By Ruth Koehler Special to the Dispatch There she sat:  My sister at 8 years old on our rocking chair, pumping her legs up and down as she cried and screamed.  We didn’t know what set her off as our family watched her carry on. It must have been dramatic since I can still see it in my… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda Here is the next one, the second of three things I’ve learned, that may or may not be worth passing on. Number 2: Beware of what I call “false deadlines.”  “Deadline.” A strange term, when you look at it. It originated during the American Civil War, and literally originated in the Confederate Andersonville… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I see a lot of motorists pulling campers and trailers that don’t have experience or simply don’t know what they are doing. I see some crashes that I suspect are due to this. Can you talk about pulling campers and trailers? Answer: If you pull a camper or trailer with your… Read More

Garver’s Movie Review Bob Garver I’ve never seen 1997’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” all the way through. 11-year-old me was too young to see the R-rated slasher in theaters, which was just as well because I did see a trailer and lost many nights’ sleep over the killer’s deadly fishing hook. I eventually… Read More

There she sat:  My sister at 8 years old on our rocking chair, pumping her legs up and down as she cried and screamed.  We didn’t know what set her off as our family watched her carry on. It must have been dramatic since I can still see it in my mind’s eye although I was… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda For the next three weeks, these columns are going to be short. I’m calling this “series” of columns “Things I’ve learned that you might like to know about solving problems.” Maybe. That title is, I admit, kind of long. How about we call them: “Stuff I’ve learned.” Problems can come in many… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener We know that after June 21st the days start to get shorter. We think of July 4th as the middle of summer and much too late to start any plants. Actually, if you’re a plant, summer is just perfect growing weather.  August means peak soil warmth and warm nights – a… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I was driving in the metro area the other day and I witnessed a bus driving on the shoulder. Is this allowed?   Answer: Transit buses and metro mobility buses are permitted to use the shoulder of a freeway or expressway. Buses can use the shoulder only when main-line traffic speeds… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda I’ve been alive long enough to witness marvelous changes. Good ones. Probably. You decide. In 1966, still trying to avoid going to Vietnam, I started courses at the University of Iowa. I noticed a posting on a school bulletin board. The University Speech and Hearing Research Institute was looking for a part… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Somebody was trying to tell me the other day that it’s ok to throw out their fruit peels along the highway as they break down fairly quick and it shouldn’t be an issue. I disagreed and told them garbage is garbage. I asked if they would want someone to throw… Read More