Opinion

Sioux City Journal, Sept. 8Incentives help level playing field for Iowa Largely because of our proximity to tax friendly South Dakota, we in northwest Iowa have a unique understanding of and appreciation for the importance of state economic development assistance.In its 2013 State Business Tax Climate Index, the Tax Foundation ranks South Dakota number two in the nation; Iowa, 42. This ranking speaks volumes ...

To the editor:As a member of Service Academy Graduates Against The War, I oppose the Obama government?s plan to bomb Syria. Its use of chemical weapons remains highly speculative. We fear that self-serving evidence combined with expedient reasoning will lead to yet another immoral campaign of death and destruction. And the majority of victims will again be innocent civilians, this time Syrians.The president ...

To the editor:On the evening of Aug. 19, we had the unfortunate experience of a passenger side blowout of the front tire on our fifth wheel RV resulting in the failure of the second tire. This happened on Highway 34, halfway between Fairfield and Mount Pleasant.The help, concern and kindness of Jefferson County Officer Mark Miller, Smithburg Automotive and Dave Spees, the Larry Horton family and two unknown ...

To the editor:Thanks for the fun at Open Class at the Fair!Town and country people enjoyed the fun contests ranging from the rubber chicken-throwing contest to the frozen t-shirt contest. Many, many coupons for tasty treats from local merchants and goodies were given.We want to let you know the participants of each event. Each event was divided into age levels to encourage the fun. Decorate and eat cup cake ...

Sioux City Journal, Aug. 25No Labels: A refreshing step in right direction Amidst the noise, the posturing and the bitter partisanship, one hopeful sign has begun to emerge in Washington, D.C.Pledging a new attitude about meeting our nation?s challenges, No Labels formed in 2010 with goals of mobilizing Americans, building trust across the political divide and encouraging bipartisan cooperation in our ...

To the editor:I want to talk about the problem of bullying. The bullies think they?re powerful by hurting someone else, but they?re really only hurting themselves. All the bullies care about is hurting someone else?s feelings. The kids who get bullied often are so miserable they don?t want to live.I hate it when people get bullied, since all the bullies do is make fun of that person?s race or where they were ...

To the editor:The Jefferson County Alcohol Consumption Task Force (ACT) acknowledges the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors for partnering with the coalition in the effort to reduce county underage drinking by unanimously adopting a local social host ordinance.In careful consultation with the task force, Jefferson County Attorney, Jefferson County Sheriff and State Representative Curt Hanson, the supervisors?...

To the editor:As an extraordinarily accomplished community, why do we entertain a plan to pay increasingly high bills on our water usage (to fix the sewers) without including a water sustainability design and plan?Between RAGBRAI, Iowa Great Place designation, Best Small Town You?ve Never Heard Of, our own sustainability coordinator, and extremely accomplished students, to name a few, we have the brains to ...

To the editor:I am writing in response to an article published in the July 18 Fairfield Ledger, ?View from across Iowa.?This article was from the July 11 Sioux City Journal, ?Second bullying summit provides opportunities.? This article stated that this summit provides an opportunity to build support for another try at strengthening Iowa?s antibullying laws by addressing cyberbullying thus giving school administr...

Quad-City Times, Aug. 18Diverse energy arises in Iowabackyards Just five months ago, anxious Muscatine County residents crowded the Wilton Community Center and heard a MidAmerican Energy executive outline the prospects for a new nuclear power plant. The company was assessing options for a nuclear plant in their backyard.Fast forward to August when MidAmerican has dropped that nuclear assessment and earmarked ...

To the editor:On July 4 I was traveling west on Highway 34 enroute to Des Moines.Near the top of a long grade my car suddenly died and I coasted to a stop at the corner of Varnishtree Avenue. By a stroke of luck I had stopped right in front of a used car/autobody shop which appeared to be one of the very few businesses along that stretch of road.In just a couple of minutes the shop owner came out to check on ...

I spend too much time on Facebook some evenings.I?m not one to post very often, telling others what I am doing, but I see posts from various pages and share those that strike a chord with me. Of course, it?s much easier to click a ?like? or ?share? button than actually go out and do something; I am guilty of that, I admit.Facebook has been a fertile ground of quotes and ideas. I particularly like:?A society ...