Mt. Pleasant News

DEAR ABBY: I have been divorced for a year and have two boys, ages eight and nine. During this time, my ex-husband has introduced three different women to my children and recently introduced them to a new girlfriend he has been seeing for a few weeks. The first day that they met the girlfriend, he had the children spend the night at her place. The woman has a nine-year-old son of her own.I do not find this ...

Fifty of anything is worthy of pause, celebration, and reminiscence. So it was with my fiftieth high school class reunion. We met, we talked, we ate, all of us looking so old, except for me, of course. We even got together for a float (hay rack) ride in Monroe?s Old Settlers Parade. Absent, of course, were the classmates who passed away. But their memory lives on.It?s hard to believe that it?s been fifty years ...

Why journalism? Or more precisely, why newspapers?It?s a question I hear a lot. And it?s usually followed by questions like: ?Don?t you know they?re a dying breed?? ?Do you not enjoy job security?? And my personal favorite, ?Aren?t newspapers going the way of the dinosaur??The questions are all fired off in rapid succession, without a moment for me to respond.So here it is: I do it for you.If you look at ...

The professional golf career of local sportswriter Andy Krutsinger officially kicked off this spring and it has been going strong this summer.Before the last few months, I had never golfed more than twice in one calendar year. I didn?t play in high school and I didn?t really have the money in college to get into the sport.Well, guess what? This fall, while I was covering the state golf meets, I realized ...

To the editor:Saturday, July 16, 2016, was a day that dreams are made of for the family and friends of Edd and Vi King as we re-dedicated the Edd King Memorial Fountain.United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said it best, ?Edd King is still the center and heart of Mt. Pleasant.?I couldn?t agree more. I know of few men who 30 years after their most untimely and premature death are still remembered ...

?You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.? (Deuteronomy 10:19). In the Old Testament, the Hebrew people remember their history of slavery and oppression as foreigners in Egypt. They know what it feels like to be mistreated as strangers, and they are reminded to treat the strangers in their midst with understanding and kindness.In the New Testament, Jesus likewise praises ...

I?m not kidding. Arnie DeJaynes, age 92, of New London is still at it. Everyday, like a faithful grandfather clock that keeps on ticking, he goes downtown to his shop on Main Street and enters a world of nuts-and-bolts, machines-and-gadgets, and inventions in various stages of creation. He owns 10 patents.His latest patent, U.S. Patent 8,695,983, is for ?Domino Pizazz.? Domino Pizazz has over a thousand ?dominoes...

It may not be the Hatfields and McCoys, but some feuds seemingly never end.Those feuds are passed down through generations. Sometimes, the reason for the feud is lost through the translation between the generations.For example, my hometown in South Dakota was known as Dakota City at one time. However, when the railroad came through, the rails were not placed running through the hamlet, but two miles west.So, ...

Even before the Republican and Democratic National Conventions began, it was speculated in every way possible whether or not Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders would pledge their support to their party?s presumptive presidential nominees.From the beginning, Sanders has outspokenly stated his socialist beliefs and progressive political views ? a risky move to many. On the flip side of the coin, you have Cruz. A right-win...

To the editor:Recently, the Mt. Pleasant News had a couple of front page articles involving the sexual abuse of a child. I was disturbed be the titles of these articles, particularly the one entitled, ?Mason City man sentenced to prison for sex with girl.?Men do not have sex with girls. They sexually abuse them. Sexual relationships are a complicit act between consenting adults. This is not hierarchically ...

I?m usually not one to cry. Sure, if there?s a commercial with an adorable puppy, my vision is bound to get a little blurry. And if I see an uber cheesy Hallmark movie while channel surfing, you can bet I?m going to watch it and I will probably dissolve into a puddle of tears. I?m more likely to cry over a cataclysmic event in a literary character?s life than I am my own. But on Saturday afternoon, in a dressing ...

It is always hard to lose in the postseason, but a story from an Alta-Aurelia softball game Monday night might take the cake for the worst way to lose a game.According to the story, which was picked up by USA Today, the Warriors lost their 1A regional final to Logan-Magnolia despite leading when the game was called due to weather.If you?re no stranger to high school sports in Iowa, you know the rule. If a game ...