to wring out bond money to get someone out of jail. This is a fairly successful fraud, desig…

There is a retired businessman in western Iowa who bristles every time he reads a newspaper article from somewhere in our state about government officials who have misused their government credit cards for unauthorized purchases.

I had big plans to write this eloquent and positive column for my space this week. But here I am, 7:56 a.m. on deadline day, feverishly trying to write something worth reading. I had what I thought was a nice topic to talk about, and I am still planning to. But, oh, how ironic now. My topic …

Typically at this time of year, a trail of auger holes in the Mississippi River ice maps the travels of hardy winter anglers that are in pursuit of that elusive big fish. However, recent warm temperatures have resulted in open water in many areas and disappointed the ice fishing enthusiast.

Sometimes Major League Baseball makes it really hard to be a fan.

My family and friends tell me they can always tell when I am angry or really passionate about a subject because I start talking faster than usual and I don’t complete my sentences. I will do my best to express my frustration to you, but fair warning — I’ve got a full head of steam on this issue.

The Year of the Woman page in today’s Sentinel-Press features stories on Alice Paul and the meaning of suffrage.

Schools across Iowa had been dark for more than a week because of winter vacation. But a Des Moines teacher still managed to teach a very important lesson during that time – but this lesson wasn’t aimed at the kids she normally works with. It was intended for adults.

While Maquoketa boasts a beautiful library, the same could not be said for our library website. In fact, I have rarely directed anyone to it until now. 

It has been 10 years since I retired as editor of the Bellevue Herald-Leader, the fastest decade of my life. That first week when deadline came and went and I did not have to worry about getting the paper out was like being shot at, and they missed!

A 70-year-old Clinton man is a victim of the popular Social Security scam. 

There I was; dipping my hand into a fresh bag of Lay’s dill pickle chips, binge watching Netflix shows, and sipping on a Mr. Pibb. I had been there pretty much the entire time since I had gotten home from work. 

In “The Merchant of Venice,” William Shakespeare reminded the world: “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”  

There is something to be said for not having what you can’t afford. 

This column is not meant to make you sad or persuade you into a decision that may not be right for you. But ‘tis the season for giving so I will say this: I certainly don’t know what goes on in a dog or cat’s mind, but as a dual transplant recipient in January this year, I do know what it is…

I’ve worked with “That Mom” before.

Hers was a Prom Night baby, so she was in labor on a frigid February night. She was the daughter of a wealthy CEO, a bright girl with bright promise. Her parents, important members of the community, were embarrassed and agonized about their only daughter being pregnant. She had college and a…

My dad’s birthday is today. Birthdays are pretty important in my family.

It was a crisp, chilly, sunny day on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. I woke up and excitedly put on my red-and-white-striped shirt with three-quarter-length sleeves and my favorite navy-blue skirt covered in tiny white stars. That was the day that my second-grade class was chosen to gather in fron…

Have you ever been doing something, anything, but realized that you messed up? You started off on the wrong foot, and it just led you deeper and deeper into it the mess. 

Thanks to the generosity of Iowans, all $6 million of the 2020 Endow Iowa State Tax Credits have been awarded. Donors can still make meaningful gifts to the causes they care about and benefit the future of our state through the Community Foundation of Jackson County, an affiliate of the Comm…

The grandparent or family emergency scam is a mainstay in the scammer’s bag of tricks. These calls, usually coming from callers posing as a grandchild, pull at the heart strings of empathetic family, to wring out bond money to get someone out of jail. This is a fairly successful fraud, desig…

There is a retired businessman in western Iowa who bristles every time he reads a newspaper article from somewhere in our state about government officials who have misused their government credit cards for unauthorized purchases.

I had big plans to write this eloquent and positive column for my space this week. But here I am, 7:56 a.m. on deadline day, feverishly trying to write something worth reading. I had what I thought was a nice topic to talk about, and I am still planning to. But, oh, how ironic now. My topic …

Typically at this time of year, a trail of auger holes in the Mississippi River ice maps the travels of hardy winter anglers that are in pursuit of that elusive big fish. However, recent warm temperatures have resulted in open water in many areas and disappointed the ice fishing enthusiast.

Sometimes Major League Baseball makes it really hard to be a fan.

My family and friends tell me they can always tell when I am angry or really passionate about a subject because I start talking faster than usual and I don’t complete my sentences. I will do my best to express my frustration to you, but fair warning — I’ve got a full head of steam on this issue.

The Year of the Woman page in today’s Sentinel-Press features stories on Alice Paul and the meaning of suffrage.

Schools across Iowa had been dark for more than a week because of winter vacation. But a Des Moines teacher still managed to teach a very important lesson during that time – but this lesson wasn’t aimed at the kids she normally works with. It was intended for adults.

While Maquoketa boasts a beautiful library, the same could not be said for our library website. In fact, I have rarely directed anyone to it until now. 

It has been 10 years since I retired as editor of the Bellevue Herald-Leader, the fastest decade of my life. That first week when deadline came and went and I did not have to worry about getting the paper out was like being shot at, and they missed!

A 70-year-old Clinton man is a victim of the popular Social Security scam. 

There I was; dipping my hand into a fresh bag of Lay’s dill pickle chips, binge watching Netflix shows, and sipping on a Mr. Pibb. I had been there pretty much the entire time since I had gotten home from work. 

In “The Merchant of Venice,” William Shakespeare reminded the world: “How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.”  

There is something to be said for not having what you can’t afford. 

This column is not meant to make you sad or persuade you into a decision that may not be right for you. But ‘tis the season for giving so I will say this: I certainly don’t know what goes on in a dog or cat’s mind, but as a dual transplant recipient in January this year, I do know what it is…

Editor’s note: Duane “Dunes” Schroeder died Nov. 30 after battling pancreatic cancer. He wrote this letter to the community before his death, according to his brother, Al Schroeder, who brought the letter to the Sentinel-Press. He asked for it to be printed and shared with the many people wh…