"Public input does not have to create conflict. In fact, some of the strongest and most successful community projects begin with open dialogue and collaboration," Rhonda Fokken writes.
The MAGA U.S. senators have just proved to me that the so called White House Correspondents Dinner shooting was fake! They are proposing a bill that would use $1 billion in taxpayer money to fund Trump's gaudy, unwanted ballroom because of the so-called "secret" presidential bunker. News fla…
Republicans sit in Des Moines and wonder why people leave Iowa. They just need to look at legislation passing to the governor. State overreach is becoming ridiculous; restriction of local IDs, controlling high school curriculum, limiting screen time and foot stomping about flag lowering for …
I am writing to express concern over the University of Northern Iowa's request to the Board of Regents to raze the former Alumni House. In recent years, we've seen a troubling pattern of historic campus buildings being allowed to deteriorate to the point where demolition becomes the only opt…
I continue to be amazed by the confusion surrounding what public comments means during City Council meetings. The First Amendment does protect freedom of speech, but it does not give any individual the right to make accusations or derogatory comments toward council members or the mayor durin…
You are going to the polls this November for the midterm elections. Keep in mind a few things:
I must comment on the guest column by Raina Genaw, "Cedar Falls electricity isn't as clean it seems" in the 2 May issue of The Courier. My only connection to Cedar Falls Utility is as a customer, but I do have experience with the environmental impacts of electrical power plants and facilities.
Raina Genaw said Cedar Falls electricity isn't as clean it seems (guest column, May 2). Or is it not as clean as she would like it? Providing consistent, stable energy at a favorable rate while balancing environmental concerns is not an easy process. Over the years I've enjoyed having reliable electricity for my home and family. Since they went to underground cables I can't remember my last power outage. And the pricing is below other providers. Genaw asks for transparency yet doesn't relate what we might have to give up to get electricity as clean as she would like it. Stability? Consistency? Cost? Balancing the multiple energy options to develop the best blend for the business or homeowner is a process that Cedar Falls Utilities has developed over the years. While overweighting a specific source to satisfy a special interest would be bad policy. Thanks CFU for keeping my lights on!
Today was the first time in a very long time to say I am proud to live in America. I watched four men bust their butts laying cement. They did a great job.
Have you noticed? Often, those on the political left assume the mantle of moral superiority, and superiority in their knowledge of scientific advances as well. Both are self-serving and use fraudulent claims. But that doesn't stop liberals from pretending they are our intellectual and philosophical betters. No matter how much factual evidence they are shown that disproves an argument, they continue to spout the same nonsense. Then they accuse those who don't agree with them of being behind the times or anti-science. Their alleged scientific proof is often filled with holes or is nonexistent, even as the liberal news media promise their unsubstantiated theories. Disagreement is met with angry and sometimes violent rebukes from those who specialize in outrage instead of honest debate. Thankful for less nonsense and insanity in the Trump administration.
The 55 m.p.h. speed limit is default because over past years Republican lawmakers have neutered speed laws to make them of no effect. They got rid of speed cameras, and won't allow law enforcement to use effective equipment to catch dangerous drivers. The old stagnant excuse "everyone drives faster than posted limits" has always been used as a crowbar to pry up speed limits. 60 m.p.h. will be default within a short time. Lawmakers get their election funding and votes from places that think time, profits, schedule, and convenience are more important than the lives that get snuffed by more speed. Lawmakers don't get any election funding or votes from the victims that get killed from it. There needs to be a citizens organization of people who care about their own lives, to sue the state/legislative system to block their disregard for lives, based upon our constitutional right to life and safety. If any readers or law firm have enough gumption to start us such an effort, please call or write me at 20832 Y Ave., Sumner, 50674. I do not look at email. Organizations sue to block every other kind of legislation.
We are 60 days into Trump’s stupid, unprovoked war. People should ask what has been accomplished other than doing the dirty work for the Zionist Israeli dictator Netanyahu. So far the war has cost $30 billion, gas prices are the highest in four years and the Strait of Hormuz is still shut.
There are Americans alive today that have no idea what the Gestapo and Waffen SS were in Nazi Germany. The Waffen SS worked in the commission of the Holocaust and the Gestapo suppressed opposition to the Nazi Party.
The U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has analyzed a broad range of data on greenhouse gas emissions and the effects on U.S. climate that had been gathered by the scientific community. In their report on this analysis, the academies stated that the evidence for future harm to human health and welfare from human-caused greenhouse gases is beyond scientific dispute.
