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Buffer Pilot Project just got better

Editorials

There are times when a good idea can be made even better. That is the case with the expansion of the state’s Streamside Buffer Pilot Project. It uses a comparatively small amount of money to help farmers plant vegetation along the sides of waterways, with the ultimate goal of cleaning up water downstream. And there is plenty of evidence showing that the all-natural processes of plants can make the nearby water cleaner. The buffers are the plant kingdom’s version of an NFL offensive line: they block things from getting through. But instead of protecting a quarterback, they ...

Be sure to attend your county fair

Local Columns

Times change. Even so, there are a few constants in life. One is the pleasure provided by the county fairs that continue to be a highlight of summer in Iowa. For as far back as anyone who now lives in this part of Iowa can remember, these summer festivals have been much-anticipated and much-enjoyed features of summertime. The fairs, of course, have changed over the decades. One central theme, however, remains much the same — a celebration of farm life and the assorted positive educational and personal-growth pursuits that are treasured features of life in rural and small-town ...

Listen, but also be heard

Local Columns

This week and last week there have been a number of meetings with the Webster City school officials. Some have been with architects, meetings they call SPARK meetings where they are beginning to develop a plan for upgrading, redesigning or rebuilding the Webster City High School. There was a school board meeting this week too. And there are more community meetings to talk about changes for the high school starting with tonight. We all need to be paying attention. The taxpayers of the community are paying the bill for this work, paying through property taxes if owned, through rent ...

Is AI data center in future for WC

Letters to Editor

To the editor: As our local officials push forward with marketing the newly certified 478-acre Gateway Industrial Park, we as a community must ask a critical question: At what cost? We are hearing quiet whispers about prospective Artificial Intelligence (AI) data centers eyeing our land. While “high tech investment” sounds appealing on paper, the reality of these projects is a bad deal for Webster City. Our town learned a painful, permanent lesson when Electrolux closed in 2011. We cannot afford to make the same mistake by giving away massive Tax Increment Financing (TIF) ...

Crankbaits in the summer

Local Columns

The weather in many areas has been very inconsistent this summer. One day it’s warm, the next day it’s twenty degrees cooler. The one weather related thing that we’ve been able to count on is the wind. One day it’s windy, the next day it’s windier. But as we get farther into summer, there’s something else that we can count on. The water is warming up, and as the water warms, crankbaits can be very reliable fish-catchers. Here are some ideas about crankbaiting for more fish in the summer. Crankbaits come in all shapes, colors, and sizes. They’re productive by either ...

Summer vacation memories

Local Columns

It’s summer vacation season. At fast food joints and c-stores you can see the vacationing families in their loaded-down cars and minivans heading somewhere. The children look bored, Mom appears exhausted and Dad looks broke. When Cindy’s and my children were younger we took family vacations each year but they were modest compared to the extended vacations some folks enjoy these days. Nonetheless, those summer trips provided many great memories. Believing that a vacation ought to offer something for everyone, we always included a major league baseball game in our ...