Politicians all the way up to Donald Trump and all the way down to certain candidates for local offices could learn from 4-H. The vast majority are gracious, which is what makes democracy work: the peaceful transition of power. more

Nov. 21, 1973: North Scott area voters gave the green light for the district to proceed with the construction of a new junior high building, passing a bond referendum with an 80.4 percent “yes” vote. The $1.2 million bond issue would pay for most of the estimated $1.7 million project, with the rest coming from the district’s schoolhouse fund. District officials hoped having a separate junior high building would also make additional courses available to junior high students, including industrial arts, typing, art, and home economics, that they were not able to participate in at the high school. more

Twice, I copped a ride with my friend, John Ockenfels, of Swisher, near Cedar Rapids, to Rotary events, first at Cleveland, Ohio, in 2016, and then Erie, Pa., in 2018. During those flights he told me of his dream to fly around the world in a single-engine airplane. Yeah, right, I thought – but John was serious. more

Nov. 28, 1973: The Eldridge Businessmen’s Association cancelled an order for new lighted Christmas decorations. President Richard Nixon had called for a ban on decorative Christmas lighting in a speech on the energy crisis. more

Taxpayers in the city of Davenport wouldn’t know this, but a lawsuit filed against the North Scott School District in the late 1980s led to the law which required the disclosure last week of the $1.6-million buyout of their now-former city administrator, Corri Spiegel. more

Dec. 10, 2008: The Boldt family, who farmed near West Lake Park, always celebrated the end of the harvest by picking the last few rows of corn by hand to honor their ancestors. This year was a special harvest, as it marked the 100th year the farm was owned by the family. This year’s hand pickers included Mike Fink, Jared Boldt, Jake Peeters, Jorden Boldt, Kylie Boldt, Bonnie Boldt, Kaylee Wulf and Jerry Boldt. more

Back in March, one of the items in my daily Religion News email was entitled, “Jimmy Carter’s religious values were never far from his presidency or his policy.” The essay was by Lovett H. Weems Jr., who was a United Methodist pastor in Mississippi during the Carter presidency and now is professor emeritus of church leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. more

Dec. 14, 1983: Annie Glenn visited her husband’s namesake school in Donahue. Sen. John Glenn was running for president, but Mrs. Glenn didn’t focus too much on politics, other than telling the students they had been very busy on the campaign trail. She received a personal honor guard that included members of the school safety patrol and student council officers Lance Golinghorst and Elizabeth Carlton. more

Today, Dec. 13, is the day I was anticipating all fall, the day of my cardiac bypass surgery at University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, Madison. I wrote about it in this space on Sept. 27: the surgery in which they open the chest cavity and transplant arteries from the legs to "bypass" blocked arteries. more

Today, we salute long-serving public officials who did not leave abruptly with secretly negotiated severance settlements. more

Dec. 19, 1973: Two area women were hospitalized after a strange car accident between Eldridge and Long Grove. Geese flew up out of a farm field and into the path of a southbound vehicle. The driver braked to avoid striking the geese and slippery road conditions caused her vehicle to skid into the path of a northbound vehicle. Both vehicles were totaled. more

In the Aug. 2 issue I shared impressions of the country of Uganda in a column entitled, "Did you see any unhappy people?" The answer was no, despite the enormous challenges the people of this nation of 50 million souls in the heart of equatorial Africa face in their daily living. more

Dec. 28, 1983: Princeton, LeClaire and Pleasant Valley firefighters battled a fire early on Christmas morning at the Cole home, five miles southwest of Princeton. The family huddled in a barn as firefighters battled the flames and frigid wind chills. Two rooms and an outside wall were damaged, due to the fire, which was caused by faulty wiring. But there were no injuries, and no presents were damaged. more

There were a number of items I had hoped to write about at year's end, but time was slipping away before Christmas, and my triple bypass surgery that was to have taken place Dec. 13 was rescheduled Dec. 26 at University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison due to Covid, which I wrote about in the Dec. 13 NSP. more

Jan. 6, 1999: After a mild December, January started with a wallop, as 14 inches of snow dropped, followed by heavy winds and frigid temperatures. Several local churches cancelled services and Slagle’s grocery stores in Eldridge and LeClaire closed early for the first time since 1979. more

Thanks to the 121 letter writers and guest columnists who made our opinion pages in 2023. more

The morning of Christmas Eve day, I sat toward the front of the church and videoed the choir, of which I am normally a part, as it sang anthems, including the beautiful "Angels Are Making Their Rounds," under the direction of Ryan Riewerts. I was, in the words of Methodist founder, John Wesley, strangely warmed on this day when my energy was low and I was not feeling well. more

Jan. 11, 1984: The North Scott School Board authorized a study to survey support for a proposed $4 million bond issue that would include a $2.7 million swimming pool at the high school. more

Speaker of the Iowa House, state Rep. Pat Grassley, during a speech at Rotary back on Nov. 10, was asked if it would be possible to voice a presidential preference without attending the caucus. His answer was direct: the caucus format will not change. You have to be there in person if you want your vote to count. more

Jan. 20, 1999: Members of the Scott County Library Board informed the Eldridge City Council that the Eldridge branch was overcrowded and would need to expand to meet future needs. Linda Tubbs, Library Foundation chair, asked the council to help form a committee to form a liaison between the library and the city and for the city to consider financial involvement in an expansion project. Mayor Larry Rauch and councilman Rick Sharp agreed to meet with the board to discuss a path forward. more