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Letters to Editor

The Kicker

To the editor, In 1870 , American humorist Josh Billings (1818-1885) wrote a poem called “The Kicker.” I hate to be a kicker I always long for peace But the wheel that does the squeaking Is the one that gets the grease.’’ They still had wagon wheels back then didn’t they? It’s in us from the start. Who gets more attention, a crying baby or a quiet one? Remember taxation without representation. This country actually started with a protest, the Boston Tea Party. I believe this, people get only what they accept. Our very smart forefathers wouldn’t accept an ...

Letter to the editor

To the editor, In 1870 , American humorist Josh Billings (1818-1885) wrote a poem called “The Kicker.” I hate to be a kicker I always long for peace But the wheel that does the squeaking Is the one that gets the grease.’’ They still had wagon wheels back then didn’t they? It’s in us from the start. Who gets more attention, a crying baby or a quiet one? Remember taxation without representation. This country actually started with a protest, the Boston Tea Party. I believe this, people get only what they accept. Our very smart forefathers wouldn’t accept an ...

Letters to the editor

Letter to the editor Wants unbiased governance To the editor, Voters expect basic honesty, transparency and equal treatment from elected officials. Unfortunately, recent actions by Webster City leadership demonstrate a troubling patter of arbitrary enforcement and selective governance. While the city recently used a “City Beautification” initiative to issue code violations against senior citizens and individuals in nursing care - vulnerable residents who promptly corrected the notices-administration simultaneously looks the other way on glaring, long-term violations. For ...

Water testing necessary to preserve ecosystem

Letter to the Editor Growing up in rural Iowa, I spent a lot of time at nearby waterways. I learned to tell the quality of a waterway by the ecosystem in and around it or the lack of one. Now, Iowa faces a public health and water crisis that demands immediate action. Our state ranks second in the nation for new cancer cases, with 87 of 99 counties exceeding the national cancer rate. With no comprehensive plan, this trend will continue or even get worse. The average nitrate concentrations in Iowa's drinking water increased between 2003 and 2017, with a concentration averaged across ...

Study impacts before we are in too deep

Slow Down Letter to the editor, Ever think things are moving too fast? Is AI being used to cure cancer and many other problems? I know it is used to sell stuff. Always about making a buck. If kids have their heads buried in their phones, why are school scores going down? Is the space race because they know we are killing this planet because of pollution and ignoring climate change? They are shoving data centers down our throats while the hype is alive and before companies quit because of cost. Everything connected to the Internet uses a data center. They are the physical ...

Supports Jones in fight against nitrates

To the editor: I was recently carrying a jar of water from a local creek when a gentleman inquired what I was doing. I shared that I was testing for nitrates which prompted him to say, “At least it is getting better.” However, July nitrate readings of 30 and 20 parts per million in Brewer Creek don't indicate improvement. High nitrate levels are closely correlated with our increasing cancer rates. “Environmental Risk Factors and Iowa’s Cancer Crisis,” (2026) drew a straight line from synthetic fertilizer and agricultural manure runoff to cancer. While most states’ cancer ...