Viewpoints

In a few days we are celebrating Easter which is the oldest Christian feast day and most important day and season of the church year. We shall rejoice in our Risen Savior! The resurrection of Jesus is recorded in the four Gospels and written about throughout the New Testament. St. Paul wrote extensively about the resurrection and penned that without the Resurrection, “then empty is our preaching; empty, too, your faith … and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17a).

Is our Faith vain? Absolutely not! Because our hope and trust is in the Lord. The hope of Jesus’ resurrection does not deny sin, suffering, hardships or loss; it acknowledges and overcomes them! Darkness and death do not have the final word. God does! Jesus is proof of this. He brings hope to fruition; Jesus plants in our hearts the conviction that God is able to make everything work for good, since even from the empty tomb near Calvary he brings life.

To the Editor:

I have lived in the southwest quadrant of the town for the last eight years. Up until the last two years, traffic over here was doing OK.

However, these last two years have seen a major increase in speeding, running stop signs, doing the so-called California stop, and semis or heavy trucks on streets that were not designed to support them.

I would also like to say - last but not least, I will just throw this one in there - I know on the corner of 2nd Street and Main Street there are two signs on Main Street - one facing east and one facing west - that say, “yield to pedestrians at crosswalks”. I have been at those crosswalks in my mobility chair waiting to cross when, on two separate occasions, I have seen a sheriff’s deputy and a Waukon police officer not yield but then had the nerve to wave at me.

The True Meaning of Easter

Several years ago, I had a conversation with an inmate at the prison in Prairie du Chien, WI concerning Easter. It was amazing to me to find out that he had no idea what Palm Sunday and Easter were all about! He was sixty-five years old, grew up in the United States and no one had ever told him. 

This whole exchange made me wonder just how many people don’t know the significance of these two holidays.  For many, it just means that they get a long weekend.  What a tragedy.

To the Editor:

Black Hawk Bridge in Lansing is vital connecting Iowa to Wisconsin where over 2,000 vehicles cross on a daily basis. The bridge allows workers to get to their jobs, Iowans to access La Crosse’s hospitals and clinics, and tourists to visit Allamakee’s beautiful Driftless Area.

The excellent reporting in The Standard has kept us informed about the bridge’s history (built in 1931), its lifespan, the cost and structural problems leading to its recent closure. Fortunately, the new bridge is being built alongside the old bridge so we do not face years of bridge closures.

The new Black Hawk Bridge will cost $140 million. Your first reaction may be, “That’s a lot of money and who is going to pay the bill?” Eighty percent of the money is paid by the federal government’s Infrastructure & Jobs Investment Act.  The states of Wisconsin and Iowa will pay 20%.

Faith Alone

In the last couple of issues, we have talked about some of the main tenants of Confessional Lutheranism as taught in the Lutheran Reformation. So far, we’ve talked about the two important teachings: Grace Alone and Scripture Alone. The Bible teaches that a sinner is saved by grace alone through faith alone for Jesus’ sake, a truth revealed to us in Scripture alone.

To the Editor:

The Alabama Supreme Court has ruled that frozen embryos created through in vitro fertilization (IVF) are considered children under state law and are subject to the wrongful death of a minor law, if one is destroyed. Ridiculous, you say? We have a U.S. Representative who must not think so as she was a sponsor for the Life At Conception Act along with 124 other members of her political party.

That party has become a patriarchal theocracy. They seek to control a woman’s body. They intend to control our reproductive freedom, our right to abortion, IVF, and soon, contraception. The U.S. Supreme Court is deciding the legality for the distribution of mifepristone, often known as the morning after pill. This is frequently given to women who have been raped, though not in Iowa, as Attorney General Brenna Bird does not believe in it.

To the Editor:

I write to encourage my fellow rural Allamakee County residents to vote “yes” in the March 5 Local Option Sales and Services Tax (LOSST) election. If approved, this would extend a current tax for an additional 10 years. The county retains 60% of the funds collected in the rural areas, the remaining 40% is used by the townships for their needs. The county uses its share for secondary roads and other rural services.

Currently, townships get funds only from LOSST and property tax. If LOSST is discontinued, property taxes would have to be raised to offset the LOSST money.

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to last week’s letter to the editor on the topic of homeschooling. I was homeschooled myself (grades 5-12), have homeschooled my own son and the children of friends, and have tutored for homeschool families for over 20 years.

For those who think parents choose to homeschool because they don’t think education is important, I’d encourage you to get to know a homeschool family personally, and see for yourself if that is the truth. Parents who choose to homeschool invest thousands of dollars into their child’s curriculum, including textbooks, hands-on activities, online classes, and private tutors when necessary.

To the Editor:

Iowa AEAs are still under assault by our governor and her legislative supporters. AEAs provide educational, occupational, psychological, auditory and speech, and vision services for all Iowa students from birth to graduation (this includes private schools which now receive public school tax dollar vouchers).  The AEAs provide curriculum resources for science, literacy, social studies, math, computer science including books, manipulatives, science items, and so much more.  They provide training for teachers and administrators.

Scripture Alone

Last week I shared with you one of the important teachings from the Lutheran Reformation. The teaching of Grace Alone - that we are saved entirely by God’s grace alone, apart from works, through faith alone in Jesus. Today I want to talk to you about another fundamental teaching from the Lutheran Reformation. The teaching of Scripture Alone.

A man once asked me, “There are so many different churches, and they all teach different things. How can we know what church is right? How can we know which church follows the teachings of Jesus?”