I find many things to talk about with my barber, Mark Garden, at MenTality in Eldridge. In addition to being an "old school" barber who's good at his craft, Mark has been a boxing corner man, a sheriff's investigator, and is currently a counselor at The Abbey in Bettendorf as well as in private practice. more

Dec. 9, 1982: The stretch of the new Highway 61 from Interstate 80 to DeWitt officially opened to traffic. Five ribbons representing Eldridge, Long Grove, DeWitt, Davenport and Bettendorf were snipped during a ceremony. The $36 million project had been under construction since 1980. more

It's hard to believe it was almost three years ago, in January and February 2020, that these editorial pages were flooded with letters in support of the March 3. 2020, vote for the North Scott YMCA. more

A thousand right ways exist to run a newspaper, and a few wrong ones. more

Look, I’m just as surprised as you are. more

Nov. 29, 1972: Gene Green, of Gene’s Barbershop in Eldridge, was elected president of Chapter 1310 of the Iowa Associated Master Barbers. The organization was formed to further the professional knowledge and ability of its members. more

Wednesday night, Linda and I took advantage of an early season special at Circa '21 Dinner Theatre to see the classic "White Christmas." Bing Crosby and Rosemary Clooney, stars of the 1954 movie, were not on stage, but Kyle Defauw and Melissa Whitworth rendered a dreamy rendition of the Irving Berlin classic, "Count Your Blessings." more

Two weeks ago, North Scott’s football season came to an end in the Class 4A semifinals, and really, so did my career of regularly covering the Lancers. more

Nov. 28, 2007: Eugene Kreiter took the reins of the North Scott wrestling program. Seniors and returning letterwinners included Tommy Mitchell, Walt Gillmor, Tanner Everding, Garret Seligman, Cory Denison, Garrett Hamilton, Chris Henningsen, Luke Wilson and Brooks Smith. more

The good news from last week's elections is that candidates of both parties who received fewer votes gave concession speeches and moved on – unlike Donald Trump, who has yet to admit defeat in 2020. more

There’s no denying the fact that North Scott has enjoyed immense success in the athletic arena this fall. The volleyball and football teams advanced to the state semifinals, and the Lancers were also represented at the state golf, swimming and cross country meets. more

Nov. 15, 1972: The North Scott School Board was officially moving forward with plans to construct a separate junior high building, after authorizing superintendent Melvin Heiler to contact bonding attorneys. The board agreed that a junior high building would need to be able to handle approximately 750 students, with the ability to add on later if needed. They were eyeing an 18.8-acre parcel on South Fifth Street across from the football field as a location. more

I had planned to mention "heroes" in addition to those who are in the military, as a tag to the item below about Quilts of Valor, when I called Linda Fredericksen, CEO of Medic EMS, Monday morning to see if she had any news about an ambulance from here which might go to Ukraine. more

Nov. 8, 1972: A groundbreaking ceremony and blessing was held for the new parish center at Our Lady of the River Catholic Church. The Most. Rev. Gerald O’Keefe, bishop of the Davenport Diocese, officiated. The center would be built on a five-acre tract of land halfway between Princeton and LeClaire, and would feature a permanent sanctuary, a kitchen, classroom space, offices, living quarters for the pastor, and meeting space. more

Robert Lowry was a Baptist preacher of the 19th Century who penned these words which are part of a popular hymn based on a scriptural text from Revelation Chapter 22. It is appropriate for All Saints Day, which is observed at this time of year in many churches; a time to remember our dearly departed in the last year. more

Nov. 5, 1997:  New post offices opened in Donahue and Princeton. Both buildings were constructed because the previous post offices were too small for the community. more

Amidst the mudslinging of the campaign season, Iowa PBS gave us a gift this fall with well-researched one-hour documentaries about two of Iowa's greatest governors: Harold Hughes (1963-69) and Robert Ray (1969-82), one a Democrat and one a Republican. more

Plain and simple, it was a night for tears, and lump-in-your-throat interviews. There was unparalleled joy, and the deepest depth of disappointment. more

As a bonding exercise this year, Lancer Productions is having movie nights for the students. There’s three scheduled, with the film chosen to tie in with each upcoming production. more

Oct. 25, 1972: The Eldridge City Council adopted an ordinance forming a park board, made up of a three-member committee that would operate city parks, playgrounds and public recreation facilities. more