Not too long ago, I spoke with Mrs. Balk’s junior high classes on city government. It was also an opportunity to talk with the students about being an active part of the community where they live today and where they will live in the future. I believe this applies to all of us in today’s world. Volunteers are the key to the success of any project and to the success of the community in which you live.

    Economic stimulus begins at home. Starting May 2nd we will be receiving our Economic Stimulus checks from the government. The Cresco Area Chamber of Commerce hopes that we spend that money wisely and are aware of where we choose to do our shopping, fill-up with gas and eat a meal.

Tales from a Howard County Farm Wife

   Much is made these days in the media of the new world we live in, where too often bad things happen that 5, 10 or 20 years ago we would have never thought about or even known much about. Often these things impact small communities all over the country, such as bus accidents, manufacturing explosions, natural elements of floods, tornadoes and other disasters, that with increased media coverage introduce us to communities and people we would have never known about.

Ya Gotta Have Friends

Howard County Farm Wife

            It wasn't alarming to see a young man wearing shorts into church one crispy spring morning.  The thermometer reported only twenty-two degrees and pellets of wind-driven ice swirled outside.  Earlier that week I'd seen people, with warmer blood than I can manufacture, defying the slow retreat of winter by wearing flip-flops.  They must have strict seasonal rules concerning apparel.  At some pre-appointed date they lock all their warmth-providing clothing away and are only allowed access to the next season's garb.  It's a form of self-discipline, I reason, a physical conditioning process of some sort.

    All the latest news and information about the Cresco Public Library is now available on its new website, http://www.cresco.lib.ia.us.

  I hate shopping for new glasses. This is partly due to the consequences of not preparing for the inevitable, a lack of foresight. I’m always trying to select my next pair of frames through blurry eyes after an exam which requires pupil dilation. Not being the adventurous type, I have been known to migrate towards the section of spectacles strangely similar to the pair I need to replace. There is a chance that I would be wearing frames from the seventies if those pesky eye-wear companies hadn’t discontinued my favorite style.

How to simplify your life

   I used to love to hide from my sisters, then bolt out and surprise them when they didn’t expect it. Startling them was my goal, watching for that astonished reaction was my reward. It was a real disappointment if I wasn’t clever enough to make them jump and scream. Children like this game, although most would agree that it is preferable to be the instigator, not the victim. Surprise is a useful strategy. It is a tactic used to win battles in times of war, but it is not always easy to carry out.

Spring events at the library

David Hartberg, CEO of Regional Health Services of Howard County, says Iowa's health care is already among the best, but through reforms we can do even better.

Cresco City Administrator John Lloyd tells you where your tax money is spent.

    I overheard, took part in, and lingered in deep thought about a recent conversation with an elementary teacher and two third-graders. They were discussing a particular science unit, relating and comparing three different experiences at their respective schools. Having never paid as much attention as I should have while in science class, I began to get nervous, wondering if indeed I was at least as smart as a third-grader. The topic in question was matter. What is it?