Viewpoints

To the Editor:
A group of ladies from Zion United Church of Christ gathered with the goal of doing something good for our community. FTK, or Feed the Kids, was born. They collaborated with many people and groups to carry this project off. I see so many wonderful things from this project.
1. Gathering children for food and socializing (I heard talking; I observed no cell phones.)
2. Adults modeling service for children (Modeling what we want our children to do.)
3. Appreciative children and families (Many pleases, thank yous, and smiles!)
4. Church families taking on the task of serving for a week at a time as well as one church providing take-home breakfast for the next day (Community Collaboration!)
5. A project that was able to touch so many people in our community (Just look at the number and range of kids under age 18 this program was able to have an impact on!)

To the Editor:
“Because that’s the way we do it here” In Bon Jovi’s song, “Who says you can’t go home?”, the lyrics reflect a wandering soul who worked hard to escape his small town and whose travels have led him far away from his home. He sings of the irony in realizing that the only road he now wants to take is the road home where everyone knows him and calls him “one of their own”.

I traveled that road home as I returned home to NE Iowa for nearly three months this summer. Although the reason for my return was not what I wished, there was a great blessing in being home. As I walked the familiar streets of my hometown seeing faces I’ve known all my life, I was greeted with smiles, hugs, and the occasional question, “You’re the Wonderlich girl who’s the opera singer, aren’t you?” I was welcomed back as if no time had passed since my leaving.

You Matter!

When I was growing up, I remember the older generation saying, “back in my day… you could get a bottle of pop for a dime and a hamburger for a quarter!” I used to laugh when people would say things like this but now, I find myself saying the same thing! Over the past few years, it’s been astounding seeing how certain items have gone through the roof. A rusty used car goes for the price of a collector’s vehicle. While the item might not change, the price at which it is purchased changes its value. The value of something is dependent on what someone is willing to pay for it.

To the Editor:

Iowans take their responsibility of voting seriously. And, after an election, regardless of whether or not a constituent voted for an elected leader, we expect that the individual listens to all constituents.

Both Rep. Ashley Hinson and Sen. Chuck Grassley claim to hold town halls in each of the counties they represent but the visits are often nothing more than a photo op. Both fail to hold public town halls where their constituents can ask questions and voice their concerns.

To the Editor:

The stench from Washington D.C. is growing every day and the focus of that stench is mainly, but not entirely, on the Biden White House. It is obvious from the testimony of two IRS whistle blowers last week that the Biden family and President Joe Biden are totally compromised and guilty of graft.

That testimony clearly pointed out that Hunter Biden received at least 10 million dollars from Burisma and from other sources in Eastern Europe. It also showed that President Joe Biden was a contributing factor in assuring that the extortion payments were made. It’s clear that at least ten shell companies were created by Hunter Biden and his associates to launder those funds and attempt to hide the true source. More information on this subject will be forthcoming next week.

To the Editor:

The speed limit on the Great River Road south of Lansing is 35 mph from just past the Lansing Harpers Road until you pass Columbus Road by the Driftless Area Education Center, where it changes to 45 mph. Of interest; at the intersection of Whalen Hill Road and Great River Road the visibility to the west is very limited; however, the speed limit has already been changed to 45 mph!

A short distance past the intersection with Whalen Hill Road the speed limit increases from 45 mph to 55 mph. The 55 mph is in effect from that point until you reach Harpers Ferry.

I have met with the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors asking them to consider reducing the speed limit from just past the Whalen Hill intersection to access to the Alliant Energy property, a distance of 1.8 miles. This reduction in speed from 55 mph to 45 mph would require an extra 25 seconds of driving time.

To the Editor:

Governor Reynolds and her MAGA Republicans will not stop until a woman’s right to control her own body has been taken away from her.

Most of us try to live our lives without interfering in other people’s lives. We know that a woman may end a pregnancy for different reasons. We cannot make a woman’s decision because we have not walked in her shoes. Tragically, sometimes a woman gets a diagnosis of a serious health complication that threatens her life or health. Other times, a family learns late in pregnancy there is a serious fetal diagnosis, or the baby is dying and can’t survive. When people are making difficult, personal medical decisions, one-size-fits-all laws don’t work.

To the Editor:

I grew up in the Iowa of long ago. My father, a small farmer, was able to provide all four of his children with a college degree from one of our state universities.
In those “before times” when the wise leaders in Iowa provided nearly 80% of the funding to those schools, tuition was affordable for the masses. Our legislature currently only provides 30.5% of Regent funds. A two- or four-year degree allows for more choices and employment opportunities.

To the Editor:

On the 4th of July, we celebrate our nation’s freedom and independence. Freedom is a bedrock value for nearly every Iowan and American.  We all want the freedom to make our own choices and be in control of our lives and our long-term pursuits.

Freedom allows us to make decisions that benefit our families and future generations, to think for ourselves, and to stand up for what we believe. We want the freedom that an education provides: to pursue a meaningful life, and to have the opportunity to thrive, and to retire with dignity.  But how free are we?

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Holy Spirit. There are varieties of services, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” – the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:4-7

The more things change, the more they stay the same – or so goes the clichéd formula.

But you’d think followers of Jesus, empowered as we are by the promise of God’s Holy Spirit in Christ, would enjoy immunity from such apathy and inaction.

Yet, if you compare what the apostle Paul writes to early Church to what he might write to us some 2,000-odd years later, the similarity of message is stunning. In candid assessment of the sorry state of our affairs these days, a colleague pointedly observes: “If Paul could see the Church in America today, we’d be getting a letter.”