Last week, on the evening of Oct. 25, we lost Eric Bauza, an amazing voice actor and all around great guy. If you’ve seen what is now his last film, Coyote VS Acme, you know that he was the current voice of most of the Looney Tunes. Just hours before his death, Bauza was performing for a crowd in Pasadena, giving his take on a classic Bugs Bunny bit from the short, Hillbilly Hare. more

As the autumn leaves settle along 3rd Street and harvest wraps up across Cedar, Muscatine, and Scott counties, November turns our thoughts toward gratitude. At the Durant Iowa Food Pantry, gratitude isn’t just a seasonal sentiment, it is something we witness first-hand every single week. more

Well, Election Day is very nearly upon us, and obviously the “issue” of trans folks and especially trans youth continues to be a hot button amongst this year’s candidates. While I’ve shared my own thoughts on – and my own support towards – the trans community, considering the times we’re living in, I feel it’s worth sharing those thoughts again. more

An election is coming up on November 3rd, and based on the incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility of Republicans controlling government at the state and federal levels, it is time to vote them all out! more

"Amendment 1’s intent is to: Protect the taxpayer, help ensure a more responsible government, make tax hikes harder ..." more

After a great deal of thought, I am submitting my resignation as Superintendent of the Wilton and Durant Community School Districts, effective at the conclusion of the 2026-27 school year. more

Flip the ballot over and find Amendment 1. What does it mean? more

Are both parties Red and Blue equally corrupt? more

We last wrote about State Senator Kerry Gruenhagen this spring , ”Gruenhagen cares more about the (Chicago) Bears than abused kids in crisis”. We were asking what happened to the Child Welfare Task Force that had been set up in response to the starvation deaths of two 16 year old girls who had been adopted out of foster care. more

The State of Iowa and our county auditors have a reputation for always holding a professionally conducted election process and I have every confidence that this year’s midterm election will be conducted as honestly, fairly, and efficiently as it has in the past. more

As Iowa heads toward the Nov. 3 general election, our priorities are clear: protect the integrity of our elections and ensure every eligible Iowan has the opportunity to vote. more

At the Durant Iowa Food Pantry (DIFP), we believe food assistance should be about far more than handing out boxes of groceries; it is also about extending dignity and fostering connection. more

There are four simple things you can do to exercise your right to vote in our democracy this November: more

Secretary of State Paul Pate has served for a total of 15 years. He seems safe, familiar and a known quantity. more

As someone who writes both professionally and for fun, I can easily say that editing each piece of writing is my least favorite part of the job, especially as someone who can fall into being a perfectionist. more

It will never not be strange being someone who technically lived through 9/11 but also didn’t really. I was only six years old on Sept. 11, 2001, and I don’t remember what it was like after 9/11 or if my parents ever had a talk with me about it. I don’t even remember when we initially started talking about it at school. more

At the time of writing, it has only been about 24 house since the passing of the late, great Dolly Parton, and in that time I’ve read dozens of stories about the type of person she was and the legacy she’s leaving behind that stretches far above her songs and rhinestone-covered outfits. more

Did you know that if even if Rob Sand becomes governor of Iowa, we could still be stuck with the tax policy that has caused our state to drop from 25th to  50th in the nation for economic growth in the last year? Amendment 1 is on your ballot this midterm election and if it passes we will be frozen into the budget nightmare that has impoverished our schools, restricted our access to health care, cut inspections of nursing homes, allowed our infrastructure to crumble, kept our water dirty and reduced the budgets of our police force, fire stations and libraries. more

Recently, we had an emergency and called 911. The first officer arrived within two minutes, and the second officer within 30 seconds later. The ambulance arrived shortly after. Everyone was great and worked swiftly. more

For our rural communities like Durant, Bennett, Stockton, New Liberty, Moscow, and Wilton, ‘neighbors helping neighbors’ is not just a saying; it is foundational to who we are. We take pride in community and hard work, and we look out for one another through every season. more