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Pastures represent an important land resource, but many pastures are overgrazed resulting in uneven forage stands, low yields, higher weed pressure, and erosion issues due to bare ground. Continuous grazing doesn’t allow forage time to rest and recover and high-quality species die out from selective overgrazing.  Rotational grazing occurs when a pasture is divided up into segments and only a portion of the pasture is grazed at one time.  Cattle are rotated between the paddocks giving forage time to regrow and build deeper root systems.

by Dick Schilling, "Editor Emeritus"

... that I watched this morning the swearing-in of the new Supreme Court judge, Neal Gorsuch.

I also watched large portions of his time before senators considering his nomination.

Except any sort of consideration in those hearings seemed lacking. Republicans knew that, thanks to former senate leader Democrat Harry Reid, they had the final word if necessary in the so-called nuclear option. Democrats, still angry over the Electoral College loss to President Trump, and the failure of their court candidate, Garland, in 2016 to even get a hearing in the senate, stayed firmly opposed.

Personally, I think the person who benefited most as a result of the actions is Garland! Democrats argued loudly and long that he should have at least been called before the senate.

They have a point.

As a Lenten practice I’ve been trying to read poetry for my morning meditation and was recently moved by “Blessing for a Broken Vessel” by Jan Richardson. It reads: Do not despair. You hold the memory of what it was to be whole.

It lives deep in your bones. It abides in your heart that has been torn and mended a hundred times. It persists in your lungs that know the mystery of what it means to be full, to be empty, to be full again.

I am not asking you to give up your grip on the shards your clasp so close to you,

But to wonder what it would be like for those jagged edges to meet each other in some new pattern that you have never imagined, that you have never dared to dream.

To the Editor:

My name is Emily Garrett. I was born and raised in Waukon. I count myself blessed to have been raised in such a warm Iowa community.

I have since moved away to pursue a medical degree and to train as an obstetrician and gynecologist. I have delivered babies to happy couples, troubled teenagers, sexual assault victims and even grieving mothers after the intrauterine death of their child. In fact, as I type this I am working 80 hours per week at night, while eight months pregnant with my first child, delivering babies and helping mothers have safe pregnancies and healthy newborns.

This is not meant as a complaint, but rather an illustration of the time and emotional and physical energy I’ve invested in caring for women. I hope someday to return to my home state to take care of Iowa women during and outside of their pregnancies.

To the Editor:

The April 5, 2017 issue of The Standard featured an article about the search for “Big Foot” in the Yellow River State Forest area. My interest perked when I got to the “Local Insight” section of the article and read the question about the area in Allamakee County which is called “Big Foot” and is located in the county’s Paint Creek and Linton Townships.

I grew up on a farm a half mile east of Rossville on Highway 13 (now Highway 76) and just “up the road” was the Crossroads. Turn north and the road goes to Waterville and turn south the Big Foot Road leads to Volney. I  was very disappointed that no one thought to ask some of the local historians about the origins of how Big Foot got its name.

To the Editor:

As I write this letter to the editor I ponder if I should because I don’t know if I can properly express my feelings. I had the privilege of going on the Honor Flight April 8.

It was so great, I thought I had died and gone to Heaven. The treatment was so nice, so well organized and all done by volunteers, such wonderful angels.

We were supposed to be at the Milwaukee Airport by 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Julie and I left home at 11 p.m. Friday. The wonderful jet plane (Airbus) took off at 7 a.m. and one and a half hours later landed in Washington, D.C. Take-off and landing speed 152 miles per hour. I was very impressed by the very nice airports.

Jeana Steffens, our granddaughter, was like an angel to me. She pushed me for miles looking at all the memorials and monuments in D.C. Changing of the guard was great. Before we took off from Milwaukee, we had a minister say a very nice special prayer for us.

To the Editor:

As of a few weeks ago, karst was not a term I was all that familiar with, but after learning that two separate 2,499 head hog confinements were going to be built neighboring my family’s farm in Howard County, I learned that karst topography is causing quite a concern.

Northeast Iowa is known for its karst terrain which is made up of rocks like limestone and dolomite. Features found within karst regions include caves, springs and sinkholes. Northeastern Iowa is known to have quality groundwater that travels through natural aquifers formed as a part of this terrain.

The 2017 Kee High School Prom is scheduled for this Saturday, April 22. Pictured above are the senior class Queen and King candidates for the annual event. Left to right - Front row: Courtney Cooper, Sierra Schobert, Madelyn Gruber. Second row: Logan Burroughs, Jordyn Burroughs, Danny Brennan. Back row: Johnathon Mooney, Spencer Colsch, Marshal Johnson. Not pictured: Rachel Richards. The annual banquet will be held at TJ Hunter’s Banquet Hall on Main Street in Lansing, with doors opening at 5:15 p.m. The dance will be taking place from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight in the banquet hall as well. The public is invited to attend the Grand March, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m., with doors opening to the public at 7:45 p.m. and a free-will donation being taken. Following the Grand March, this year’s Prom King and Queen will be crowned. Post Prom festivities will follow the dance until 4 a.m. at the former Lansing Middle School gymnasium.

by Joe Moses

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst visited Mosaic's Waukon office Tuesday, April 11 as part of her 99-county tour following a town hall meeting in Elkader April 10. Ernst met with the administration and staff at Mosaic, an organization that serves individuals with developmental disabilities, to discuss the organization's positive impact, advocacy, current needs and concerns relating to legislation.

by Brianne Eilers

Thornton Manor, located in Lansing, will be celebrating a big milestone for the facility this month - 40 years of service to Lansing and the surrounding area. An open house will be held at Thornton Manor this Sunday, April 23 from 2-4 p.m. in honor of the 40th anniversary.

Thornton Manor accepted its first resident April 21, 1977 and has continued to change and grow to meet the needs of the community since that time. The original facility was named for Dr. John Thornton, a well-known physician in the Lansing area.
Administrator Sam Kuhn noted that the nursing home has always been licensed for 60 beds. In 2003, the Thornton Heights Assisted Living apartments and the Thornton Manor Outpatient Physical Therapy Clinic were added to the facility. "It was a great way for us to expand our services to keep pace with growing trends," Kuhn said.