Have you had enough? Have there been enough distractions to keep you from focusing on the Epstein files? Trump is a genius at picking headlines to distract. He states he is exonerated from the Epstein files. Epstein had a separate fund to compensate victims. Over 150 women were paid more than $120 million. The number of women who chose not to endure the process of demanding compensation was estimated to be close to another 900. Trump went to war with Iran, urged on by Netanyahu and finding another distraction. There is no doubt he was involved with at least one woman during his friendship with Epstein. When there is indisputable evidence of abuse of a minor, his supporters will disappear. Grassley, Ernst, Hinson, and the other hangers-on might drop their support. Or will they? Why does the media continue to report diligently on Trump’s distractions and ignore these women? The media finds it easier to discuss Trump’s lies as opposed to exposing the weak link. Trump distracts. The media takes the hook. Trump’s base holds on. Trump’s buddies, the people with real money cash in. The women take the back seat. Trump keeps laughing in our face.
CFU electricity
I read with appreciation and respect the thoughtful piece by Bradford Karony in the Times-Dispatch on April 28 conveying his concern with Abigail Spanberger’s words and actions as a Congresswoman given her CIA training and how that might bear on her words and actions as Governor.
Students experiencing homelessness remain one of the most overlooked populations in our public school systems despite the protections outlined in the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. The policy was designed to remove and reduce barriers to enrollment and ensure students have a stable education. It often fails to address the full scope of challenges these students face.
The phrase “all’s fair in love and war” unfortunately also applies to politics. Especially when it comes to gerrymandering in Virginia. But it is fair to say that the Democrat push for redistricting prior to the 2030 census has shattered the concept of fairness.
On April 14, Gov. Spanberger signed SB18, which establishes that no child under 11 years old can be considered a “delinquent” and instead redirects them away from the justice system and toward community programs.
Since Michael Paul Williams' column, “Spanberger disregards the Black community on cannabis,” was published April 19, the General Assembly has rejected the Governor’s proposed amendments to the bill. Will the Governor veto the bill, or is there still room for negotiation?
A 13-year-old sits in front of a screen, answers a series of questions, and minutes later is told what he or she might become. It sounds efficient. It sounds helpful. It is neither.
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Long gone are the days where impulse buying meant grabbing an unplanned candy bar or magazine in the checkout line. Now, social media makes it quick and easy for us to purchase just about anything with the click of a button, whether or not it’s in the budget. And for some Americans, it’s hurting them...
Black Friday is fast approaching, and shoppers are gearing up. The National Retail Federation expects more than 183 million people to shop over the weekend spanning Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday this year. But fraudsters are preparing for Black Friday too, looking for opportunities to steal your money or personal information. Before you dive into holiday...
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a strong step toward addressing youth mental health, but it cannot be our only solution. Many young people in this state, especially those involved in the juvenile justice system, are struggling long before they reach a crisis.
Virginia had fair congressional district maps in 2024. Democrats received 52% of the two-party vote totals and 55% of the seats in Congress. The new maps approved by Tuesday’s constitutional amendment are expected to award the Democrats 91% of the seats, an increase of 36 percentage points from 2024, by cramming as many Republican votes as possible into the new 9th district and dividing Northern Virginia’s Democrat voters into five districts extending deep into the state.
It is no secret that students desperately need support with reading and literacy skills; however, they are spending less time in the school library than ever before. As someone who has spent such a long time wanting to be part of the middle school library scene, finding out that students were spending less time than ever before in the library, so much so that some students do not even go as a whole group to check out books, broke my heart.
I feel that we Virginians have been slighted by the April 21 election. It has been championed as a “great defense of democracy,” when I feel that this has exposed the flaw of democracy. I mean this as in democracy is being used as a tool to impose tyranny upon us.
I graduated from Lexington High School in 1946. This is our 80-year reunion. We had 85 in our class, and I'm not sure, but I may be the only one still living.
I supported, voted for and canvassed several neighborhoods distributing literature supporting the successful OneVirginia2021 campaign for a constitutional amendment ending political gerrymandering in Virginia. I would do it again in a heartbeat, with enthusiasm.
Starting with Odie Donald II's guarantee of 1 year severance regardless of cause, and now Connie Clay getting $549,000 after departing her $158,684-a-year job, it seems leaving our city's government jobs is a lucrative business in and of itself. This on top of $630,000 in attorney's fees for the city. Waste indeed.
It was June 1964. I was 21 years old and just finished my junior year at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. I was home in Albany, New York, and my father developed a kidney infection. He ended up in the hospital, and they gave him an antibiotic that was available for that type of infection. He was allergic to the medicine, so they stopped giving the drug. My father's temperature climbed until he was consumed by the infection and he died.