Letter to the Editor- Gas taxes

VINTON TODAY
February 7, 2012 9:31 am

Dear Editor, The legislature convened in January and should give serious consideration to the unanimous, bi-partisan recommendations of Governor Branstad's Transportation 2020 Commission regarding highway funding.

Super Ball vs. Super Bowl

VINTON TODAY
February 5, 2012 3:37 pm

  It has happened so often that it’s practically part of the ecclesiastical calendar. Each January, the pastors of churches (and at times the leaders of some non-church organizations) receive menacing letters from the lawyers representing the National Football League.

'The Housing Boom & Bust' book review

BENTON COUNTY ADVOCATES
February 4, 2012 11:19 pm

Preface to a book Report on The Housing Boom and Bust by Dr. Thomas Sowell Bio of Thomas Sowell author of The Housing Boom and Bust Thomas Sowell (born June 30, 1930) is an American economist, social theorist, political philosopher, and author.

Why to build the Keystone Pipeline NOW

JOHN STIEGELMEYER
February 4, 2012 2:20 pm

  To the Editor,          On November 30, Senate Republicans introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Obama administration to approve the Keystone XL pipeline within 60 days, unless the president declares the project is not in the national interest.

Pastor's Blog - RECKLESS GRACE

PASTOR LANETTE S. VAN
February 3, 2012 10:39 am

  An interpretation of the Story of the Prodigal Son from Luke 15:11-24 It's dusk.  The front porch light is on, just as it has been 24/7 for months and months.

A good bad day

VINTON TODAY
February 2, 2012 12:29 pm

  May the worst of your days begin with tangled cords. I had a bad day on Thursday. Or, in this era when my job as a journalist is the most fun it's ever been, it does not at all deserve to be called a Bad Day; it's only a day with a  few inconveniences.

Pastor's Blog - 'Waiting'

PASTOR LANETTE S. VAN
January 27, 2012 10:08 am

  Luke 2:22-40 Greg Brown has a song called "Waiting."  Everybody's waiting for something:  the county fair; the return of a friend; a bus to take them to someplace better; a new job; a personal epiphany or spiritual enlightenment.

Why America usually succeeds, even when Presidents disappoint

VINTON TODAY
January 22, 2012 12:43 pm

  Maybe we expect too much from our politicians. Maybe we never were supposed to like our political leaders, even the ones we vote for.

Pastor's Blog - Samuel, Nathaniel, and the US Supreme Court

REV. MARK URLAUB
January 20, 2012 10:26 am

  The Supreme Court of the United States on January 11, 2011, unanimously decided in favor of Hosannah-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church, a congregation in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, in a suit brought against the congregation over the firing of a teacher in its parochial school.

My midlife crisis: Going for the shiny new things

VALERIE CLOSE, EDITOR
January 19, 2012 10:58 am

I'm one of those practical gals.   I grew up in a family where we didn't learn how to splurge, and don't even ASK for the shiny new things.